Door County Beekeepers Club

January 21, 2019 – Meeting Cancellation Notice!

Due to the weather forecast for tomorrow night, our DCBC meeting is cancelled. Everyone please stay safe and warm!

January 22, 2019 – Our first meeting of 2019 will be held at the Door County Library (Sturgeon Bay) in the Jane Green Meeting Room (2nd floor) on January 22 at 6:30pm.

Topic: Honey Color, the How and Why, and their Plants
Presenter: Kent Pegorsch

Kent is the president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association (WHPA). His program will cover honey flavors and color from different nectar sources. Kent will also have a collection of honey from around the world that he will provide samples and share. He will conclude his program with a brief overview of the WHPA and the benefits of membership.

December 26, 2018 – Announcing Max’s 2019 Beginner Beekeeping Class
What: Introduction to keeping honey bees as a hobby
Presenter: Max Martin, local beekeeper for 20 years
When: Saturday, January 12, 8am to Noon
Where: UW Peninsular Agricultural Research Station, 4312 Hwy 42 Sturgeon Bay, WI
Cost: $35.00 (pay at the door)

Beverages and light snacks will be provided. Class limited to 25.
For reservations please call 920-743-8457 or email mwmarti1@wisc.edu.

December 16, 2018 – The December meeting of the Door County Beekeepers Club will be held at the Crossroads in Sturgeon Bay at 6:30pm on Tuesday, December 18th.

On the agenda:
• Pot Luck Social! Bring a dish to pass and enjoy fellow beekeepers company!
• Max Martin will demonstrate how to make bee candy for the winter to feed your bees. Recipes will available.
• 2019 Meeting Calendar copies will be hot off the press and available!

November 24, 2018 – This month’s Door County Beekeepers Club Meeting will be held at the Crossroads in Sturgeon Bay at 6:30pm on Tuesday, November 27th.

Topic: Varroa mite life cycle and control caution using oxalic acid
Presenter: Kevin O’Donnell (DCBC club member)
Case Study: Negative behavioral effects from Oxalic Acid Vaporization on honey bee colony, vitality, brood and honey production. This study was done by Kevin as a field study experiment for the University of Montana Master Beekeeping Course.

October 18, 2018 – The October DCBC meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 23 at 6:30pm at the Door County Library, 107 S. 4th Ave, Sturgeon Bay, in the Downstairs Meeting Room.

Topic: Marketing Your Honey Products
Presenters: Heather Spetz, Door County Beekeeper and producer of ‘MotherSun’ honey products. Heather will share her experience in marketing her products:
• Labeling – what is required, what is attractive
• Selling – word of mouth, road side stand, stores, and Farmers Markets, etc..
Group input from others and their marketing products and experiences. Bring your labels and products to show and tell (Lip balm, Facial creams, Soaps, Cutting board finishes, Pollen, Propilis, Candles)! If you have recipes to share, bring them along.

September 20, 2018 – Our next Door County Beekeepers Club Meeting will be held at the Crossroads in Sturgeon Bay at 6:30pm on Tuesday, September 25th.

Topic and Presenters : Maintain and store your beekeeper’s equipment (boxes, frames, tools etc.) once the honey extraction season has ended. Local beekeepers will share steps that have been effective for them.

Honey Tasting Social: Let’s share a taste of our bounty! Feel free to bring a sample of your honey or a sample of someone else’s to share. And/or if you’d like to bring a treat made with honey, please do. Crackers, paper plates, forks, and napkins will be supplied.

August 15, 2018 – Bee keepers, it is almost the end of August. It is time to pull your honey off your hives and start to raise some fat bees for the winter.

I will pull all my honey off at the first of September, do a mite check and treat if necessary. I’ll check my queens for age it they are marked and if they are older than 2 years, or doing poorly, I will requeen the hive with new queens after my mite treatment. I will add a half a pollen substitute paddy and start to feed them heavy sugar water. Weak hives will be combined.

See you on August 28th for the Hive Dive at the Crossroads Flow Hive. We’ll meet at 5:30 PM. This is the club hive located along the trails at Crossroads, just south of the Collins Learning Center. I will be checking the hive and demonstrating how honey is harvested from a flow hive. Following the honey harvest, I will demonstrate a powder sugar roll test for mites.

Our 6:30 PM Club Meeting will be at the Collins Learning Center at Crossroads.

July 24, 2018 – When you check your hives, be sure that your second brood box is not filled with honey, and that there is space for the Queen to lay eggs.

See you at the meeting tonight (July 24th) at Cross Roads. 5:30 hive dive, 6:30 meeting, all at Cross Roads.

June 26, 2018 – The June gathering of the DCBC on June 27, 2018 includes a Hive Dive and Meeting.

Hive Dive at Wildwood Farm @ 5:30
1693 Wildwood Road, Sister Bay, WI 54234
Max will talk to us a bit about the green drone brood frame (mite control) installed in the hives.

6:30 PM Meeting
Savory Spoon Cooking School 12042 Hwy. 42 Ellison Bay
Presenter and Topic: Janice Thomas and Max Martin – ‘The Sweet Life’. Max will discuss honey flow this time of year. Janice will lead our group in a honey pairing tasting.