By Kath Gannaway
How’s the honey, honey?
That’s just one of the questions the judges will be asking, perhaps not in quite so familiar terms, when they look over the sweet offerings at the Lilydale Agricultural Show in November.
Greg Huggins of the Yarra Valley Bee Group, which organises the honey section at the show, is urging apiarists to start getting their entries ready now.
Entries can include honey, a frame of capped wax and, this year for the first time, a honey-based meade.
Judges will be looking for a range of attributes from clarity and uniformity of colour to density, flavour and aroma.
Greg said keeping bees is becoming increasing popular with their club, based at ECOSS in Wesburn, currently at 150 members and growing.
He has been keeping bees for three seasons now and said with bees having a hard time right now, every bit helps.
“The reasons for the growing numbers are varied,” he said.
“Some are environmental because of the world-wide plight of bees, some keep bees to pollenate their gardens, and their neighbours. Others want to get their own honey.”
The role of the Yarra Valley Bee Group is to promote bee-keeping and all its benefits.
Local shows and festivals are a great opportunity and Greg said there is enormous interest wherever bee keepers display.
One of the most common questions is “do you have manuka honey” which has healing properties.
People want to know about how they get started, and what types of hives are most suitable for different situations.
“Lots of hives struggle through winter and spring, so Greg’s advice to bee-keepers is to put aside a jar of honey or a capped frame of honey ahead of time to ensure they are not disappointed when show time comes around.
For more information about the Yarra Valley Bee Group, phone Greg on 0414 673 592.
