Hello
Sorry the newsletter is a bit late today. There is a funeral in our "country neighborhood" and most of my Amish staff belong to the same church. As a result, we are really short staffed today with everyone attending.
I do have a fascinating story for you this week. At least fascinating for me. Read below to learn more about Artificial Insemination of honeybees. Yeah, think about that.
With bees being the center of our discussion today, Chef Ashley in the kitchen is coming full circle by uniting our pollinator friends and the peaches they pollinate in one tasty pie - an Ohio peach and honey pie, garnished with bee pollen and topped with a lattice work crust. Availability is limited to pre-order only. Please login online to order now. Click here to shop online for pie.
As for bee products, Jason and Angie from Bosler Apiary spun honey from our "truck patch" colonies this week. The hives were loaded with a very unique honey, one that is slightly darker and sweeter than traditional hayfield honey. These products are also available online.
Sincerely,
Trevor
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"It really is tough to be the boss and have to eat all these tasty samples," said no one ever. This week I was lucky enough to be the taste tester for Ashley's two seasonal creations |
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Pudding Trio: What could be more fun for back to school than a classic pudding trio. This week we are featuring a trio of 3, 8 oz packages of pudding. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Butterscotch.
All are made from scratch in the farm kitchen using A2A2 Guernsey Milk, farm fresh eggs, organic cane sugar, Minerva butter, and organic tapioca starch to bind it.
The bigger question is how to enjoy them best. Alone? Swirled? Or completely mixed? Back to the school cafeteria I go to attempt to answer this challenge.
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Breeding Bees for Stronger Colonies |
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One of the best parts of my job is getting to talk to so many interesting people who are passionate about their work. Jason and Angie at Bosler Apiary are some of those type of people.
Bi-Weekly they come to my farm to inspect my hives - which they manage and extract the honey. For me, the benefit of the hives is to pollinate our produce and crops.
A few weeks back I was asking Jason about how the hives were doing and some of his biggest challenges.
He explained that his biggest challenge as a beekeeper was managing the varroa mites, which reduces their yields by about 30% each year. In summary, the mite is a parasite that attacks the bees, both physically harming the bees and also transferring different diseases.
What they had discovered though was that there are some bees that will fight back and physically attack the mites. Those genetics are the ones that are most desirable.
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A quick overview of the colony
To understand what we are about to discuss, it is probably best to understand some the different types of bees.
The Queen. She is the only female who lays fertile eggs, and on any given day, she can lay 1,200 to 1,500 eggs, all which hatch in about 21 days (for worker bees).
The Drones. These are the male bees. Some of them mate with the queen. It's a long story, but essentially the Queen will mate with up to 30 of them over a 10 to 14 day period. She flies through a "Drone Congregation Area" to get mated. She only mates with the best of the best. The rest, they get excluded from the colony in the fall and die.
The Worker Bees. These are the non-fertile females - their ovaries never develop. They collect the pollen and create the honey. They do everything from cleaning the cells to removing dead bees. There are 3 stages of a worker bee's life - the house bee, the guard bee, and the forager bee.
During the house bee stage, they clean the cells and help groom the other bees. In the bees with the most desirable genetics, the house bee removes the mite from other bees and bites it - harming it in the process.
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Replicating the Mite Resistant Genetics
Once a colony has been identified as having workers that attack the mite, it is desirable to use that genetics to reproduce more bees that are resistant to the mite.
But how exactly do you collect bee semen and artificially insert it into a tiny little queen bee?
Jason explained to me this very specialized work.
First, the semen must be collected. A trained bee keeper will take the drone bees and gently roll them between their fingers. The pressure on the bee's abdomen exposes the bee's testicles. With another gentle press, semen is released and collected on the head of a needle.
50 samples are needed to have enough semen to inseminate the queen.
Next, the specialist uses a specialized tool, some call it an AI Sling and other the Queen Insemination Tool (photo above). The queen is gassed to make her unconscious and secured in a specialized "sling" inside the tool. The tool includes a microscope and dials that allow for the precise placement of the needle into the queen's spermatheca - the organ that stores the semen used to fertilize the eggs.
In addition to the AI process, Jason and Angie then have to try to create more queens that have these genetics. This is a challenge as a colony can only have one queen. They call this process "queen rearing" in which eggs are placed in a secure cage to protect them as they hatch and then moved to another colony. Likewise, semen from one colony is taken to another to add that genetics to that colony.
If your mind is spinning, so is mine. So now every time you enjoy honey on your morning toast, you can smile and think of the "behind the scenes" of beekeeping.
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I was so excited to just call it Bee Stuff. Jason and Angie figured out that it's hare to say in one line that they sell honey, pollen, and even beekeeping supplies like soupers, tools, and live bees. It's simplest and most inclusive to say Bee Stuff. I like it.
So this week we expanded our availability of Bosler Bee products, including the limited release of their "truck patch" blend.
Truck Patch Honey is honey collected from hives used to pollinate produce patches. Their traditional honey is from hives often out on crop fields, hay fields, and wetland areas. They refer to it as "swampgrass" honey.
This week, Jason and Angie worked hard all weekend spinning truck patch honey, which has a darker color and sweeter flavor. You can find it listed on the online marketplace as Truck Patch Honey, as opposed to the regular honey which just says Raw Honey.
We also have some other bee products available this week, including:
- bee pollen - delicious as garnish on a salad or a dessert, but also good as a natural health supplement for the immune system and an anti-inflammatory
- honeycomb - delicious spread on warm toast or enjoyed as a accoutrement to aged cheeses, charcuterie, and pickled vegetables on a charcuterie board.
- honey pecans - an 8 oz jar of toasted pecans floating in raw honey. A delicious treat with dessert or on an English muffin in the morning
- honey crunch candy - a crunchy treat of honey, sesame seeds, and organic cane sugar, in an 8 oz bag.
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Small Omnivore
Whole Chicken
Leeks
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Curly Kale
Peaches
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Small Vegetarian
Leeks
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Curly Kale
Peaches
Green Cabbage
Heirloom Tomatoes
Watermelon
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Mini
Zucchini
Kale
Leeks
Peaches
Heirloom Tomatoes
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Large Omnivore
Whole Chicken
Leeks
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Curly Kale
Peaches
Delicata Squash
Blackberries
Sugarcube Melons/Apples
Pork Chorizo
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Large Vegetarian
Leeks
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Curly Kale
Peaches
Green Cabbage
Heirloom Tomatoes
Watermelon
Delicata Squash
Blackberries
Butternut Squash
Pinto Beans
Longhorn Peppers
Sugarcube Melons/Apples (depending on harvest)
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Small Vegan
Leeks
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Curly Kale
Peaches
Green Cabbage
Heirloom Tomatoes
Watermelon
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Reminder: Carnivore Share bags are every-other-week based on pick-up location. You will be randomly assigned to a group (A, B, C). Check for the assignment in your last name. By the end of the season, all groups will have received the same amount of all products.
Week 14 Carnivore Schedule
Avon, Brecksville, Lakewood, Middleburg Heights, North Olmsted, Ohio City Provisions, Strongsville, Tremont, Westlake
**Carnivore share bags are only available at the first "dropoff location" listed on the location tab of your account as of 6/1. Carnivore shares cannot be transferred. We pack for the exact number based on location.**
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SPECIAL ORDER
Location Details
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Your special order will only be delivered only to your primary location as selected in your profile (see below). Please review this BEFORE placing your order (adjust + save as needed). Please do not email or call to change the location of your special order. It sounds easier said than done. Our software prints a pick list per location for what products we must take along. If we attempt to move it manually there is a high probability that we'll mess it up and no one will be happy.
Please leave the "new" location set in your profile until after you pick up your special order. You will have to log back into your account to change it back to your usual stop BEFORE you place your next order the following week.
When you get to your check-in, please let the greeter know you also have a special order to pick-up. The order is packed separate from the regular share.
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