How one can Make a Pollen Patty

How one can make a pollen patty for a yard beehive to spice up the manufacturing of child bees and enhance the vitality of the colony within the weeks previous the Spring honey circulation.

I just lately made a pollen patty for the very first time to supply further nourishment for my yard beehive.

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Why Make a Pollen Patty?

As a brand new beekeeper, the purpose of this pollen patty is to nourish the colony within the weeks previous the Spring honey circulation.

The pollen patty encourages the manufacturing of child bees and development of the hive.

I plan to separate the hive within the Spring. This extra nourishment supplied by a pollen patty will facilitate this course of.

There are lots of totally different recipes for pollen patties to attempt in case you are a novice beekeeper like me.

One college of thought is to depart the bees alone and never present a pollen patty in any respect.

Others recommend pollen patties which can be boosted with important oils. I’ve not used this method but as I’m nonetheless within the strategy of researching the professionals and cons.

For now, I’m utilizing the essential pollen patty recipe supplied by my beekeeping mentor.

That is the recipe he makes use of within the administration of the half dozen or so hives he maintains at our group vegetable farm.

Pollen Patty Recipe

How one can make a pollen patty to nourish a yard beehive within the manufacturing of child bees and enhance colony vitality earlier than Spring honey circulation.

Directions

1. Combine the Bee-Professional, sugar, honey, and non-obligatory Apis Biologix powder with the filtered water in a bowl to type a dough ball.

3. Line a small pan (I exploit 12×8) with a equally sized sheet of wax paper or uncoated patapar paper (NOT parchment paper).

4. Pour within the pollen patty dough and unfold to roughly 1/4 inch thickness.

5. Place the pan within the freezer for not less than 4 hours (this makes elimination the best).

6. When prepared, take away pan from the freezer and lower a small sq. of the frozen patty together with the paper. The sq. ought to be about 1/6 of the entire pan (about 4×4 inches).

7. Place the patty face down within the beehive you’re feeding, ideally on high of current brood frames. This patty will likely be consumed inside about 2-3 days.

   In case your hive has a number of ranges, place the patty face down on the queen excluder between the first backside field and the field instantly above it.

8. In a single week, take away the paper left from the consumed patty and change it with a freshly lower sq..

   Repeat each week for 6-7 weeks till your complete patty is gone and Spring honey circulation season begins!