Winter Honey bee patty(candy patty).

Winter Honey bee patty(candy patty). Your bees will need food that is within reach of the cluster at all times. Bees can die just inches away from food because they can not break the cluster. Getting your bees into one deep and placing this patty on top will help increase survival odds tremendously. It is a no-cook patty that is easy and a less expensive option than buying ready-made candy or patties.

Bees are an integral part of a homestead and keeping them alive through the winter is a must if you want honey produced on your farm.
First I build a feeding shim to place on top of the hive body. It is made from the cheapest 1inch x 2 inch material I can get. I cut them to the size of the hive and fasten them together.
I then place this on top and put a sheet of newspaper on top of the frames of the hive.
Then fill and compress the moist mixture in the shim. Cover the hive back and you have started the winter process of feeding your bees. Yes, started, this is an ongoing venture for the winter. You need to check the hive to see if they need more food applied. You will need to fill in any holes that have been eaten away. That is the spot where the cluster of bees is. The cluster can move but on very cold days that last an extended period, they will stay put in one spot. So during and after these times check the food. Don't worry about opening the hive on cold days, you should not be in there but a minute or two, and bees will die just as easily from starvation as cold.

Here is the recipe for the winter patty.
25 lb granular sugar
1-quart apple cider vinegar ( filtered is fine as long as 5% acidity)
3 Tablespoons citric acid ( find in your grocery store with canning supplies)
Lemongrass oil 25 drops apx
Spearmint oil 5 drops (give or take)
Combine all in a bucket and mix well, using a drill and a mud mixing paddle will help.
This should be the consistency of a dryer concrete mix.

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Remember to count your blessings every day and I believe you will find you are blessed beyond measure.
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