Nelson County Bee Keeping

Nelson County Beekeepers

What’s The Buzz

Volume 5, Issue 6

Nelson County June 2019

Meeting

June 20th @ 6:30 PM SPEAKER: Kent Williams

Officers President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Darrell Hester Secretary-Bennie Hite

EAS Certified Master Beekeeper Kent Williams has been keeping bees for about 28 years. He manages 800 or so colonies in western Kentucky. Kent rents bees for pollination, produces honey, raises several thousand queens, and produces nucleus colonies for local beekeepers. A past EAS President.

Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga Hospitality-Monthly Volunteer

POT – LUCK DINNER

Pot luck will be served, so bring what you care share. Be sure and bring sides and desserts to share. Don't forget to set up and clean up. We need to be Inside this issue: mindful of the Extension Office sharing Meeting Minutes 2 their kitchen with us.

Newsletter Publisher– Georganne Collins

Spread the Word

3

No July Meeting see you at the Fair!!!!

Items Available for Sale 4

Save the Dates

6

Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture

Page 2 MEETING MINUTES May 16th, 2019 Steering Committee Meeting Attending: Darrel Hester, Steve Hutchins, Susan Zhunga, Pat Swartz, and Henry Wilkerson.

Discussed: Discussed Hand-out for members to determine what was wanted for club programs. Ideas for speakers, Webinars etc.

Bee Meeting: Interesting round table question and answer period. Problems that members are having this time of year.

Welcome back to long time member, Larry Marks who shared is expertise with us. We welcomed two new members Cindy McCance and Tom Clark.

Secretary Benny Joe Hite

FINANCIAL STATEMENT 5/30/2019 Opening balance

1/1/2019

$2,125.37

Gross Income

$614.00 Due/T's

Net Expense

$-643.00 includes school & free nuc

Bank Balance

$2,096.37

Page 3 SPREAD THE WORD

There are 2 extractors complete with all that you need to extract honey. It comes with a refractometer to test you honey. $10.00 for useage, with a 4 day maximum.

All members are encouraged to join us on Facebook. Ask questions, show your progress, and share your pictures. “Nelson County Beekeepers�. We would love to hear from you.

Page 4 ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR MEMEBERS ONLY

Test kits for American Foul Brood (AFB) and European Foul Brood (EFB) are available for purchase from Extension Office for $14.00 each. Please call me (Susan 507-8789) for availability.

If any member has beekeeping items for sale, list them in the newsletter and/or bring them to the meeting. We can do some bartering after the regular meeting is over.

Good time to save some money on necessary items. Be sure and bring items in good clean condition. Make sure they are priced and have your name. We will set up special tables for your items.

Mike Johnson – Will make wooden ware to order.

Boxes, frames and wax dipping. Contact Mike for information and pricing @ 502-249-2007.

The Club - has NCB T - Shirts Prices are: $8.00 for children $10.00 for Adults and $12.00 for Adults 2x & 3x.

All members are encouraged to join us on Facebook. Ask questions, show your progress, and share your pictures. “Nelson County Beekeepers”. We would love to hear from you.

Page 5 BEEKEEPERS CALENDAR FOR JUNE From: Basic Beekeeping JUNE AND THE BEES: The bees will be working hard filling supers. They can still swarm during June, so keep an eye out for swarms. There is no need to feed the bees. They are gathering plenty of nectar and pollen. You may see the bees hanging out on the front of the hive at night. This is normal. On hot and especially humid evenings, many bees will spend the night outside the hive, clinging to the front of the hive or they may form a beard on the ground in front of the hive. This phenomenon is called "bearding". This would be like you enjoying your cool porch on a hot evening.

Continue to monitor your hive. We suggest inspecting your hive every two weeks to ensure the queen is laying well. The bees will need water, so be sure to keep a water source near your hives. We fill bird baths with water so that our bees stay out of our dog's water bowl and our neighbor's pool.

Page 6 SAVE THE DATES NELSON COUNTY FAIR – JULY 15th thru JULY 20th I will be looking for volunteers to work a shift with me to assist with the honey tasting and selling of honey for the membership.

Sign-up at the June meeting or call Susan Zhunga.502-507-8789.

We will also have our honey competition.

Competition will be in the newly renovated Samuels Hall. Ribbons and small cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, with an additional ribbon & prize for “Black Jar”. All honey must be dropped off for judging Sunday July 14th between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, or Monday July 15th between 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Judging will be Monday July 15th at 12:30 pm.

REQUIREMENTS 1 lb. queen line clear glass bottle ( no markings or labels). Judging details below. For Black Jar you will need a small Hex style or baby food size (unused) with glass painted black, for taste competition. For more details be sure and pick up a free Fair Guide from the NC Extension Office, Bardstown Visitors Center or local vendors.

(Continued on page 7)

Page 7 LIQUID HONEY POSSIBLE POINTS APPERANCE & CONTAINTER CLEANLINESS ............. 10 FREEDOM FROM CRYSTALS .......................................... 20

FREEDOM FORM FOREIGN MATERIALS ..................... 20 FREEDOM FROM BUBBLES OR FROTH ....................... 10 FLAVOR & AROMA........................................................... 20 DENSITY ............................................................................. 20 TOTAL................................................................................. 100

BLACK JAR – TASTE ONLY ........................................... 100 Honey will be classified according to depth of color into specific categories. Queen line jars to be filled up to the top edge of the lower rim of the jar leaving a small space between the honey and the lid.

After the honey competition, and the opening of the Fair, we will have our usual “Honey Booth” inside Samuels Hall. This will be an opportunity for the public to taste local honey, and purchase some of this honey from our membership.

We will be selling honey @ $13.00 a pint, $11.00 for a pound, and $9.00 for 8 ozs. The club will receive $1.00 for each jar sold.

Please let me (Susan Z) know if you will have honey available for sale.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Bardstown KY 40004

317 S Third St

Nelson County