Beecharmer Farms

09/04/2026

In 1609, an English beekeeper named Charles Butler published a book calling the queen a queen for the first time, and he noticed the same thing every beekeeper has noticed since. In September the hive turns on its own sons.

Drones are the males. They do one thing, which is mate with a new queen in spring, and by now that job is done. They do not forage, they do not guard, they do not make wax, and they eat. So when the last of the goldenrod comes in, the workers stop feeding them, then drag them to the entrance and push them off the board. They are not allowed back in. Every one of them starves within a few days.

The rest of the fall runs on a schedule. The queen slows down and stops laying. The colony shrinks to twenty thousand or so that can last the winter. On the first nights under fifty seven degrees they pull into a ball the size of a football and shiver their flight muscles to hold the center at ninety degrees, taking turns on the cold outside. They will do that until March, eating forty pounds of honey, and not one of them will sleep.

The timeline on the card is the whole story. It is happening in every hive within a mile of you this month. 🐝

08/27/2026

For generations, clover wasn't something homeowners automatically tried to eliminate from their lawns.

White clover was commonly included in grass seed mixtures because it offered something turfgrass couldn't do on its own: it could work with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots to bring usable nitrogen into the lawn ecosystem.

Then selective broadleaf herbicides arrived.

These products made it possible to remove dandelions, plantain, clover, and other broadleaf plants while leaving much of the grass intact. As chemical lawn care became more popular, the ideal American lawn increasingly became a uniform stand of grass.

Yet clover still has plenty going for it.

It spreads across thin areas, provides food for pollinators, tolerates regular mowing, and can reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed in mixed grass-and-clover lawns. Its creeping growth can also help occupy spaces where other plants might otherwise establish.

Clover isn't a miracle lawn replacement. It doesn't thrive everywhere, can suffer under heavy traffic or shade, and may still require irrigation during prolonged dry weather.

Still, there's nothing inherently unhealthy about seeing clover among your grass.

The spotless, grass-only lawn is a landscaping preference—not a requirement for a functional yard.

Sometimes leaving a little clover is the lower-input option.

08/14/2026

Pretty much sums their flight area

07/31/2026

Please take a moment to read and then please sign!!

American beekeepers are facing an unfair challenge.

Honey consumption in the U.S. is at an all-time high, yet American beekeepers now supply just 17% of the market, down from 80% forty years ago.

Adulterated imported honey is one of the reasons. It undercuts American beekeepers and erodes consumer confidence in what’s really in the jar.

Today, I’m asking our beekeeping community to stand together by signing a letter supporting stronger standards for honey.

Please add your name through the link:

https://form.jotform.com/262024349403147

— Rob Wright, CEO

07/15/2026

https://www.ecoportal.net/en/two-minnesota-solar-farms-native-wildflowers/29160/

There is hope for pesticide riddled crop land

Two Minnesota solar farms planted 66 native species under their panels. Five years of counting revealed a staggering result that nobody had written into the engineering plan.

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

Why doesn't honey spoil ?