The Buzz: Spring 2023

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Hivelights: Re-Introducing Myself
Beeyard Basics: Spring Swarms
Buzzworthy: Mother’s Day Gifts
Raw Honey: From our Hives to your Table
2023 Beekeeping Calendar
Bees, Bees, Bees: Waitlist Now Open
Combing Soon: 2023 Intern Experience
Sweet Beesus: Recipes Dripping with Goodness
Video: For My Mom

Hivelights: Re-Introducing Myself

I figure it’s high time that I re-introduce myself *cue Rolling Stones song. My name is Rebecca Krowelski, owner, educator and primary beekeeper of Prairie Sweetheart Honey! Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name. 

I love raising healthy bees, helping them thrive, sharing in their harvest and learning how we, as humans, can grow through our understanding of how bees communicate and work together to produce magic. 

I want everyone to feel a connection with the bees and understand what goes into caring for them. It feels so good when I meet someone who appreciates how much work, love and passion goes into that one jar of honey – from both me and the bees. 

I also offer hands-on practical training to help hobbyist beekeepers feel confident in their beekeeping skills, grow their passion and become part of a beekeeping community. 

I’ve had eight seasons with the bees since starting my apiary with two nucs (half-size colonies) that I purchased from my mentor, Ted Scheunamen. I had just finished the Beekeeping for the Hobbyist course at the University of Manitoba when I was introduced to him at my first meeting with the Red River Apiarists Association back in 2015. 

I learned from Ted for a year before taking the plunge. His main philosophy was *and please imagine this in a thick German accent, “Rebecca, you have to think like a bee. It is our job as beekeepers to figure out what the bees intend to do and then help them get it done.”

Since then I’ve learned about bees in Guatemala, India, Mexico, the United States and across Canada. I’ve taken courses, watched videos, joined webinars, studied research papers and absorbed just about anything I could find about the fascinating world of honey bees. 

I’m in the process of completing the exam components for the Master Beekeeping program at Cornell University — an 18-month series of modules that equips beekeepers with concepts, knowledge and best management practices. It’s been amazing and definitely next level learning!

I love what I do! I feel that honey bees are a gift and I want to share what I have learned from them with the rest of the world. The lessons from the hive are endless. Seriously folks, the bees have it figured out – they know how to work together as a community to get things done, without judgment or hierarchy. 

My favourite moments are when I get to pass this along to the kids at school presentations. I ALWAYS leave feeling inspired by these brilliant little minds – I love watching their faces as they soak it all in. They ask such intelligent questions, show passion and always want to know how they can help. I believe our future is in good hands with the coming generations.

So that’s me in a nutshell. What’s puzzlin you? Is the nature of my game, ah yeah. 

Beeyard Basics: Spring Swarms

Now that the dandelions are here and other natural food sources are starting to appear, the number of bees in our colonies are going to start rapidly increasing! And this means swarm season will soon be upon us.

As beekeepers, one of our biggest jobs is to responsibly manage swarms in our bee yards. Swarming happens when a hive is booming with bees and they are feeling overcrowded – it is the natural way for bees to increase their numbers and essential to the survival of their species.

‘Swarming’ is when the old queen and some of the bees leave to start a new colony, leaving behind queen cells for the birth of a new mother in the original hive. If you have a colony that has decided to swarm, it means that you have a strong and healthy hive on your hands, so first-off, congrats to you! 

When a hive intends to swarm, it is near impossible to change their minds about this and better to work with it rather than against it! So if you spot the signs of swarming (queen cells on the bottom of your frames), it is best to split the colony to recreate the swarming process in your apiary. Basically, you will take the old queen from the original hive and move her to a new hive which you will then move away to a new location, similar to what happens in nature.

In the original hive – Check each frame to find the queen, look for swarm cells and mark the frames you plan to move – ideally you’ll ensure that the new hive has capped brood, open brood and food. It’s nice to be prepared and know which frames you are moving when you’re ready to do the split. 

You’ll have to choose if you want to let the bees raise their own queen by leaving one or two of the swarm cells in the original hive or if your plan is to install a mated queen who is ready to start laying new brood immediately. Be forewarned, the bees prefer their own process once they have created queen cells and they may not take too well to a new queen, so sometimes better to wait for the process to take place. Letting the bees raise their own queen also gives the colony a ‘brood break,’ which is a natural way to lower your mite count as well. 

For the new hive (or nuc) – Get your equipment ready ahead of time, including a four or five-frame nuc box and a couple of frames of drawn comb. Then, when you’re ready, move the three marked frames from the original hive (with bees, brood and food), along with the queen, to the new hive. Make sure to cut off all swarm cells, looking very carefully to find every last one. Add your frames of drawn comb, close it up and move it at least five kilometres away, so the bees don’t drift back to their original hive.

And there you have the basics! There are many ways to go about splitting colonies, so be sure to read up on the various methods before choosing the right option for your situation. And always be sure to look at the person’s location when learning from other sources — what we do here in Manitoba is vastly different from what is done in Florida or North Carolina!

Buzzworthy: Mother’s Day Deliveries

Mother’s Day is coming! Make your mom feel sweet as honey with a gift from Prairie Sweetheart! Prices range from $10 – $55, so there is something for everyone.

Visit the online store to place your order today! Deliveries available for Saturday, May 13 within Winnipeg city limits. Just make a note when checking out and I’ll connect with you about the details.

Bees, Bees, Bees: Waitlist Open

These strong, healthy, five-frame nucs will give you a great start to the bee season.

Combing Soon: Intern Experience

2023 INTERN PROGRAM

Come experience the world of bees through a reciprocal exchange this summer. This unique experience provides hands-on learning in the bee yard in exchange for work related to bees.

ONE SPOT HAS OPENED UP! If you are interested in learning more or want to get on the waitlist for the 2024 season, please send an email to prairiesweethearthoney@gmail.com.

Sweet Beesus: Recipes Dripping with Goodness

HONEY GARLIC CAULIFLOWER BITES

YIELD: Makes six servings
PREP TIME: 35 minutes

These honey-garlic cauliflower bites are ultra-crispy bites coated in a spicy-sticky sauce we can’t get enough of—seriously, you might want to double this recipe.

How to get crispy cauliflower:
We get our bites extra crispy in this recipe by combining our cauliflower with flour until fully coated, then dredging in panko breadcrumbs before baking to a perfect golden color. Secondly, we’re baking at a high temperature—400°. After tossing in our sauce, our cauliflower is even broiled for few additional minutes to really get that final crispy bite.

The sauce.
The real star of this recipe has to be the sticky-spicy sauce. Tip: We created a cornstarch slurry to add a thickness to our sauce—don’t skip it! A thick sauce is key to sticking to and coating our cauliflower bites.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400° and line a large baking sheet with foil.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper and toss until fully coated. Set up a dredging station: In one bowl, add panko breadcrumbs and in another bowl whisk eggs and add 2 tablespoons water. Dip cauliflower in beaten eggs, then panko until fully coated. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water, until the cornstarch dissolves completely. Set aside. Combine soy sauce, honey, garlic, lime juice and Sriracha in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat and add the cornstarch mixture. Bring to simmer again and cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
4. Toss cooked cauliflower in sauce until evenly coated. Return the cauliflower to baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes.
5. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a47636/honey-garlic-cauliflower/ 

Video: For My Mom

From Left to Right: My mom Diane, sisters Lara and Kirsten and myself, Rebecca

My mom was bigger than life. She had a huge heart and connected with everyone she met. She had a way of making each person she knew feel special, unique and loved. 

She was kinda like the bees in a way, always bringing the community together for the greater good. She embraced us all, without judgement, and filled our lives with laughter and kindness.

I can’t seem to let a Mother’s Day go by without playing this beautiful video created by Dwight @ i1Creative. I love how it explains how she is such a huge part of my bees.

Thank you to my mom – for showing me how to be a great mom who fully enjoys every minute I have with my AMAZING kids. Best and most important thing I’ll ever do.

I think of my mom every single day – my heart still aches and misses her completely. Love you mom. 

Enjoy the video.