2020 · October 22, 2020
Autumn is the time of year when the garden beekeeper has nothing more to do with the bees and therefore has time to fiddle about, build and invent machines, for example an optimized version of the filling robot Hani-Mandl. The first version of the filling robot works perfectly, but does not look very professional with the wooden parts.
2020 · September 28, 2020
After a long summer the bees now experience the first cool autumn days. After the bee colonies were fed for the winter, and during the last weeks enough winter bees have been hatched, they stop now the brood activity and change over to the energy-saving winter mode. This can be clearly seen from the temperature curve in the brood chamber: If the bees kept the brood-room temperature constantly since the spring on somewhat over 30°C, it drops now on only scarcely over 20°C (yellow curve).
2020 · July 25, 2020
When the freshly extracted honey has passed a coarse double sieve and a fine sieve, it appears to be clear. But if you leave it in the bucket for a few days, you will find a white layer on the surface: Finest wax particles, which have a lower density than honey, have slowly risen to the surface and form a foam layer.
2020 · July 16, 2020
The honey harvest 2020 is in the jar! Spring blossom is a bright and in the aroma rather mild blossom honey of early bloomers like snowdrops, winterling, crocus, dandelion and stone fruit. Summer blossom is an aromatic, golden-brown honey from the lime tree, chestnut, acacia, raspberry and blackberry. Both varieties are available in jars of 500g or 250g.
2020 · July 09, 2020
Eating honey directly from the comb is probably the most original and natural way to enjoy this natural product. Honeycomb honey is honey from purely natural construction, stored in the honeycomb completely built by the bees. In this natural storage place the honey is sealed with thin wax lids by the diligent bees. It can be eaten together with the very fine wax of the combs. Among connoisseurs and purists, comb honey is considered a delicacy. Available in a small wooden frame or in the whole...
2020 · July 06, 2020
The garden beekeeper will probably soon be able to use an external location for certain beekeeping activities, such as the formation of offshoots. Differently than in the domestic garden, where always someone has an eye on the bees, the smart wooden hives will entice potential pilferers to take them away. In order to leave no doubt at all about the ownership, the garden beekeeper had a branding stamp made, with which the boxes and the frames will be marked. In the picture you can see a homemade...
2020 · July 03, 2020
These days the garden beekeeper completed the prototype of a semi-automatic honey filling device. It is called "Hani-Mandl" ("Hani": derived from the English "honey" and pronounced with an Austrian accent, "Mandl": Austrian for "manikin"). The centerpiece is a single-board computer with OLED display and public domain software. The individual components were ordered directly in China in the proven manner. The disadvantage of the long delivery times is also an advantage: you have a lot of time to...
2020 · June 26, 2020
June 21st was summer solstice. The days are getting shorter again. The lime trees in the city are in full bloom, the bees are busy gathering nectar. Only a few more days, then the flowering season 2020 will be over.
2020 · June 13, 2020
This swarm of bees in the eastern part of Heilbronn required a ladder and some acrobatics while salvaging, and brought the garden beekeeper a number of stings, especially on the head. The bees were kind enough to sting both earlobes, so that the swelling is now at least symmetrical, and one could think "this is how it's meant to be". The garden beekeeper learns: swarms are not always peaceful. Next time at least a veil hat will probably be worn. And as if he would have guessed, he swept off a...