JUNE 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
the hive and all of the needed beekeeping gear including
a hat, veil, gloves, hive tool, bee brush and bee smoker.
He also receives mentoring from an MBA member. After
a year if he completes the scholarship requirements he
will have full ownership of his hive. “I was pretty excited
since I was getting a beehive and the expenses weren’t as
terrible. I thought it would be a great family experience.
I thought that the scholarship would be a great way to
participate in beekeeping, so I could do it” he said.
Garrett estimates that it would cost about $300 if
he had to purchase all of the supplies necessary to start
beekeeping. It takes a full year of letting the hive get
established before you can harvest the honey, so he thinks
he can begin selling honey in August of 2017. It takes
that long for the bees to create enough excess honey so
they can live through the winter and still provide honey
to sell. According to Garrett bees make an incredible
amount of honey. He said, “From one frame, a medium
box, contains three pounds of honey. You get 46 pounds
of honey from an entire hive. “The colony has to build
up so that it’s stong enough. You let them build up a full
year and then when you take some of the honey then they
can still survive the winter,” he said. He thinks he will
be a ble to sell not just honey, but also wax that could be
made into candles and even raw honey. Garrett says one
of the benefits to enjoying local honey also helps those
suffering with seasonal allergies. The closer the honey is
sourced, the more benefits that ingesting the local honey
is supposed to have for area allergy sufferers.
The bees feed on the wildflowers that grow in the
Powell’s pastures along with sugar water that Garrett positions outside the hive. “They just love to have pollen on
their feet,” he said. He and his dad David are looking into
adding another hive stack to their location to increase the
production next year. According to Garrett, it’s important to locate your hives where the bees will be happiest.
He says that bees don’t like noise like diesel or gasoline
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engines. You also have to determine what kinds of pests
you have on your land that might impact the bees. “They
will take care of the wasps,” said Garrett, but in his hives
they are having a problem with ants getting in. His parents
are considering applying for an agricultural exemption for
their property based on Garrett’s bees. According to his
mother they would need to have at least six hives to meet
the guidelines, but they can build up their number during
the five years needed to qualify for the exemption. The
family also has goats and chickens on their property.
Garrett’s favorite time to visit the hive is in the evening
when most of the bees are inside the hive and they
are settling down. He goes outside, sometimes without
his beekeeper gear on, and according to him they are
completely calm during his visit. His mom said this isn’t
something that they recommend to others, but for Garrett
it’s a big deal because as a child he was afraid of flying
insects like bees and wasps. He knew he would get a full
beekeeper’s suit with his scholarship, but now that he has
his own hive, he’s no longer afraid of bees. “I used to be
afraid of bees when I was growing up. I knew that they
had stingers and I should stay away from them. Your hive
expects you to come out, so you have to let them get used
to you. They know when I usually come out. Bees are fine
now.”
The MBA is an organization of hobbyist, side liner
and commercial beekeepers that meet once monthly for
learning, fellowship, food and fun. Serving Tarrant and
surrounding counties in North Texas. For more information about beekeeping and to attend a beekeeping class,
the group meets the second Monday of each month at
the Southside Preservation Hall, 1519 Lipscomb St. in Fort
Worth. They also have information on their website about
their scholarship program at metrobeekeepers.net.