How To: The World's Best Tasting Honey

WEBVTT

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May I have your attention please? The following

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is not the real Jeff Fox review. If your beehives

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have more insulation than your house, you might

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be a beekeeper. If you have a love -hate relationship

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with hay fever season, You might be a beekeeper.

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If you cried like a baby when your favorite colony

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swarmed, you might be a beekeeper. I can't wait

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for you to hear today's episode because we're

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going to have a conversation with someone whose

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bees produce the world's best tasting honey.

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Together we'll learn how she does it, where she

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does it, and how you can improve your honey.

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But first, here's something a little weird and

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interesting from the world of honey bees and

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beekeeping. Have you ever heard of purple honey?

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In the Sandhills region of North Carolina, Between

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the capital of Raleigh and Charlotte, visitors

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may not even realize what a rare ecological niche

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that they have stepped into. The region is one

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of the last homes for unique flora and fauna

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like the southern hognose snake and the Carolina

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gopher frog, both of which are endangered. But

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what it's also known for is something that university

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researchers, foodies, and conspiracy theorists

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all scratch their heads over. It's a rare and

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coveted honey in a deep shade of aubergine purple,

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and no one knows for sure what gives it that

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color, that hue. In this area, if the conditions

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are exactly right and the timing is perfect,

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beekeepers will visit their hives and find not

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just frames brimming with golden honey, but sometimes

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even honey with a deep violet glow. According

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to Paige Burns, the Richmond County Extension

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Director, it's true, nobody knows what causes

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purple honey. According to her, it's speculated

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that it's the alkalinity of the soil changing

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the honey's color as it changes hydrangeas from

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blue to pink. Another thought is that it's wild

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berries surrounding the bee's territory. And

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the idea that probably sparks the most debate

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is that it's the deep violet flower of the invasive

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kudzu vine. Beekeepers in the area have reported

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finding the beautiful purple honey in their hives

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for years, but even so, its appearance is so

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sporadic and at the whim of chance that it continues

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to be a surprise when it does appear. Purple

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honey is most likely to arise under drought -like

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conditions, and it's believed that blue -black

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huckleberries that grow on shrubs rooted in thirst

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-tolerant clay feed the bees that can't locate

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traditional, more water -dependent blooms. Okay,

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I don't have the answers for you, but if you're

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in North Carolina and can answer the purple honey

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mystery, please get a hold of me and we'll get

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you on the show. In the meantime, I would love

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to try a jar. I'd like to welcome to the show

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today our super special guest, Virginia Webb.

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How are you, Virginia? Doing great today, Eric.

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Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be with

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your show today. Thank you for inviting me. The

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big thing that we're going to learn today is

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about Virginia. Because she has the world's best

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tasting honey Now that's not from her. That's

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from not from me. That's from real live judges

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Would you tell us a little bit about that first

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and then we'll find out where you are and a little

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bit more about you The Center for honeybee research

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in Asheville, North Carolina has sponsored the

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black jar contest Which is actually a tasting

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contest where they solicit honey from around

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the world and it truly is a global international

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honey contest where you send in honeys from your

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local hives. It's judged in several different

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batches because they get thousands of entries.

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They'll go through several elimination periods

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where they're going to finalize that last 40

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or 50 jars of honey where they have specially

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trained judges who know what to look for when

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it comes to the taste of honey. And they go through

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them. They're going to be looking for the flavor

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of the area that it's from. They're going to

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look for the flour. Certainly, honey is the soul

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of the flour. That's what they want to taste

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when they taste a jar of honey. They could be

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creamed honey or liquid honey. No infused honey

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or comb honey is allowed in the competition.

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but they eliminate it down to about 40 or 50

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jars of honey and from that a panel of judges

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and I'm not sure how many exactly were in it

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this year, but I think it's about eight to ten

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judges. They have a scoring sheet that they go

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through and they look for the special taste of

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honey and the overall best tasting honey. The

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best tasting honey is not the only award they

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give. They actually give a number of awards out

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during the judging contest. It's funny. I want

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to congratulate you, but shouldn't I really be

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congratulating your bees? Absolutely. They're

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those girls that are out there working in the

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field. They're the ones who deserve all the credit

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and trust me I treat them as good as I can making

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sure they're healthy. I maintain You know, my

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apiaries, I have six of them here in the Northeast

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Georgia mountains. I keep the grass down. I make

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sure that the mite levels are very low. I have

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bear fences up here. You know, bears are native

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to North America, honey bees are not. So I definitely

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keep those up and I just make sure they're happy

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girls while they're up here. That's what it's

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all about, I guess. I mean, there's the whole

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happy cow slogan. If your bees are happy, maybe

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that adds to the flavor. I think it does. They

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just want to work that much more for you. I don't

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know. I think it does too. It's a wonderful partnership

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we have with our bees. Can you tell us a little

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bit about what they're foraging on that is making

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that honey so special? Well here in northeast

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Georgia I'm able to collect two different crops

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of honey. I harvest in the springtime honey,

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which is the clover, the locust, the blackberry,

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the tulip poplar, apple trees, blueberries, all

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of the flowers that bloom in that springtime.

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I've taken all of that honey off by the first

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of June and I'm going to be extracting that out

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and that's what I finished doing today. So when

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my bees Right now we're getting ready for the

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sour wood to bloom. I've put on dry combs, which

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means the combs are fresh and they're dry. There's

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no other honey in there. And I want to get the

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sour wood as pure as I possibly can. It's a little

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bit of an art trying to determine when the sour

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wood is going to bloom, because sour wood trees,

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which is a native tree to North America, it depends

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on the weather and the rainfall. Sourwood likes

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a wet spring and a dry summer, and it's looking

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like we could have another good year this year

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for sourwood. So I've started putting on, and

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actually all of my bees already have at least

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one super of dry comb on them. The sourwood is

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just beginning to bloom in the lower elevations.

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Sourwood does much better in higher elevations.

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So probably the middle of next week, I'll be

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checking all my bees and see if they're ready

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for a second super. Can I plant sourwood trees

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around here? You're in Utah? Yeah, I don't know

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if they'd grow. You may be able to get an ornamental

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tree. You know, the sourwood tree is known by

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several different names. If you go to a nursery,

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you'll find the sourwood tree listed as the Appalachian

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lily tree or the lily of the valley tree. So

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they are available for sale. Yeah, but would

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they live in a colder climate? I don't know.

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You talked about high elevations. How cold does

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it get? We have snow. The range of sourwood is

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generally from North Georgia through southern

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Pennsylvania and mainly in the mountain section.

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There's great sourwood locations in Tennessee,

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North Carolina, Virginia. The Shenandoah Valley

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is an excellent area for sourwood and even up

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to West Virginia and a little bit of southern

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Pennsylvania. By the way, I tried sour wood honey

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for the first time recently. One of your neighbors

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there in Georgia sent me a jar. It was fantastic.

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I'm not quite sure how to describe it. I tasted

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it and I'm like, wait a minute, is it is it sweet

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or is it sour? Is it there is kind of a sour

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something to it? I don't know. How would you

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explain it? The whole palette of it? I certainly

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would not consider it sour. If it's sour, it

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may have something mixed with it because up here

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there's virtually no other nectar producing flowers

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blooming except for a little clover, which there's

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everywhere, and then a little bit of sumac. Sumac

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can sour the honey a little bit. I try to make

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sure that I'm in areas that do not have sumac

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trees. That's that a way I can get the pure sour

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with that I can. But it has a very calming flavor

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to it. It's almost a buttery flavor to it with

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a little bit of creaminess to it. It feels very

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good on the flat part of your tongue and the

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back of your tongue. I don't have a very refined

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palate. I have a feeling the sour part just entered

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into my brain because of the term sour wood.

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So I don't know. But anyway, it was super delicious.

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That's all I know. Hey, I want to hear about

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some of your credentials, because I wrote some

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down the other day. You have three master beekeeper

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certifications? That's correct. I've been very

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blessed. The University of Georgia, the University

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of Florida, and then Eastern Agricultural Society.

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I think that I'm the only person in the United

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States to have three master beekeeping certifications,

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and I'm working on my fourth, but it won't happen

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this year. I hope that next year then I'll have

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the fourth one. And then I also read that your

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honey has been served in the White House, the

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Georgia governor's mansion, the United Nations,

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like cordon bleu, probably in heaven somewhere.

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It's quite a compliment. Yeah, funny that you

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should say that when you go to my honey house,

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the aroma of honey from the extractor is just

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fills the air. My dad once told me that he doesn't

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know what heaven looks like, but he certainly

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knows what heaven smells like. It's going to

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smell like a honey house with that fresh harvest

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of honey being extracted out that just absolutely

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fills the air. And I've always loved that quote

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from my dad. I'm going to quote him on that.

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That is a good one. So one of the other things

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that I was curious about, it sounds like you

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know a lot about honey judging as well. Have

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you been a Honey Judge? I've been a Honey Judge

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for nearly 50 years. Okay. I'm very fortunate

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to have worked with some absolutely wonderful

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judges in the past. W .O. Kennedy and Mr. Leslie

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Little from Tennessee back in the mid -1970s.

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I first trained as a Honey Judge there. I've

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also been certified in North Carolina and in

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Maryland. But I've also recently, within the

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last 20 years, become a part of the Welsh honey

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judging program. Although I don't judge that

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way anymore, I think it's too subjective. There's

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too many variables in there. I do still judge.

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I've judged at the American Beekeeping Federation.

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And also, I'm a senior judge at the World Beekeeping

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Federation, or Appamundia, which hosts the World

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Honey Show every two years. And you're headed

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to Copenhagen this year? I am. I'm going and...

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in September and you should be there. This is

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the place to be on this planet for a bee meeting

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in 2025. 10 ,000 beekeepers will be there. 350

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to 400 vendors, you know, that are just fabulous

00:12:50.289 --> 00:12:52.970
from all over the world. I think there'll be

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beekeepers represented on every continent except

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Antarctica. So it's a great meeting. It's a great

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place to be with beekeepers. You have manufacturers.

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You have honey sellers. You have equipment. makers.

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You have hobbyist beekeepers up to people who

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have tens of thousands of hives that will be

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there. The scientific program is absolutely the

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best one in the world. Dr. Jeff Pettis, formerly

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from the Beltsville Bee Lab, he is the president

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of Appamundia and he is absolutely doing a fantastic

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job in making sure we're going to have a wonderful

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Appamundia in September. It's being hosted by

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the Scandinavian Beekeeping Associations of Denmark,

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Sweden and Norway, I believe. And they have been

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working on this for four years to make sure that

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they welcome the world beekeepers to this program.

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And I will add Copenhagen is a beautiful city.

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If you have not been there, you will love it.

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I'm looking forward to it. Thank you. Lots of

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people have entered honey competitions. And they're

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going to say, Virginia, what is the secret? What

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can I do? Because my bees are just as good as

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everybody else's bees. Every beekeeper lives

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in a different area. And they have different

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flowers that are blooming, that they have different

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honey sources. It's really, you know, you just

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need to harvest your very best honey. That's

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all it is. The best honey in the world, the very

00:14:22.789 --> 00:14:25.570
best honey that you can find in the world is

00:14:25.570 --> 00:14:27.990
the honey that comes from your own beehives.

00:14:31.370 --> 00:14:33.590
Quick break to thank our presenting sponsor,

00:14:33.950 --> 00:14:36.669
Man Lake. Whether you're a beekeeper or not,

00:14:37.070 --> 00:14:39.690
you know that nutrition is key for healthy honey

00:14:39.690 --> 00:14:43.320
bees, native bees, and other pollinators. The

00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.059
Man Lake app is a great resource for determining

00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:49.059
pollinator friendly plants that thrive in your

00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:52.360
area. And its plant identification feature is

00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:56.080
super helpful and fun. When I see a plant covered

00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.620
in bees, I fire up the app on my phone, I find

00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:02.500
out what that plant is, and then I can put them

00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:06.240
in my own yard. The bees love it. If you haven't

00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:08.779
already downloaded the Man Lake app, give it

00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:17.289
a try today. Oh, and by the way, it's free. You'll

00:15:17.289 --> 00:15:19.450
never taste anything better than what those girls

00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:21.690
in your backyard are making. That's the best

00:15:21.690 --> 00:15:24.429
honey you can eat. Now, certainly I was very

00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:26.889
blessed, and this is my second time winning best

00:15:26.889 --> 00:15:29.269
tasting honey in the world. It's not my first,

00:15:29.330 --> 00:15:31.429
it's my second, and I'm the only one to have

00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:35.110
won two times. I was very blessed with a wonderful

00:15:35.110 --> 00:15:37.909
harvest last year, and I was able to enter. But

00:15:37.909 --> 00:15:40.110
there were some other great prizes that were

00:15:40.110 --> 00:15:44.169
also awarded, including honey from Saudi Arabia,

00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:48.809
Turkey, Greece, Spain. Try to remember the other

00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:52.049
ones, but there was about five or six other countries

00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:55.289
that were represented on that final showbench

00:15:55.289 --> 00:15:59.029
with honey that was awarded. And remember again,

00:15:59.070 --> 00:16:01.149
it's not just the top prize, they give other

00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:05.620
prizes too. European honey, I think South Pacific

00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:07.899
honey, and then they have regions in America

00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:11.259
that they also give awards to. How long have

00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:13.419
you been keeping bees? I've been keeping bees

00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:16.360
a long time. My father gave me my first hives

00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:21.879
in 1963. I was able to enjoy 4 -H when I was

00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:24.320
in high school, and I was the first state winner

00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.120
in beekeeping at the state competition, and then

00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.899
I went on to nationals. That's where I got my

00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:32.110
first Scholarship. I also continued working with

00:16:32.110 --> 00:16:34.870
beekeeping organizations in Tennessee and I was

00:16:34.870 --> 00:16:37.940
a former Tennessee state honey queen. I did have

00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:41.740
a few years after college and after just a few

00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:43.799
years that I wasn't keeping bees, but I have

00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.279
to tell you, it was only a couple of years. I

00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:48.840
started keeping bees again when I lived in Atlanta,

00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.919
Georgia, downtown Atlanta, Buckhead. I was called

00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.639
the Buckhead Beekeeper for many years. And I

00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:58.259
started keeping bees in the urban setting. But

00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:00.840
then I also bought a farm up in Northeast Georgia,

00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:03.399
and I kept bees up there for several years. And

00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:07.430
then I found a man that I really... loved very

00:17:07.430 --> 00:17:10.609
much Carl Webb, and he was a little older than

00:17:10.609 --> 00:17:12.890
I was. He had already retired. I was working

00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:15.769
for a bank at that time. I was an officer with

00:17:15.769 --> 00:17:19.670
a bank. And keeping bees on the side, my family

00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:22.390
was always a hobbyist beekeeper, but we did keep

00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:27.069
up to about 75 or 80 hives. But we fell in love

00:17:27.069 --> 00:17:30.650
and got married, and he had a couple hundred

00:17:30.650 --> 00:17:33.450
hives, but we grew our beekeeping business to

00:17:33.450 --> 00:17:36.970
about 600 hives. And we kept that for many, many

00:17:36.970 --> 00:17:40.250
years as a husband and wife operation. He died

00:17:40.250 --> 00:17:42.970
just a few years ago, but I continue that tradition

00:17:42.970 --> 00:17:47.789
and I'm loving every minute of it. Again, I'm

00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:50.009
working in the bees not every single day, but

00:17:50.009 --> 00:17:52.410
I'm certainly working with my business every

00:17:52.410 --> 00:17:54.970
day that I can. Well, this show is all about

00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:58.150
the love of the honeybees. Just what is it that

00:17:58.150 --> 00:18:00.990
you love about them? I can tell you've got it.

00:18:01.269 --> 00:18:03.670
You've got the spark. I can just say honeybee

00:18:03.670 --> 00:18:05.730
and you start smiling and your cheeks get a little

00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:08.450
rosy. Well, some things that I've been very proud

00:18:08.450 --> 00:18:10.609
of is I've really enjoyed teaching others about

00:18:10.609 --> 00:18:13.410
bees and beekeeping. I have a couple programs

00:18:13.410 --> 00:18:15.309
later this year that I'm going to be doing wax

00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:18.690
programs with and also some mentoring programs.

00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:21.309
But one thing that I've been very proud of is

00:18:21.309 --> 00:18:23.490
teaching young people and children about bees

00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:26.150
and beekeeping. And I have several videos that

00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:28.849
you can find on YouTube, educational programs

00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:32.529
about keeping bees and what the honeybee is and

00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.170
how important it is to our agricultural society.

00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:39.950
You can also find some videos on there for preparing

00:18:39.950 --> 00:18:42.569
Honey Show entries, and those are very, very

00:18:42.569 --> 00:18:45.009
popular. And a lot of people from all over the

00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.750
world contact me every week. I get a little email

00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:50.829
from someone who said that they watched my videos

00:18:50.829 --> 00:18:53.670
and really enjoyed learning about how to show

00:18:53.670 --> 00:18:56.650
honey. Some other things that I've been involved

00:18:56.650 --> 00:19:00.089
in is that I have worked with the prison program

00:19:00.089 --> 00:19:03.470
for the state of Georgia, Lee Arendale State

00:19:03.470 --> 00:19:05.769
Women's Prison. We do have a beekeeping program

00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:08.430
there. It is shutting down because they're moving

00:19:08.430 --> 00:19:11.210
the women to another centralized prison program,

00:19:11.349 --> 00:19:14.410
but I've been with that for six years. I've also

00:19:14.410 --> 00:19:17.950
worked with USAID and teaching beekeeping abroad.

00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:21.329
in Central America, South America, the Caribbean,

00:19:21.690 --> 00:19:24.849
and in Europe. So I've done some traveling with

00:19:24.849 --> 00:19:27.529
the beekeeping also. We had somebody else on

00:19:27.529 --> 00:19:30.890
the show recently from Canada that was talking

00:19:30.890 --> 00:19:34.390
about doing a beekeeping program with the prison

00:19:34.390 --> 00:19:38.509
that's in her area with incarcerated men. And

00:19:38.509 --> 00:19:41.089
it just sounded like they were having such an

00:19:41.089 --> 00:19:44.109
amazing experience. And it was really helping

00:19:44.109 --> 00:19:48.819
with their rehabilitation, with their Oh gee,

00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:51.839
their emotional focus and state of mind and everything

00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.240
else. What kinds of benefits did you see for

00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.849
the women that you worked with there? You know,

00:19:57.170 --> 00:20:01.049
prison work is very difficult. It's a vocational

00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:03.869
program that they offer, along with some other

00:20:03.869 --> 00:20:06.529
life skills that women can use. They do welding,

00:20:06.869 --> 00:20:10.390
carpentry, small engine repairs, mechanics, and

00:20:10.390 --> 00:20:13.410
cosmetology. So beekeeping was a new program

00:20:13.410 --> 00:20:16.650
for this prison for women. It's been in the men's

00:20:16.650 --> 00:20:18.750
programs for a number of years, but this was

00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:20.990
the first women's prison that we had been able

00:20:20.990 --> 00:20:22.789
to go through, and that's in conjunction with

00:20:22.789 --> 00:20:26.269
the Georgia Beekeepers Association. Most of the

00:20:26.269 --> 00:20:28.329
women that we have that are in this program,

00:20:28.690 --> 00:20:31.829
they have never been inside a beehive. They don't

00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:34.750
know anything about bees or beekeeping. So they're

00:20:34.750 --> 00:20:38.029
starting from the very, very basics. It's wonderful

00:20:38.029 --> 00:20:42.289
to see the light in their eyes and talk about

00:20:42.289 --> 00:20:44.630
what they're doing with the beekeeping program,

00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:48.230
extracting their own honey, treating the bees

00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:51.420
for mites. If a swarm happens that they're able

00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:53.819
to get, they're able to go ahead and capture

00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:56.359
that swarm. They go through the same process

00:20:56.359 --> 00:21:00.259
that you and I do. We also have, with the University

00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:02.839
of Georgia, a master beekeeping program at the

00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:05.319
prison systems here in Georgia. And a number

00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:07.900
of the inmates in Georgia have been able to reach

00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:10.279
that master beekeeping level. And that's something,

00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:13.619
too, I'm also very proud of. That's fantastic.

00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:17.059
What does it do for someone personally, though?

00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.579
Can you give us an example of one person that

00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:22.059
you saw? And I don't know how well you get to

00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:24.039
know them. Maybe you don't have a chance to get

00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:26.500
to know them well enough. I could cry at this

00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.980
one. We actually wrote about this. Julia Mahood,

00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:33.019
who heads the program at Lee Arendale, she and

00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:34.859
I wrote an article for one of the B magazines

00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.500
a few years ago, and about April. I'll just give

00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:41.140
her first name, April. She is a lifer. She will

00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:43.819
be up for parole in another five to 10 years.

00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:46.730
She was the first time offender. When she was

00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:50.109
incarcerated, her family pretty well cut her

00:21:50.109 --> 00:21:52.730
off, even though she kept, and she does have

00:21:52.730 --> 00:21:56.670
a couple children. They're adults now, but she

00:21:56.670 --> 00:21:58.849
did keep their name on file if they wanted to

00:21:58.849 --> 00:22:03.490
visit. So she's always been very sweet, always

00:22:03.490 --> 00:22:07.390
a helper and everything. But when it comes to

00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:09.890
visitation days, and that's mostly on Saturdays

00:22:09.890 --> 00:22:13.539
and holidays, She's one of the individuals that

00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:17.420
stays in her cell or in her block because she

00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:20.539
doesn't have a lot of visitors. And then one

00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:24.119
day at Saturday, the guard came out and said,

00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:26.819
April, you have a visitor. And she said, oh,

00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:29.079
it must be my sister who comes to visit once

00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:32.759
or twice a year. So she went up to the guard

00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:35.140
house where they have to go through a screening

00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:40.099
to get into a visit with family members. and

00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:42.700
she looked through the window, and that's when

00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:46.420
she started shaking very bad. It was one of her

00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:50.079
daughters. She had not seen them since she had

00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:51.779
been in prison, and she's been in prison more

00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:56.559
than 20 years now. And she was just amazed. So

00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:59.799
when she went into the greeting area where they're

00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:02.859
allowed to meet with family, the visitation hall

00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:05.599
there, they have to set on two different, or

00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:10.829
a table. with one person on each side. And she

00:23:10.829 --> 00:23:13.730
just says, why are you here? I've written you

00:23:13.730 --> 00:23:17.430
all these years. I've sent you Christmas cards,

00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:20.069
birthday cards. I've never heard from you. And

00:23:20.069 --> 00:23:23.670
I just never understood why you didn't call or

00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:26.349
why you did not call, why you didn't visit or

00:23:26.349 --> 00:23:29.089
send something to me. And her daughter looked

00:23:29.089 --> 00:23:33.309
at her and said, well, I took a beekeeping class

00:23:33.309 --> 00:23:37.549
up in Bumpkin County, North Carolina. And they

00:23:37.549 --> 00:23:41.069
talked about a prison program here in Georgia.

00:23:42.009 --> 00:23:45.089
And they mentioned Lee Arendale. And you had

00:23:45.089 --> 00:23:47.130
said in your Christmas letter that you were starting

00:23:47.130 --> 00:23:49.690
to teach to learn about bees and beekeeping.

00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:53.109
And I thought I would come and share some of

00:23:53.109 --> 00:23:55.970
what I've learned with you. That is so awesome.

00:23:56.240 --> 00:24:00.000
It really is. It melts my heart. It really does.

00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:03.039
And we have women in our program that are lifers

00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:06.059
without and some will come and go, but we do

00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:08.779
have success stories. And especially in the men's

00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:11.480
side, we've had a number of very successful people

00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:13.920
who have gotten out of being incarcerated and

00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.960
they've gone to work with commercial beekeeping

00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:19.099
organizations. So there is a lot of success there.

00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:21.480
Again, I'm very proud to be a part of it and

00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.420
the Georgia Beekeepers Association has been the

00:24:25.009 --> 00:24:28.690
cornerstone of that organization of helping prisons

00:24:28.690 --> 00:24:32.750
and the beekeeping program in many of the prisons

00:24:32.750 --> 00:24:34.869
here in Georgia. I think there's five or six

00:24:34.869 --> 00:24:37.990
that we're now in. That's very cool. All right,

00:24:37.990 --> 00:24:40.009
I want to shift gears a little bit in the last

00:24:40.009 --> 00:24:42.849
few minutes that we have here and ask something.

00:24:43.369 --> 00:24:47.079
I very often ask beekeepers if you had advice

00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:50.420
for a brand new beekeeper, what would it be?

00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:52.240
But I want to do something a little bit different

00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:55.160
with you if you don't mind. And that is I have

00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:58.019
met some beekeepers over the last few years that

00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:01.660
after their first or second year or third year

00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:05.500
of having bees die and then maybe die again,

00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:09.880
they just give up. So if someone is maybe in

00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:13.000
that situation or getting close to it, what advice

00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.619
do you have for them? You know, they put in all

00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:18.000
the money for the equipment they have, they bought

00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.339
the suits, the smoker, they've painted their

00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:23.500
hives, they're really pretty, and they get through

00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:26.000
that first winter and come January, February,

00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:28.819
the bees are gone. How disappointing that is.

00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:32.220
I just have to tell them, please, first of all,

00:25:32.299 --> 00:25:34.400
you need to be a part of a local beekeeping club.

00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:36.809
You need to find out what's going on in your

00:25:36.809 --> 00:25:39.130
area. The next thing is you need to remember

00:25:39.130 --> 00:25:42.430
you have to check for mites. Mite loads are very

00:25:42.430 --> 00:25:44.970
much the reason why a third of the bees are dying

00:25:44.970 --> 00:25:49.130
worldwide every year. We need beekeepers. It

00:25:49.130 --> 00:25:52.369
is so important that we have honey bees. I tell

00:25:52.369 --> 00:25:54.809
people all the time, it doesn't matter if you

00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:57.269
live in an urban setting or a rural setting.

00:25:57.569 --> 00:26:00.220
You can be able to keep bees. Now, there may

00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:03.579
be exceptions where you live in a pud or an HOA

00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:05.559
that doesn't allow it, but you may be able to

00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:08.819
find a farmer or a neighbor who allows you to

00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:12.160
keep bees. It's so important. And when you go

00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.940
to that beekeeping club, talk to the leadership

00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:17.579
of that club. Tell them your struggles. See if

00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:20.140
you can find a mentor. That would be the best

00:26:20.140 --> 00:26:23.240
thing to happen with the bees. I have a number

00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:25.420
of people that I mentor with the beekeeping,

00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.900
and it's really important. It's important also

00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:32.359
that we have a healthy beekeeping industry. You

00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:35.319
know, someone once told me that Einstein said

00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:38.539
that if the bees die, mankind would die in four

00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:42.240
years. Well, that's not true. Maybe Fred and

00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.400
Einstein said it, but it certainly wasn't Albert.

00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:47.579
We have a number of fruits, excuse me, vegetables

00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:52.980
that need no vector or beneficial insect to live.

00:26:53.259 --> 00:26:57.849
Wheat. corn, rice, and barley need no beneficial

00:26:57.849 --> 00:27:02.009
insect to produce food. But look how dull our

00:27:02.009 --> 00:27:04.150
plates would be without those beautiful vegetables,

00:27:04.410 --> 00:27:07.410
fruits, nuts, and lagoons, without the honeybee.

00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:10.470
I tell people all the time, you know, how important

00:27:10.470 --> 00:27:13.410
honeybee is to our agricultural industry because

00:27:13.410 --> 00:27:16.769
we cannot be a free and prosperous country if

00:27:16.769 --> 00:27:19.750
our food source is controlled by someone else.

00:27:20.299 --> 00:27:24.259
After you pass dirt, water, and sunshine, the

00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:27.200
next most important thing we have to grow food,

00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:32.400
to feed 8 billion people on this planet is pollination.

00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:36.079
Keeping a healthy beekeeping industry also keeps

00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.960
a healthy agricultural industry. That's a great

00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:41.619
answer. I'd also love to add to that, if you

00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:45.380
don't mind. Part of what I love about beekeeping

00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:49.279
is that it's not easy. There is so much to learn

00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.019
and to keep learning and you think you know it

00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:54.240
and then you need to keep learning because something

00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:57.700
changes. We've all heard the old saying, ask

00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:00.900
a question to 10 beekeepers and you'll get 11

00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:03.420
different answers. There's a lot of variations

00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:07.680
of that too. I find that even with myself. I

00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:10.160
can ask myself the same question and get five

00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:13.500
different answers. Beekeeping is not that easy,

00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:16.460
but the challenge is part of what's so great

00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:20.059
about it. And there are a lot of success stories,

00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:23.000
and I'm sorry that people lose their bees, but

00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:26.359
you need to keep those bees. We need those bees

00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:29.579
in urban, suburban, and rural settings. It's

00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:33.180
so important to maintain. Even small beekeepers

00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:36.140
are very valuable. I want to encourage people,

00:28:36.259 --> 00:28:38.960
if they do lose their bees, many times I'll help

00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:41.980
them get a hive started again in the springtime,

00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:45.410
either through a swarm. or I may do a split that

00:28:45.410 --> 00:28:48.630
I don't need, or I could easily just do a split

00:28:48.630 --> 00:28:51.069
from a hive and let them have another hive to

00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:54.609
get started again with. And I really am enjoying

00:28:54.609 --> 00:28:56.730
doing that for a number of beekeepers here in

00:28:56.730 --> 00:28:59.930
Northeast Georgia. You are the sweetest thing.

00:29:00.769 --> 00:29:02.910
All right. This is my favorite time. I get to

00:29:02.910 --> 00:29:05.849
ask you, can you tell us a wild and crazy beekeeping

00:29:05.849 --> 00:29:09.759
story that you've had? Oh, my. You've probably

00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:12.660
had a million of them, but pick a couple. Yeah,

00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:15.599
I've had one to where I've accidentally backed

00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:20.660
the truck into a little marshy area and it's

00:29:20.660 --> 00:29:24.609
loaded with bees and it's dark and it's... wet

00:29:24.609 --> 00:29:28.730
and it's cold and it's, yeah, I've had done that

00:29:28.730 --> 00:29:31.109
only a couple, well, just one time I've done

00:29:31.109 --> 00:29:34.269
it really, really bad. And we've had to get a

00:29:34.269 --> 00:29:35.890
wrecker to come in and pull us out. And we've

00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:38.930
never had a wrecker had ever come to pull anybody

00:29:38.930 --> 00:29:43.089
with honey bees on their truck before. So that's

00:29:43.089 --> 00:29:46.369
a pretty wild story for me. Was the wrecker afraid?

00:29:46.670 --> 00:29:49.029
No, he wasn't. I had an extra suit. Well, my

00:29:49.029 --> 00:29:51.750
husband did, too. We had extra equipment on us.

00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:54.589
But no, he just pulled us out. And thankfully,

00:29:54.589 --> 00:29:57.250
I was able to back it into the right location

00:29:57.250 --> 00:30:00.029
the next time. Oh, good. How many hives do you

00:30:00.029 --> 00:30:03.730
run, by the way? I'm running about 150, 160 hives

00:30:03.730 --> 00:30:07.089
right now. That's about all that I as an individual

00:30:07.089 --> 00:30:09.990
can really handle by myself. I was just going

00:30:09.990 --> 00:30:12.930
to ask you do all that by yourself. That's a

00:30:12.930 --> 00:30:15.650
lot. I have a part -time worker who works about

00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:20.170
8 to 12 hours a week when needed. Sounds like

00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:22.710
there's a ton we can learn from you. Give me

00:30:22.710 --> 00:30:24.829
a link. I'll stick it in the show notes to your

00:30:24.829 --> 00:30:27.750
YouTube channel. So I've learned a couple of

00:30:27.750 --> 00:30:32.150
things here today. One is if I ever want to do

00:30:32.150 --> 00:30:36.849
well in a honey show to enter one that Virginia

00:30:36.849 --> 00:30:41.210
Webb is not competing in. I don't enter very

00:30:41.210 --> 00:30:43.650
many honey shows anymore. I tell you I don't.

00:30:43.690 --> 00:30:46.509
And it was just a whim that I entered this one

00:30:46.509 --> 00:30:48.730
this springtime. I was really shocked. I said,

00:30:48.829 --> 00:30:50.650
I think I'll go ahead and send in an entry. I

00:30:50.650 --> 00:30:54.150
know that Carl had sent me a link for it. And

00:30:54.150 --> 00:30:56.890
I said, OK, I'll send a couple entries in. So

00:30:56.890 --> 00:30:59.630
that's the only reason why I did it. But yeah,

00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:01.670
you're not going to see my honey and many honey

00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:04.309
shows anymore. You're welcome to go ahead and

00:31:04.309 --> 00:31:07.400
enter. And please do. Do you have any other secrets

00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:10.299
to making great honey and keeping super happy

00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:14.859
bees? I just try to make it as pure as possible.

00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:18.259
I add nothing. I take away nothing. It's just

00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:21.140
extracted from the honeycomb and just lightly

00:31:21.140 --> 00:31:24.059
strained. And that's the best honey you can try

00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:27.839
is your own honey. All right, Virginia. Eric?

00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.339
Yes. What an honor it has been to be with you

00:31:30.339 --> 00:31:33.059
this evening. Thank you again for the invitation.

00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:35.859
Well, thank you. It's been a lot of fun and please

00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:41.900
keep in touch. Will do. Thanks again for joining

00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:44.720
us here on Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man

00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:48.700
Lake. Remember right now to follow or subscribe

00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:52.119
and share this podcast. Also a quick shout out

00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:55.819
to V2B Health for their support. Vita's Varroa

00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:59.400
Control range of products includes Apistan, Apigard,

00:31:59.859 --> 00:32:03.279
and now Varroxan, Extended Release Oxalic Acid

00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:06.519
Strips. Thanks guys. And remember, if you're

00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.319
not just in it for the honey or the money, you're

00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:11.359
in it for the love. See you next week.