273: Hilary Kearney On Beekeeping.
Buzzing through some basics on bees, hives and honey.
Hilary owns and operates Girl Next Door Honey, and is a full-time beekeeper in her home town of San Diego, California where she provides educational opportunities for hundreds of new beekeepers each year. She is the author of the blog Beekeeping Like A Girl and maintains a popular Instagram account with over 42,000 followers around the world who are inspired by her beekeeping exploits and unique business model. When she’s not rescuing bee hives, teaching classes, photographing bees or managing one of her sixty colonies… she’s sleeping and dreaming of bees.
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In This Podcast:
Starting from a bucket list item on her boyfriend’s wall, Hilary Kearney jumped into the world of beekeeping and found her passion. She teaches us some basics about bees, beekeeping, and the honey that they produce. She also shares some tips for new beekeepers including some highlights of introducing new queens to a hive. If you’ve had an interest in beekeeping, this might just help you jump in too!
Listen in and learn about:
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- Starting it all with a bucket list item on her boyfriend’s wall
- Her first hive caught as a swarm from Craigslist
- Her transition to doing this full time
- The education and consulting processes she offers
- Getting interested in the food conversation
- Why she does not consider most store bought honeys ‘less-than-real’
- The increased popularity in hobby beekeeping
- Getting started with beekeeping
- Tips for new beekeepers
- Working with queens and introducing a new queen to a colony
- The next generation of beekeepers and the desire to be more sustainable
- Getting over the fear of bees
- Her wildest rescues including a jet ski, a garden statue, and a zoo’s koala exhibit
- The hive mind
As well as:
Her failure – Losing her first hive due to a lack of understanding
Her success – Being a full time beekeeper in San Diego
Her drive – BEES!
Her advice – Plant a pollinator garden to support your native bees
Hilary’s Blog:
Hilary’s Book recommendations:
Honeybee Democracy by Thomas
How to reach Hilary:
Her Website: www.girlnextdoorhoney.com
Email: girlnextdoorhoney@gmail.com
Instagram: @girlnextdoorhoney
Facebook: Girl Next Door honey
UrbanFarm.org/GirlNextDoorHoney
