I began raising bees in 2012 and have expanded the hives each year since. We’ve had some major setbacks from bears (right, like, bears like honey!?! Turns out, yes.), frost, and other issues, but we’ve also had some really wonderful experiences, too – both in the quality of our honey and joy of working with the bees, but also the community that springs up around beekeeping. Thank you to our community and volunteers for helping keep our bees healthy and strong!
Presently, we keep Italian, Russian, and Carniolan hybrid bees who have been bred to resist a variety of diseases that otherwise contribute to colony collapse, but we’re also hard at work on expanding pollinator habitat on our farm and around the region. We are proud to deliver another tasty local product as well as to help support the survival of the pollinators which are necessary to maintain a robust ecosystem.
While beekeeping requires a small amount of specialized equipment to keep you and the bees safe, it can also be a rewarding hobby on any scale. Each spring and summer we host bee-keeping classes and offer volunteer opportunities to help us monitor and protect the hardest little workers on the farm. And we’re also sponsoring local hives – if you’d like to try beekeeping, we’d like to help. Contact Edwin at 703-346-6844 or on Facebook to learn more about our cost sharing program and other opportunities!