As John and Ken are alone in the studio attempting to tackle your latest listener questions, some strange occurrences take place in the building! Very distracted, and a bit paranoid, the guys attempt to power through in order to get some answers out to Sue, Tanya, and Ann. Enjoy!
Its time for a quick refresher on some of the basic beekeeping terms. Join John as he gives Ken an impromptu terminology quiz.
Desperate times bring out desperate bees, and the late fall periods do just that! When no other food is naturally available, and winter is fast approaching, all of nature desperately seeks out the last few morsels of food as it could be their saving grace that helps them survive the winter. This can be seen in yellow jacket colonies that are rushing to raise the new queens that will overwinter and start new colonies in the spring… by feasting on your honeybees and other unsuspecting insects. Or,...
The listener questions just keep on coming, so the guys keep the answers coming. Tune in now to catch up with Ken's hives and get your own questions answered.
These guys have no concept of time when recording, and Ken is a master at derailing a topic right off into left field. Thanks to all these factors, we present to you another assortment of random clips that were cut from previous episodes due to topic or time constraints. Enjoy!
Ken has been getting a lot of requests for bee related things as people start to learn that he has taken up the hobby. Now, he has encountered his first real moral dilemma that can come with the territory. Tune in now, and help Ken determine what the best course of action would be in this situation.
Ken just can't seem to help himself when it comes to buying things. He recently found a deal where a local beekeeper was looking to sell two complete 10 frame hives, and naturally Ken jumped on the opportunity.
What happens when you have a couple of colonies that both seem just so-so and winter is approaching? Well, one option might be to combine the two weaker colonies to create a colony strong enough to potentially survive the coming winter. In this episode John and Ken discuss how you can consolidate colonies to improve their chances at winter survival.
In this episode John and Ken speak directly to those of you who reside in the northern United States… Winter is Coming! This episode will, hopefully, help lead you in the right direction when preparing your hives to survive your first northern winter. At the very least, it will give you a lot to think about, and a lot more to look up! Are you prepared for winter?
They are those little black bugs that we try desperately to smash every time we see them. People panic the first time they see them in their colony, and even blame them for colony losses… It’s the one and only hive beetle! Come join us for this bonus episode to learn a little bit about what all the stink is over these little black beetles.
You know you love them, thats why you keep sending them in! Its time for another round of listener questions to help get you through your tough spots. This is actually our longest episode to date, and it packed full of random and useful information just for you. Enjoy!
For some of us, the summer dearth is still lingering while others are already starting to feel the approach of fall. If you have not already done so, then Its time to start your fall preparations. In this episode the guys discuss some of the things you should keep in mind during this short transitionary period between seasons.
In this episode John and Ken are left reeling after a very topsy-turvy week of beekeeping bizarreness. Nothing went as planned, and they bees were defying all normal actions for this time of year. After this week John was left with one main statement… Seriously, WTF Bees?!?!
In this bonus episode of The Hive Jive, the guys go into a bit more in depth regarding the feeding of dry pollen substitutes. Tune in now to get your powdery fix!
The summer dearth is hitting hard, and with it can come various hardships for certain beekeepers and their colonies. The guys talk about some of the recent developments in Ken’s journey including the loss of a colony due to potential over-heating, and the loss of one of the treated colonies as well. They also discuss using dry pollen feeders to help supplement your colonies, and touch on a listener’s question.
Join us for a very insightful conversation with a child prodigy. Miss Mikaila Ulmer of Me and the Bees Lemonade makes a stop by The Hive Jive to visit with John and Ken about her amazing adventures thus far. Learn about what inspired her, and how she is now inspiring others with her presentations around the world.
The guys sit down with Tara Chapman of Two Hives Honey to discuss her ever evolving company and her relationship with bees. Don't miss this exciting interview with a remarkable lady who is helping to shape the lives of other female entrepreneurs and helping them find their voice.
Join us for a Special National Honey Bee Day Bonus episode of The Hive Jive with a special guest appearance from Tara Chapman of Two Hives Honey. Ken gets a chance to tell everyone about his first ever swarm capture! Happy National Bee Day everyone!
It may be your first year keeping bees, but it doesn’t mean you can’t start planning for next year’s potential honey harvest. How much honey will you have? What will you do with it? Can you sell it? How should you market your honey if you do sell it? Join us on today’s episode as the guys dream about Ken’s future (potentially award winning) honey.
In this episode Ken and John have come across a little red devil with legs in their recent inspection that prompts their first discussion about the Mighty Varroa Mite. This is just the foreshadowing of a much larger discussion that will be had in a multiple future episodes.
The guys take the time to bask in their 5 seconds of fame after learning an online blog ranking list put The Hive Jive as the #2 beekeeping podcast to listen to in 2019. They also discuss the merits and pitfalls of social media in beekeeping. And, we check in with Ken to see what he finds most interesting after having his bees for two months.
John kicks things off with a challenge to all of you, and he offers up Ken’s Honey as the reward! On a more serious note, it’s HOT out there! How does the heat affect the bees, and how do they cope? Plus, one more time around the block on how to know when to feed during the summer dearth, and what to feed. What are you waiting on? Download the episode and press play already!
In this episode of The Hive Jive, John and Ken discuss the mystery of the vanishing queen during the summer dearth. Did you really lose your queen, or can you just not spot her? The guys also address some listener questions that concern other hive issues at the beginning of the Summer Dearth.
John and Ken take you on a long and winding road of various beekeeping topics in an episode that is far from just ten minutes long. Just when you think they might wrap it up, the guys make sharp detour while jumping from topic to topic. From using honey for wound care, to brood reduction during a dearth, and even neighborhood beekeeping disasters… you’re bound to find something of interest.
The summer dearth is fast approaching; do you know what to do? For that matter, do you know what it means? John and Ken discuss how this time of year might affect your colonies and what you can do to help them out. There might even be some talk of bears… oh my!
In what might be the shortest episode to date, John and Ken tackle a couple more listener questions. Does freezing drone brood frames help reduce varroa? Do you have to clean out the cells after, or can the bees? How do we know bees can’t see red? What do they see in its place? Should you own a red bee suit? Tune in to find out!
With all the buzz in the news lately over bees interrupting baseball games, Ken and John reach out to Dirk Morgan, savior of the bees during the Cincinnati Reds game. Ken also gives John an update on how the topbar hives are progressing.
In this episode special guest Larry Weishuhn joins Ken and John to discuss how bees are a very important part of wildlife and habitat conservation. Every living thing is connected in some way, and sometimes we just have to stop and take a really close look at how our actions and what we do can impact everything else around us.
In this episode of The Hive Jive, John and Ken discuss the difference of Supering vs Nadiring when adding new boxes to your hive. They also break down the concept of making splits if you want to increase your colony numbers.
The wait is finally over, Ken got his first bees! John and Ken spent the weekend scouting locations and setting up Ken’s first four beehives. Working with what was built and (mostly) ready to go, Ken is starting off with two standard 10 frame Langstroths Deeps, and two 19 inch style Topbar hive bodies. Join us as the guys decompress and breakdown the events of Bee Day One on Ken’s journey into beekeeping.
