Middlefield – As temperatures cool many of us are preparing for another NE Ohio winter, and those preparations are even more important for our local beekeepers. On Saturday, Oct 24, beekeepers from Geauga, Trumbull and Ashtabula spent the day at John’s Country Nursery learning the importance of proper care and maintenance of their hives from Garden Center Manager Christine Princic. Christine has 20 years beekeeping experience and is their resident expert.
The 20+ attendees included curious beginners, established beekeepers, and Amish farmers that appreciate the work of these native pollinators on their property. Did you know one out of every three bites of food we take can be traced back to the role of pollinators! Honeybees are extraordinarily important to our world’s food supply, and the only source of honey and beeswax. All pollinators, bees in particular, are currently facing many threats such as lack of flowers for food, pests, pathogens, pesticides, invasive plants, climate change and lack of suitable nesting sites. Gardeners can play an important role in pollinator conservation by providing plants and nesting sites for pollinators and by adapting protective gardening practices.
John’s Country Nursery offers Beginning Beekeeping classes 3 times a year, and the popularity often leads to a waiting list. Jason & Chelsea Palshook were excited to finally attend Saturday’s class since beekeeping together has played a special part in their lives. On June 17, 2018 John proposed to Chelsea by hiding her engagement ring inside one of their hives. Since they had videoed their hive inspections before, Chelsea didn’t suspect a thing as she donned all of her protective gear. John followed videotaping as she found a very ‘sweet’ surprise in the hive. The couple arrived at Saturday’s class as newlyweds having just married earlier this month.
The best time to start beekeeping is in the spring when the apple trees are just getting ready to bloom. Bee colonies have little chance of getting through the winter if not started before June 15th. It is important to have your equipment purchased and ready to go before the bees arrive in late April/early May. Now is a great time for research and preparations, a new beekeeper can plan on spending around $600 the first year. This covers all equipment, basic tools and honeybees. John’s Country Nursery carries a full line of beekeeping supplies and starts taking orders for packages of bees and 5-frame nucs after January 1st. The next bee class will be held the beginning of March 2021, but advice is always free, stop in anytime.
John’s Country Nursery, 15808 Old State Rd Middlefield, is a full-service garden center, nursery and retail store offering not only gardening supplies, and bee keeping supplies, but seasonal decor and other workshops (follow their Facebook page for class updates) They will be hosting Open House weekends Nov 13-14 and Nov 20-21, as part of the Merry Middlefield event. They will also be a toy drop off location, so bring a new, unwrapped toy and plan your visit, you’ll ‘bee’ happy you did!
