If you’re anything like me, then I think this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Last year was a season of learning for me as a first time beekeeper. I had fairly low expectations how much product we would actually produce. But with that experience and the resources that were produced that we were able to roll over into the new hives We have now gotten to the point where honey boxes will be going on to both hives this Monday. With aspirations of turning this into a small business, I can’t tell everyone how excited and proud I am. A great deal of work has yet to be done, but I’ve always been told that will begun is half done.

All of that being said, my work is the least of what goes into the production of honey. Honey is the carbohydrate sources for the entire hive. In their lifetime 12 bees will produce a tablespoon of honey. To make 1 pound of honey bees, will have to forage over 2 million flowers and return home with 8 to 9 pounds of nectar.  The bees bring the pollen home to make nectar using their legs. This is called "pollen pants."  That's A LOT of pollen pants!

The nectar is stored in the hexagonal cells of the frames We are bees will flap there wings to dehydrate it. Honey has historically been used medicinally by many cultures as it is antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. The ancient Egyptians used it on wounds to avoid infection. Honey is the only Natural food that never spoils, and recently archaeologists found a tub of honey in a peer amid that was over 8000 years old and believed to be still fit for human consumption (Though I won’t personally be trying any of it).

"Indeed, medicinal importance of honey has been documented in the world's oldest medical literatures, and since the ancient times, it has been known to possess antimicrobial property as well as wound-healing activity. The healing property of honey is due to the fact that it offers antibacterial activity, maintains a moist wound condition, and its high viscosity helps to provide a protective barrier to prevent infection. Its immunomodulatory property is relevant to wound repair too." ~ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/

Because bees partially digested the nectar bringing it from the flower to the hive there are amino acid’s in natural honey that are extremely beneficial to people. If you ever wonder why it is better to buy honey from local beekeepers, note that the amino acids in natural honey are destroyed during the commercial heating processes. Foreign commercial producers will often cut the natural honey with commercial corn syrup, disturbing the authenticity but stretching their profits. At a farmers market or through a local beekeeper you are guaranteed a full and natural product.

Given the ideal weather conditions in southern Maine, and the extended nectar flow that we’ve had here I look forward to harvest shortly. I hope that you will continue to follow us on this adventure and take part in the spoils of both my labor, in the bees labor. Honey, I think it’s time.

~Chris, The Boxing Beekeeper