Gauteng Smallholder April 2017 | Page 21

will allow us to crop off most of the honey , hopefully an average of 26kg per hive , and to move the bees back to the Eastern Highveld to the cosmos and soya bean fields around Delmas and surrounding areas, where we have also had to visit farmers for permission to place our bees . It is to these areas that we expect an average of 14kg of honey per hive , to top up our planned target of 40kg per hive for the season . Our remaining 250 hives will be on permanent sites of eucalyptus , soya beans , cosmos and blackjacks , some on apiaries in and bordering urban areas . We will have contracted some hives for pollination of kidney beans , sunflowers , pumpkins , water melons , and a range of berry growers who come to us . We have some hives on a lavender farm to obtain that special lavender honey .
The ultimate success of beekeeping , be it a small hobbyist operation or full time commercial undertaking is to keep proper records of each apiary site and continually plan ahead to avoid mistakes and shortcomings which result in improvements , seasonally , monthly , weekly and daily . Our planning includes winter management , spring cleaning and summer management , and cropping of the honey at

MACHINERY

‘ The @%&# ing thing won ’ t start !’

You work up a good sweat pulling and pulling on the starter cord of your two-stroke brushcutter , chainsaw or mower , only to have it emit a disappointing phutphutphutphut sound . Relax . Here are a few

From page 18
They might not be Health & Safety-approved , but here are some tips to starting even the most recalcitrant two-stroke engine
pointers and tips to getting even the most work-shy twostroke engine fired up . For this , however , you will need a compressor , or an electric drill . And note , however , that these bush-mechanic solutions will probably invalidate any warranty or manufacturer ' s guarantee that may exist on your machine . If your machine has worked hard in the previous season and has not been serviced , a good clean up may be enough to free up its airflow to enable it to draw in fresh air . This , of course , refers to its
Continued on page 21

BEEKEEPING the correct times . One must keep the plans simple in order that one can achieve their ultimate objectives, so that at the end of the day one enjoys the fruits of success . For more information on beekeeping contact Peter Clark , author of Tales of an African Beekeeper and chairman of the Eastern Highveld Beekeepers Association , tel 011 362-2904

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