Evergreen Acres

11/26/2022

We’ll be open for cutting trees on December 3rd. All information is on our site, www.evergreenacres.biz

11/16/2022

I was able to catch some rut action from Nick and Karen’s farm in Baltimore County. It is a rare moment to catch this especially on video. The bucks are bullying each other for breeding rights to any doe within the territory they marked. Think of teenagers on steroids!

08/21/2022

I’m sorry to announce that I’m concluding an era of growing pumpkins. This year’s crop was stunted by the excessive July rains and did not have enough vigor to stay ahead of the deer browsing. I have thousands of pumpkin plants that look like the one below. It is obvious to me they will not produce a viable pumpkin crop this year. I still have time to till them under and plant the field back to hay. Pumpkins are quite sensitive and require lots of labor to establish the crop and sell them so they will no longer be in my rotation.

07/27/2022

Set up a new lawn ornament today. It is a tree section with a bee hive in it. Best to set these in their natural position as the comb is slanted up 15 degrees from horizontal. Don’t have the history as it was harvested by a clearing crew. I’ll give it some time and see if it recovers from the trauma. I rescued another one last October but the bees were all gone in a month, meaning the queen didn’t survive the 30’ drop in that case.

07/04/2022

Didn’t expect to see 6 bi-planes fly over while shearing trees this morning.

06/24/2022

Had a rare find this morning while shearing trees! Heard a bird flutter away and turned to see it was a quail. Looked at the tree in the next row and could barely see the nest. In the pic, look slightly up and to the right from center and you can see the eggs. Didn’t want to disturb it at all! Saw quail here in the early 80’s after we bought the farm ‘til about ’85. Didn’t see them again for about 30 years. It is very unlikely to hear quail anywhere in VA, but we enjoy listening to them from the brewery patio.

11/28/2021

Being a warmer than usual day, it’s a good time for the bees to clean out a couple honey buckets. By the end of the day they won’t be sticky. When bees are cleaning up like this they won’t sting.

11/22/2021

We’ll open for our 31st year of tree sales on December 4th. See
Www.evergreenacres.biz for all the details. Advise avoiding heavy crowds mid-day on the 4th & 5th.

11/08/2021

A couple months ago one of my honey buckets broke and emptied on the floor. It was ruined for me, but I saved what I could and put most of it out for the bees today. Bees are such amazing chemists, they can take very compromised honey and make it good again. With this warm week and the pollen all gone I figured this would be a good time for them to top off their comb in preparation for winter.....a huge hit!

10/24/2021

Today will be the last day for the pumpkin patch. We’ve got too many activities for next weekend to have it in the mix.

10/17/2021

I got a call from a homeowner in Manassas after his arborist taking out a risky tree encountered bees. I trimmed the log at both ends to make it easier to handle and returned after dark to capture all the bees in the log. I don’t know the condition of the comb or queen after falling about 30’ to the ground but will hope for the best. I have returned the log to its original position and left a slight gap between the blocks at the bottom so the bees can egress. My plan of next action around February 1 will bee to raise the log and place an empty hive box under it with a large hole in the lid and a couple frames of honey inside. With honey stores running low inside the log that time of year I’m hoping the bees will move down into the hive box. From my experience, splitting the log now to empty the contents would not end well.

10/15/2021

We won't be opening the hayride to the pumpkin patch tomorrow (Saturday) with the rain passing through. We'll be open Sunday.

10/07/2021

We’ll be opening for hayride to the pumpkin patch In spite of the light chance of rain. We’ll be open Saturdays and Sundays from noon til 5 thru October 30th. Check here for possible updates. Pumpkins are $.50 per pound; no other fees.

09/22/2021

We’ve got lots of organic acorn squash available in the brewery.

09/08/2021

Picking paw-paw for another batch of mead. They have a very short picking window....this week only!

05/28/2021

OMG! I just worked this hive from the other side, blowing smoke across the bottom and opening the top to check for queen right and this little pup never moved. I didn’t see it til I was about to step in there and check the next one. I will continue my checking another day.

05/07/2021

Mother’s Day Special! On Saturday from noon til 4:00 get composted horse litter for $5 per bucket (9 cu. ft.) and give life to your garden this year.

05/02/2021

Swarm catching part 2.

05/02/2021

Scouting the front field this morning and found ANOTHER swarm. Part 1

03/31/2021

On April 10 & 11, we'll be hosting a living history event with 30 to 40 re-enactors. On Saturday, you'll be able to watch soldiers drill in the field all day, visit their camps and ask them questions. Firing demonstrations are at 1:00 & 3:00 pm. There could possibly be a skirmish later in the evening.
On Sunday they will be drilling in the field and camps with a firing demonstration at 1:00 pm.
There is no charge to attend this event.

03/26/2021

My first cut-out of the year. I’ll go pick them up after dark tonight.

11/22/2020

A reminder to our tree-cutting patrons that we're making a break in tradition this year and opening December 5th rather than Black
Friday. All the tree info is on our website, www.evergreenacres.biz

This is a choose and pick operation at a real farm.  We never charge an admission fee. All field work is done by Jim so if you have a growing question, feel free to ask.  We are located at 12801 Hazelwood Drive, Nokesville, VA 20181

10/18/2020

Candice and Josey helping with the cut out mounting honey comb into a frame. Candidates from the last election donated their signs to the PW Bee Club, which we can use in a lot of places. We’re planning our next Bee Club meeting for November 9th at 7 pm at Cedsr Run Brewery. Join us if you’re fascinated with bees. We offer a bee school in January and February.

10/18/2020

I squeezed in a cut out last week. It was a bit challenging getting the bees in my box but they finally went along with the program. In one pic you’ll notice them up against the ceiling and in the bottom half of a cinder block in another.

08/12/2020

Doing a little plowing.

05/17/2020

I’ve been watching the killdeer running the parking lot and finally found their nest.

05/09/2020

We’re heavy into bee swarm season now. I’ve captured 4 on the farm so far this year. Here’s a how-to on catching a swarm. Thanks to Candice for filming.

04/22/2020

Busy with the bees making splits and this swarm lands in the parking lot. All I had to do was put a box down and they walked right in.

03/30/2020

Finished planting the last of 4,000 tree seedlings Friday. No virus out here and the work’s got to get done.

01/03/2020

The Headwaters Foundation Appalachian Beekeeping Collective is a workforce development program that trains new beekeeper-entrepreneurs to maintain honey bee hives for profit. Their goal is to create economic opportunities for rural families by helping members learn the art, science, and business of earning a sustainable income through beekeeping. Miss Cindy Bee, program staff, will share her stories about this innovative program on Tuesday January 14th at 7 pm at the Manassas Church of the Brethren (in the sanctuary) located at 10047 Nokesville Rd, Manassas, VA 20110. This event is free and open to the public.
Miss Cindy Bee is a third-generation beekeeper. She is a national and international educator on a variety of sustainable beekeeping subjects. Miss Bee managed apiary studies for the University of Georgia, is past President of the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association, and was Georgia Beekeeper of the Year in 2007. She is also the author of the book Honey Bee Removal: A Step by Step Guide and ran a full-time bee removal business for over fourteen years.

12/24/2019

I've spoken with many of our patrons about gardening and some have mentioned they'd like a question and answer session. With the Holidays upon us, what a better time to start than this Sunday at noon in the Brewery. I'll answer your questions as best I can and share some of my techniques with you. We'll put a 2 hour limit on it or until you're tired of hearing me. Depending on feedback, we could do another one. I was the first certified organic grower in PW County and organic produce from 2010-2017.

12/04/2019

This is three of our top-notch servers in our Brewery that wanted to cut a tree.

11/23/2019

We'll open for tree sales this Friday, the 29th until December 8th. Check our website, www.evergreenacres.biz for all the information.

This is a choose and pick operation at a real farm.  We never charge an admission fee. All field work is done by Jim so if you have a growing question, feel free to ask.  We are located at 12801 Hazelwood Drive, Nokesville, VA 20181

10/19/2019

With rain in the forecast for most of Sunday, today will be the last day of pumpkin picking. 11:00 to 6:00 pm

10/11/2019

The pumpkin patch and brewery will be open Monday, Columbus Day. 11-6 for pumpkin picking and noon to 9:00 for the brewery.

09/30/2019

Our pumpkin pickin' will run the next three weekends from 11:00 till 6:00. These are pics of the '19 pumpkin and cushaw patches. The cushaw are for making pie or beer. They're both 50 cents per lb. As usual, no charge for admission or wagon ride. We've got a lot of big pumpkins this year.