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West Georgia Beekeepers Calendar

Fondant Recipe

When the temperatures drop and your girls stop taking sugar syrup, have some fondant ready to feed them. After you've made the fondant and it has cooled and set up on a paper plate - place it on top of the frames on the top super of your hive. The bees will chew up the paper and eat the fondant.

RECIPE

5 pounds of sugar

2-1/2 cups of water

1 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice

Honeybee Healthy or essential oils if desired (add when you beat the syrup)

Add everything except the Honeybee Healthy to a pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. After coming to a boil, stir occasionally. Cook the mixture to a temperature of 234 degrees for a soft fondant. I prefer to cook mine to 240 degrees - a little harder. DO NOT OVERCOOK AND CARMELIZE THE SUGAR - BAD FOR THE BEES.

Add a teaspoon of Honeybee Healthy or essential oil and begin to mix with a hand held mixer. Start on a slow speed and increase the speed slowly to maximum for your mixer. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SPLASH THE HOT SUGAR ON YOURSELF. IT BURNS LIKE CRAZY (Ask me how I know that). Mix continuously until the mixture starts to turn white. Then immediately pour onto paper plates - makes about 6 dinner plates. Allow to cool. You can store it just like sugar. Put wax paper between the plates if you stack them to prevent them from sticking together.

Your bees will be very appreciative on those cold winter days.

Homemade Honey-B-Healthy

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  5 Cups Boiling Water

  2 ½ LBS Cane Sugar (5-6 Cups)

  7-8 Drops Wintergreen Oil*

  15 Drops Lemongrass Oil

  7-8 Drops Spearmint Oil*

  ½ Teaspoon liquid Lecithin (emulsifier)

  Mix emulsifier with the oils. Add sugar to boiling water and stir until dissolved, add oil mixture.

  Stir until mixed well, let cool. Shake well before using.

  Add 1 TSP of Homemade Honey-B-Healthy to 1 quart of sugar syrup or 1/3 cup to 5 gallons

  You can use wintergreen oil in the bottom of your hives. Mites die almost instantly when they come in contact with wintergreen oil; bees carry the food throughout the colony and kill the mites also.

Nicot System for rearing queens

For those of you interested in the Nicot or Jenter Queen rearing system - Click here