Season 4 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Slovenia, the Country that Buzzes

In preparation for a trip to central Europe, I have been learning about beekeeping in the small country of Slovenia. I always learn a lot about beekeeping by looking at beekeeping in other parts of the world. It’s amazing how many good ideas, and a few bad ones, I pick up this way. Anyway, I wrote a bit about beekeeping in the quaint country of Slovenia, and today I am reading my story to you.

One of the first things I discovered during my research, is that the two million people in Slovenia are almost all beekeepers. Or they know a beekeeper. Or they know where to buy good local honey from a beekeeper. With ten thousand beekeepers, that’s a lot more than the number of people keeping bees in many much larger and more populous countries.

The country of Slovenia borders on Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Italy. What a mix! And the scenery goes from ice-capped Alps to Mediterranean seaside. We have a lot of history, culture, and beekeeping to do – so, let’s get going!

This episode was recorded in June 2025.

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Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site
About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/

Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: ron@aboutbees.net

Season 4 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Late Spring Beekeeping

Rain brings flowers, flowers bring nectar, nectar brings bees, beekeepers make honey. We are getting heavy rains here, so, of course Ron is predicting a big honey flow. This gets Bidzina’s attention. He is thinking about making comb honey with upside-down glass jars, but Ron throws cold water on the idea. Find out why.

We discuss the four things to avoid or reduce granulation, before removing the honey as well as after it’s been extracted. These include the fructose/glucose ration, which depends on nectar source. We talk a lot about this and the other factors that contribute to granulation. Listen for number four, you won’t believe it!

Bidzina backtracks away from the inverted jars idea and begins to consider comb honey. Marketing an interesting and unusual product, like comb honey, can be difficult so we consider places that he might go with the honey. Bidzina describes a mixed-martial arts competition coming up in Calgary where he will be selling some honey.

Conversation shifts to bees, with reference to hives that have multiple swarms and after-swarms, and the potential for a big honey crop in the Calgary area.

Next, we consider that most outreach bee presentations are for children. However, Ron spoke to elderly folks this week at two retirement homes. Maybe we are focusing on the wrong groups? Kids don’t vote and few send letters to the government to beg for morsels of help for the bees. The seniors might. Maybe we're not involving them enough.

In discussing how senior citizen beekeepers can help, we acknowledge that some old advice doesn’t stand the test of time but other ideas may be forgotten gems. This includes something that Ron learned 50 years ago about treating European Foulbrood.

Next, Bidzina shows some craft work. He has been experimenting with attractive wraps that surround a hive all year round, partly as camouflage, partly as a work of art. He wants to put lights on the decorations around the hives. I suggest that he use red light, otherwise bees may be attracted out of the hives at night. This obviously leads right into a discussion about parasites that turn honey bees into light-seeking zombies.

This episode was recorded in June 2025.

Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation.

Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site
About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/

Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: ron@aboutbees.net

Season 4 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Judging your Honey

Today we judge your honey. Not by flavour, but by the tiniest nuances of bottle fill and floating specks of bee smoker ash. Our guide is the accomplished Calgary honey judge, Linda Symmes.

If you have ever considered participating in the fine art of preparing for a honey competition, we spill some secrets from the hidden, anonymized world of the judge: what do judges actually look for when they consider your jar for the top prize? Does it pay to bribe the judge? These and other hints and suggestions are on today’s episode.

This episode was recorded in June 2025.

Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation.

Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site
About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/

Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: ron@aboutbees.net