The Observation Beehive is coming together!!! Keep following the channel and the blog for more information, we are also taking orders for custom furniture
Showing posts with label Bee house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bee house. Show all posts
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Friday, September 13, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Design|Build - An Observation Bee Hive!!!
I've been charged with the task of designing and building an indoor apiary for a Seattle based clothing company!!! I'm pretty excited because I had wanted to do one of these for a while and this one is bigger than I could really find indoor space for. There are some really cool challenges to building an indoor bee hive, not having to mention bees getting loose in the store! This store has already been built out and the display floor is arranged so this build needs to mesh with the existing decor.
Since the store has a warm feeling of repurposed construction materials from salvaged wood and patina metal, I dug around for some matching materials. Since the specification for the beehive was three deep frames wide and three deep frames tall with optional space for six honey supers, I figured I'd need to use metal to get the strength and aesthetic I was after. I was able to get in the shop and spend a good day or two welding up the observation frame. It's great really getting into the groove of a project and not watching the clock and just enjoying the craft.
Stay tuned for the finished product and I hope to have enough media captured for a video on my YouTube channel!
Jason Kotarski Bees Beekeeping Apiary Honey Permaculture Welding Ironworking Metal Fabrication Furniture Office Furniture Commercial Design Build Architecture Nature
Since the store has a warm feeling of repurposed construction materials from salvaged wood and patina metal, I dug around for some matching materials. Since the specification for the beehive was three deep frames wide and three deep frames tall with optional space for six honey supers, I figured I'd need to use metal to get the strength and aesthetic I was after. I was able to get in the shop and spend a good day or two welding up the observation frame. It's great really getting into the groove of a project and not watching the clock and just enjoying the craft.
Stay tuned for the finished product and I hope to have enough media captured for a video on my YouTube channel!
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| Jason Michael Kotarski Observation Beehive |
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| Jason Michael Kotarski Observation Beehive |
Jason Kotarski Bees Beekeeping Apiary Honey Permaculture Welding Ironworking Metal Fabrication Furniture Office Furniture Commercial Design Build Architecture Nature
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Happy Easter- Joyeux Paques!!!!!
Ah J'aime les Printemps!!!!! Happy Easter, and for the Poles out there, Happy Dingus Day Eve. I love this time of year as for many almanacs it is officially planting season. For the orchards and perennials we get to see what survived and what was lost. An obvious existential insight into our lives here on this great planet.
For us we managed to not lose any fruit trees to the beaver and the deer have given us some reprieve. I think it is mere luck and little defensive adjustments but really, luck. We sacrificed dozens of Wax Myrtle for the new beaver lodge, wherever that may be, and I've been trying to add similar fast growing un-killable and deer loving plants to keep them off of the stuff I want to eat! While I certainly am not trying to attract them, I would like to distract them while they creep through in the middle of the night or while were away.
I have a good jump on the garden this year, the plastic hoop house worked wonders and we have plenty of salad greens, Our newest raised bed is just about ready for squash and zucchini. I'm also adding a layer of squash, zucchini and pumpkin in the orchard as a ground cover!
Really hope I get to add a swarm of bees this spring, with the orchard in it's third year, and the blueberries laddered in 1,2, and 3 years I really hope to get some fruit. The blue orchard mason bees are coming back and will hopefully stay in their new home. With the hop trellis up and running we should have a good harvest and very enjoyable growing summer.
So far in the Orchard level story we have Plum, Italian Plum, Persimmon, Apricot, Fig, Cherry, Apple and Pear. underneath the we have black currant, red currant, gooseberry, goji berry, evergreen huckleberry and I'll soon be adding seaberry. Surrounding those bushes are herbs and pollinator attractors, almost ALL in a blue or purple, Rosemary (4 varieties) Lavender (3 varieties), and Valerian. On the other side of the terrace from the herbs are all flowers for the bees, Lupine, Foxglove, Delphinium, Columbine, and Hollyhock.
Check back in to the blog and youtube channel! I'll be adding a copy of our Master Plan and some drawings explaining the grid planting I established intermixing nitrogen fixers, fruits, bio-accumulators, pollinator attractors and beneficial plants.
For us we managed to not lose any fruit trees to the beaver and the deer have given us some reprieve. I think it is mere luck and little defensive adjustments but really, luck. We sacrificed dozens of Wax Myrtle for the new beaver lodge, wherever that may be, and I've been trying to add similar fast growing un-killable and deer loving plants to keep them off of the stuff I want to eat! While I certainly am not trying to attract them, I would like to distract them while they creep through in the middle of the night or while were away.
I have a good jump on the garden this year, the plastic hoop house worked wonders and we have plenty of salad greens, Our newest raised bed is just about ready for squash and zucchini. I'm also adding a layer of squash, zucchini and pumpkin in the orchard as a ground cover!
Really hope I get to add a swarm of bees this spring, with the orchard in it's third year, and the blueberries laddered in 1,2, and 3 years I really hope to get some fruit. The blue orchard mason bees are coming back and will hopefully stay in their new home. With the hop trellis up and running we should have a good harvest and very enjoyable growing summer.
So far in the Orchard level story we have Plum, Italian Plum, Persimmon, Apricot, Fig, Cherry, Apple and Pear. underneath the we have black currant, red currant, gooseberry, goji berry, evergreen huckleberry and I'll soon be adding seaberry. Surrounding those bushes are herbs and pollinator attractors, almost ALL in a blue or purple, Rosemary (4 varieties) Lavender (3 varieties), and Valerian. On the other side of the terrace from the herbs are all flowers for the bees, Lupine, Foxglove, Delphinium, Columbine, and Hollyhock.
Check back in to the blog and youtube channel! I'll be adding a copy of our Master Plan and some drawings explaining the grid planting I established intermixing nitrogen fixers, fruits, bio-accumulators, pollinator attractors and beneficial plants.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Permaculture- Installling my first beehive
I've been planning to so this for over five years. I would go to beekeeping speaking events, check out books from the library, search and research articles and forums on the net but never did it. I have always had animals, dogs, cats, etc.... but never any livestock or an apiary. I finally decided to just go ahead with some leftover pieces of plywood someone had given me. They're plywood but at least they are 3/4 inch, 7 ply, A/B cabinet grade plywood! It did occur to me as I lay on the couch drifting into sleep that I forgot to add and entrance. OOPS! No worries, I'll get the jigsaw and do a quick little cut, I should have time still before any swarming occurs. It's still hovering around 40 F so I'll get to it.
I learned through my research that black or dark colored clothing was the worst option for beekeepers. Well, the plywood used to be a school theatre set and it was already painted black. Turns out it's not that bad actually for the hive and more than one long time beekeeper noted they do better than their other colored ones. Well, it is what it is and if they can make a hive in a old tire I think they'll be fine. Besides, I think they'll get morning sun to warm up and afternoon shade to stay cool along with a breeze off of the lake. Well, I guess we'll see!!!
Now, remember that blueberry mead I made? Oh yea, it'll bee back soon!
I learned through my research that black or dark colored clothing was the worst option for beekeepers. Well, the plywood used to be a school theatre set and it was already painted black. Turns out it's not that bad actually for the hive and more than one long time beekeeper noted they do better than their other colored ones. Well, it is what it is and if they can make a hive in a old tire I think they'll be fine. Besides, I think they'll get morning sun to warm up and afternoon shade to stay cool along with a breeze off of the lake. Well, I guess we'll see!!!
Now, remember that blueberry mead I made? Oh yea, it'll bee back soon!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Spring Time!!! Mason Bee House
As the Winter thaws and the blooms are budding I started building Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia Lignaria) Houses to put around the yard and hopefully the whole neighborhood should anyone ask for some. Super simple and straight forward, to start I drilled out a block of wood and capped it with some cedar for a roof.
If I get the chance I will try to pick up a pack of cocoons with larvae. I am going to try several variations of the houses and see which ones get the most action. This one is near the blueberries tucked up against a tree for rain protection and facing the morning sun.
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| Jason Kotarski |
If I get the chance I will try to pick up a pack of cocoons with larvae. I am going to try several variations of the houses and see which ones get the most action. This one is near the blueberries tucked up against a tree for rain protection and facing the morning sun.
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| Jason Kotarski |
With an ample supply of water and mud, I hope these little friends move in and help us with the garden! I'm excited to see how this year's harvest goes. We expanded the blueberry patch this year with four more bushes and are looking at four more next year.
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