Beekeeping
Beekeeping
A dedicated section on biodynamic beekeeping is being created here. In the meantime, we already stock the very popular winter feed tea for bees after Matthias K. Thun, along with some initial information about it. We also have two books. We are currently expanding our reading list on beekeeping true to the nature of the bee.
Winter feed tea (bee feed) after Matthias K. Thun
What is winter feed tea?
This tea additive serves to strengthen the organism of the individual bee so that it becomes less susceptible to disease. According to Matthias K. Thun himself, in more than 35 years of keeping bees he was able to do without any medication for his bees thanks to the tea additive. Rudolf Steiner recommends chamomile tea and a pinch of salt; Matthias K. Thun's further development contains tea made from all the plants from which the biodynamic preparations are made. The tea additive contains the dried flowers of the biodynamic preparation plants yarrow, chamomile, dandelion and valerian, as well as dried stinging nettle, oak bark and horsetail.
How is winter feed tea used?
The winter feed is first mixed from sugar and water in a ratio of 2:1, i.e. 1 litre of water to 2 kilos of sugar. To this, 5% to 10% blossom honey is added. Finally, 1-2 litres of tea are added per 100 litres of finished solution in order to enrich the winter feed with the necessary flower forces. The teas are each made individually with approx. 250ml of water and then mixed together.
For 100 litres of finished feed solution, 3g of each plant is needed.
Yarrow, chamomile, dandelion flowers and valerian flowers are each covered with approx. 250ml of boiling water and strained after 15 minutes. Stinging nettle, oak bark and horsetail are likewise first soaked in approx. 250ml of cold water for approx. 5 minutes and then brought to the boil. After steeping for ten minutes, they are strained.
Literature on the topic
Michael Weiler – der Mensch und die Bienen
What happens between the visit to the flower and the enjoyment of honey remains hidden from us. Only the beekeeper who tends the bees can study this cosmos of the bee colony and its life processes. And even experienced professional beekeepers are moved and amazed again and again when the hive is opened. "Der Mensch und die Bienen" is not a beekeeping manual. Michael Weiler, beekeeper, former teacher and also a specialist adviser for Demeter beekeeping, addresses everyone who is fascinated by bees in any way and wants to know more about these insects. As an experienced observer and precise storyteller, he takes readers along to his bees and reports on everything there is to see and experience there. Through reading, they can share in the mysterious and wonderful life of bees. In the end, not only is their thirst for knowledge quenched, but their view has also changed, imperceptibly and quietly. Readers will wander through the world of bees and flowers with different eyes and different feelings.
Matthias K. Thun – Die Biene, Haltung und Pflege
In the arrangement of the seeds of the sunflower we find the five-pointed star that arises from the rhythms of Venus. The bee lives with the same Venus rhythms. In the physical structure of comb building, the bee uses the same hexagonal forces that formed rock crystal in the development of the Earth. This signature can be found in all areas of the bee's life. It accompanies the reader through this book.
