Andy the Northern Hiver

09/06/2026

If you have placed an order for honey and haven’t contacted me or paid, I’d advise you do so quickly because my phone is ringing off the hook for people to buy stuff and obviously money talks so if you’re not fast, you will be last!

08/06/2026

Honey is ready for everyone- message me about how you’d like to collect it (home from 6 most nights) and for payment details 07920001980

06/06/2026

🐝 Apiary Update – A Day of Highs and a Few Question Marks! 🐝

After leaving our newly collected swarm, HRH QE5, to settle in over the last few weeks, we carried out an inspection and we’re pleased to report they’re doing well. There are bees in all stages of development and the colony appears to be building nicely. We didn’t spot the queen this time, but there was plenty of evidence to suggest she’s been busy. 👑

The biggest success of the day came in HRH QE4, the colony we created from a split over a month ago. Not only did we find the new queen, but we also managed to mark her with this year’s colour – white. 🤍

As a beekeeper, there’s something special about spotting an unmarked queen for the first time. After weeks of waiting and wondering whether a split has successfully reared and mated a queen, seeing her calmly walking across the comb is a fantastic feeling. Safe to say we were absolutely buzzing!

HRH QE2 & 3 remain the colonies we’re keeping a close eye on. Following a swarm a few weeks ago, we’re hoping the new queen has successfully mated and started laying. We did find eggs during the inspection, which is encouraging, but the laying pattern looked a little erratic.

At this stage it could simply be a newly mated queen finding her feet and settling into her role. Equally, it could indicate a laying worker or a poorly mated queen. Time will tell, and we’ll know much more at the next inspection. 🤞

Beekeeping certainly keeps you humble. One hive can make your day while another leaves you scratching your head!

On the plus side we managed to harvest another 15.6kg of honey today that we aim to start bottling up tomorrow to get out to you all next week, so if you haven’t ordered any now is the time to do so.

🐝 Current score:

✅ HRH QE1 - 2024 queen doing well, all is good
❓ HRH QE2 - Failing- no sign of a queen
🤞🏼 HRH QE3 – Time will tell
✅ HRH QE4 – New queen found and marked
✅ HRH QE5 – Swarm settled and growing well

🐝🍯

06/06/2026

🍯 The honey is almost ready! 🍯

One of the most important checks before bottling is making sure the honey’s moisture content is low enough to prevent fermentation and ensure it keeps its quality for as long as possible.

Yesterday I calibrated my refractometer and tested the latest batch. I’m pleased to say everything is looking spot on, with moisture levels well within the ideal range for processing and storage.

I’ve now extracted almost 30kg of honey and will be spending the weekend filtering, settling and bottling it all up ready for everyone who has been patiently waiting over the last few weeks.

A huge thank you to my hardworking bees for another fantastic harvest, and to everyone who supports my little beekeeping adventure. I’ll be in touch soon with collection details for those who have already reserved jars.

🐝

05/06/2026

🐝🌸 Will We Even Have a June Gap This Year? 🌸🐝

One of the challenges beekeepers often face is something known as the June Gap, a period when the spring blossom has finished but the main summer nectar flows haven’t quite started.

During a poor June Gap, colonies can quickly consume their honey stores and some beekeepers may even need to feed their bees to help them through.

However, looking around my apiary and the surrounding countryside this year, I’m not convinced we’re going to see much of a gap at all.

The Rugosa roses are flowering, the foxgloves are packed with blooms, red campion is everywhere, and even the red hot pokers are providing nectar. Add to that the huge variety of meadow flowers, hedgerow plants, ornamental garden flowers and the brambles that are almost ready to burst into flower, and there appears to be an abundance of forage available.

Of course, the weather will have the final say, but from what I’m seeing around Standish at the moment, the bees shouldn’t be short of somewhere to forage.

It’s also a great reminder that every flowering shrub, wildflower patch and untidy corner of the garden can help support not only honey bees, but bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies and countless other pollinators.

🐝 What bee-friendly plants are flowering in your garden right now?

03/06/2026

That’s it’s we’ve broken into the commercial market now selling our honey 🍯 to the local gluten free bakery 🥯 Crunch Bakehouse. We tried their Honey and Apple Upside Down Cake this weekend and it was delicious- get down early for sweet and savoury gluten free baked goods (because they sell out everyday)

28/05/2026

Starting to get our pre orders ready and out to you guys in the next week or so

Just received our order from Andy the Northern Hiver really looking forward to using these in our menu next week 🤎

25/05/2026

The bees are enjoying the sun this morning

24/05/2026

🍯 Honey Harvest – Part 1 🍯

Today we carried out our first proper honey extraction of the season from three of our hives. Before harvesting, we tested the honey moisture content to make sure it was fully ripened and suitable for jarring — coming in at an excellent 17%, which is perfect for harvesting.

We selected only the ripest 17 of 66 frames before bringing them home to uncap, spin out, and filter the honey ready for settling and jarring.

Total extracted weight: 15.5kg 🍯
That’s roughly the equivalent of 44 jars of beautiful local honey!

This short video shows the whole process from hive to bucket. We’ll show the process of putting it into jars in Part 2…

23/05/2026

Spent an hour this morning mixing up 20ltrs of 1:1 sugar syrup for the bees ahead of the “June Gap” and our first honey harvest of the year 🍯🐝

For anyone wondering, a 1:1 syrup is simply equal parts sugar and water. Beekeepers use it as a temporary food source to help colonies when natural nectar supplies are low or when we’ve removed some of their honey stores during harvesting.

The “June Gap” is a period many beekeepers experience where spring flowers begin to fade before the summer blooms really get going. Even though the weather can still look great, nectar can suddenly become scarce, leaving colonies short on food if they’re not carefully managed.

All the hives are still looking strong, packed with bees and brood, so hopefully it won’t be long before we’re harvesting some lovely local Standish honey 🍯

Being a beekeeper is always a balancing act between taking a small surplus and making sure the bees themselves stay healthy, well fed and thriving 🐝