the wild hive
I spent the spring and summer of 2024 learning how to keep honeybees. It was, and still is, a steep learning curve! Beekeepers are fond of saying that “the bees don’t read the same books we do” as the bees will, inevitably, surprise you on a regular basis by not doing what you expected them to do.
It has been a hugely enjoyable journey for me, much like my sourdough journey many years ago – it is greatly satisfying and thrilling when things go right; like pulling a gorgeous looking loaf of bread out of the oven or pulling a perfect frame of beautifully capped honey out of a beehive.
There is so much to learn and, as in the sourdough world, there are many different ways to go about your craft. Everyone seems to do it somewhat differently and everyone has their individual preferences. It has been an absolute joy to learn more about these fascinating creatures. Beekeeping is a lot more time consuming than I had anticipated and is also much more complicated. However, for me, that is part of the allure. I have to constantly think and keep notes to keep on top of what each hive is doing and what needs to happen next. There have also been a few painful stings as you would expect.
I picked up my first colony of bees in a NUC (a nucleus colony that comes in a small hive of just 6 frames) in April 2024. Things escalated pretty quickly and in order to stop them swarming (which is a hive’s natural reproductive process when it gets busy inside a hive) I split my colony and put half of the bees into a new hive to make them think that they had swarmed. I also caught another swarm so I went into Winter 2024/2025 with 3 hives after, unexpectedly, being able to take some honey for ourselves while leaving them with plenty of honey in late autumn. All of the hives came through the winter strong, roaring to get going this spring.
I am in a position to sell a little honey now and anticipate a good haul at the end of the summer. Virtually every beekeeper will tell you that they do not keep bees for making money – it’s simply quite an expensive hobby. Setting up an apiary was pretty pricey and there are, of course, ongoing costs, so while I am keeping bees for the pure joy of it and being able to take some honey when they have plenty, being able to recoup a little money towards these costs of keeping the bees happy and comfortable will be very welcome.
Rowse honey started in our little village, so there is quite the connection to honey here – although Rowse no longer operates from Ewelme. There is forage a plenty here and we haven’t yet suffered from “the June” gap, a period of dearth when the nectar flow stops as spring flowers finish blooming and before summer flowers come out.
I am selling our honey in 340g (12oz) glass jars for £6 each on the door and will also have cut comb available for those who like cut comb – please ask.
You can pick it up from our home near the church (please get in touch first), alternatively, we can deliver any jars to Ewelme addresses (choose Local Pickup at online checkout and state your address, 25p delivery charge applies).
Please get in touch (thewildhive@icloud.com) if you have any questions.
You can purchase our honey online here: https://wildbaker.co.uk/product/pure-ewelme-honey-340g/
Lastly, do let me know if you ever see a swarm of bees as I may be able to come and collect it (call me on 07780993938).
2025 has already been an extraordinarily swarmy year – beekeepers up and down the country are talking about the huge levels of early swarms they have seen this spring. Only 20% of swarms will survive in the wild. It is much better for these important pollinators to be collected and rehomed safely by a beekeeper.