Sweet and sour: heavy rain hits honey harvest
IT WAS a summer most of us farmers want to forget. With such heavy rain, it was hard to do even mundane tasks. It’s not just farmers who suffered. Many have been predicting a disaster for Irish beekeepers, so I met with Aidan Duggan, from Dooniskey, near Lissarda in Co Cork.
Aidan has been keeping bees for years, and his artisan Dooniskey Honey is available in outlets such as O’Donovan’s, at Wilton Shopping Centre, in Cork.
Aidan is usually busy in the autumn, removing honey from the hives. I asked him how this year had been. Were the reports of doom and gloom exaggerated?
“It’s been harder than other years, and that’s for sure,” said Aidan, “We are not going to have a great crop, but nonetheless, we will have a crop.
“Beekeeping is like farming, in that a bad summer can lead to a poor-yielding harvest.
“The rain we have been getting affects bees twofold. One, it washes nectar from the flowers, and, two, it prevents bees from flying.
“If bees had their way we would have summers of the dry-and-warm variety.
“But, in spite of the wet summer, there have been opportunities for them to get about, and they have been making the most of it.
“Location of the hive is crucial to good honey production, particularly in a year like this. There is no point in locating a hive in a place where there is insufficient forage. Fortunately, for us here, the hives are located near a rich nectar source. We are very lucky, we have a fantastic habitat for bees close to the Gearagh nature reserve, and that has certainly helped.”
Aidan keeps a native Irish honey bee, which is a type best suited to the Irish environment.
The busy time for the beekeeper begins in late March. It is then that the first of the honey boxes is placed on the hive.
The diameter of the honey box is the same as the hive, so it fits directly on top of the hive, and it is into this that the bees will deposit the honey.
As the months go by, the beekeeper will monitor the bees’ progress, adding another box on top of the existing one, and so on, as the nectar flow continues into the summer. The nectar flow stops abruptly at the end of July, and it is then that the boxes are removed. The beekeeper will also ensure that enough honey is left in the hive for the bees to live on through the winter.
Aidan is a believer in artisan honey, and says the type of honey he and many small producers sell here in Ireland is of better quality, and more beneficial to consumers, than commercial honey.
“Much of the honey sold in our supermarkets is imported from countries like Argentina and elsewhere.
“And, besides the issue of the honey not having the local flavour that comes from our native and varied flora, I also believe our native, locally produced honey has another distinct advantage. Commercial honey is heated to a very high temperature. It is heated in order to extend the shelf life.
“The downside of this is that the honey suffers as a result of the heating process. After the honey is heated the taste is not as good, it damages the nutrient value, and also kills some of the enzymes within the honey.
“With honey from indigenous producers, it is produced with the minimum of handling from the hive to the jar. I don’t heat the honey above the ambient temperature that occurs in the hive. So the honey that we put on the shelves is an artisan, raw honey.
“Honey is nature’s natural sweetener, and I don’t really believe it’s a good idea to mess with nature.”
In spite of inclement weather, the job of the native Irish beekeeper continues, and the rewards can be beneficial to all.
You can contact Aidan at Dooniskey@eircom.net by email.
