Permaculture is all about mimicking nature - working with it rather than against it. This system is like factory farming. It forces bees to make comb and lay down stores in a small space. Bees like to have room to create comb in natural forms and have a very specific distance between their combs that allows them to create exactly the right temperature and humidity for the hive. Glass jars would be impossible to moderate temperature - like a greenhouse without doors or windows. They are also light and bees need darkness. Their hives are worked by smell not sight. This system would stress them all both counts. Stressed bees are like humans. Their auto-immune systems are weakened and they succumb more easily to disease. Keep bees as naturally as possible. They are sentient creatures, not machines that produce product. Natural beekeeping is a fascinating subject and worthy of study for all permaculturists'.
Bee farming would require constant attention as already said. I know a beekeeper with 40 hives who only opens them at the beginning of April (in the UK) and before winter. He checks the health, the integrity of the hive, removes a few frames if the hive is full of honey, and makes sure there are enough stores to get the bees through the winter. If there are not he will feed them. He says if he loses bees then so be it - they are weak. But in the main his colonies do well. He uses a National hive with a brood box and a super.
Poeple tend to interfere too much with bees - usually because they want lots of honey and wax - but if you take a more gentle approach I am sure they will be fine.
You could also keep them in a Top Bar hive and be very minimalist about management.
First of all I made a nuc from recycled ply and planed wood for free and I will published the plans in the forthcoming Permaculture magazine #99. It is so easy to make and saves you lots of money longer term. I am going to use them (I have 2 and am about to make the 3rd) as bait hives to catch swarms. #99 will reach the USA in March 2019.
I also make my main hives from flatpacks. It is good to do this as you really get to know why hives are designed as they are.
Bee suits: you get what you pay for. There are lots of cheap Chinese made suits around. They are OK but don't last long if you are working hives regularly. I researched the best ones with quality cotton (doesn't get so hot as mixed cotton and synthetics) and good quality mesh for the veil. The best in the UK which is beautifully made is by Sherriff - but at a price. I then found one in my size on eBay for a fraction of the price. Almost new it fits really well unlike my cheaper one which I have now passed on to my bee helper (husband!).
Hi Fredy, If you subscribe to the print or digital version of PM you you can read all 97 back issues searchable by index free of charge - including all our articles by or about Ben Law - plus many other woody subjects. It is an incredibly good deal! See https://www.permaculture.co.uk/subscribe
Brian Rodgers wrote:Good morning
Somewhere in my mind it feels like I'll need to drag myself kicking and screaming into logging. I know I need to start this if I want to be successful in permaculture. Am I alone or are others crappy at logging? I know I have to break my desire to be physically working and doing stuff. I certainly need to chill out and smell the roses, so this is ideal. How do I begin?
Brian
Like I said, decide on your focus, spend just a few minutes every day in the same 'sit spot' - treat it like permaculture meditation! Log in one line. No essays. And not even every day. Start simple and small. Build up slowly if you need to. Make the space something that nourishes you rather than yet another job. Open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you in nature and be grateful. It will become your sanctuary.
Brian Rodgers wrote:Hello Maddy welcome
What a fascinating technique, one which I really need to practice. I have tried to log information in the past for my aquaponics, but after a few months I always seem to drift away. I'm studying in chapter three of Mollison's Designers manual and was a little worried I'd fail again to create and keep a log for my observations.
Brian
We keep 2 logs - one for bees and one for nature observations inc weather. The secret is to be brief. Don't try and log everything every day. Just identify what you want to record and just add a sentence as and when you have need. That way it doesn't become yet another big task. I add to my bee log every few days - and a line at a time. The nature one is only for unusual events like a new volunteer species and weather patterns, specifically if they help me with sowing and harvesting in the garden. I do not log daily temperatures, just hard frosts or big snowfall. That way, it is not a chore. I also go outside and sit every day - just for a few minutes - and tune in to what the birds are doing. They are a good way of engaging with what is happening in the garden. It is also good for my nervous system - slows me down!
Thank you All for your great comments and sharing. What I understand from everything you are saying, each of us has different ways of noting observations and we each have different focuses. This means some use spreadsheets, some docs, some ruled note books, some record in detail daily, and others less frequently. Some use logs for gardens, some for nature observation, others for weather, me specifically for honeybees! Others may note personal cycles and psychologies. We are all different. The most important thing about this is that we keep records. We work to deepen our observations and understanding of cycles and patterns. This is important. It is ongoing education and a lifelong practice and a core part of permaculture design.
Stacy Witscher wrote:I bought a book this year "The Naturalist's Notebook" by Nathaniel Wheelwright and Bernd Heinrich, that is a 5-year calendar-journal. It's organized so that on every page you can see a four day period over 5 years making it easy to compare differences from year to year. It's only for brief notes, although you can reference other journals for more detailed notes. I haven't started it yet, I'm waiting until we move, but I'm hopeful. I've had numerous recording keeping systems over the years, and none of them has stuck. Most of them I find too fussy.
'
Sounds very similar to the Biotime Log - i.e. the space for notes is brief - except I do not give years so that you note the years at the beginning of every entry. That way it last as long as there is space.
Blythe Barbo wrote:Thank you, Maddy Harland, for this thoughtful post. I really like the idea of keeping an individual Biotime log for the bees. I currently do that on a spreadsheet to keep track of which hives swarm and when and where they go, along with notations on weather and other conditions. It also helps me to recognize when a hive might be weakening. A Biotime Logbook would be an easier way of tracking these things.
I also really like the idea of tracking weather and different plants & animals you see. With so many changes we are experiencing in climate and extreme events, the information we take down now could be extremely valuable 10 years from now. It would also help in seeing the changes we might create, for example, by planting a grouping of shrubs and trees. I am seeing so many more birds now after planting some willows that I have sculpted into a structure of sorts. The microclimates in our garden have definitely changed over the years, readily visible with the first frosts. Making note of the various dynamics would be a good thing to add, I would think.
Thank you for all this inspiration!
The Bee Biotime Log is very useful as a quick reference year on year and it takes no time at all to enter the details. Using another log to identify unusual climate events is also really interesting. We too have developed microclimates over 25 years as our food forest has grown (the apiary is in a parabolic arc of stacked flints, for example). The meadow we planted brings in all sorts of seed eaters that we never saw before. It is fascinating to record all this - and certainly makes us happy as we know our positive ecological interventions with permaculture have dramatically increased biodiversity and made the garden more resilient to climate shocks.
Dave Burton wrote:Would it be fair to compare biotime to wilderness awareness?
Hi Dave, for some people yes, if their subject matter was nature. For others it may be a garden record involving what has been planted, seed or plant varieties and what worked well in a growing season. It really depends on the person and what they chose to log.
Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Hi. When I read about Biotime Log, my first thought was to start one using the computer (spreadsheet). But soon I found out a paper version would be much better. I can take it with me wherever I want and write my notes whenever I want.
Because binding books is becoming my new hobby (because I am sketching a lot, I bind my own sketchbooks), I started making my own (first) Biotime Log. For the inside paper, on which I make the notes, I use 'millimeter paper'. I had that paper for years un-used on a shelve, now I finally know a way to use it.
I agree. I believe a paper version is often the best option. My log is ready-made and it has half a page per day. That may be enough for some but obviously not for others. The idea of the book is to encourage record keeping but each of us does this differently and may have a different focus. What we do know is that observation develops strong nature connection and deepens our knowledge of our local ecosystem. It is a very fine lifelong habit to cultivate, it benefits our health and it is something we need to pass down as a practice to the next generation.
Thank you for your detailed comments. In the Biotime Log I give a brief introduction to the idea of keeping records but I do not tell people what they want to record. I suggest that we can records seasonal variations, climate events, first and last frosts, volunteer species etc etc. We might also use a log to record our own cycles rather than being a nature record - in terms of physical health and also psychological well-being to identify patterns.
The idea of a log that is a notebook with dates and months but no days or years is that we record brief entries over YEARS and that at a glance we are able to look at the same 4 days per page in a specific month and easily see what happened last year or further back in time. You cannot get that sort of reference so easily with a Word doc or a spreadsheet. I am interested not by specific events so much but by the observations over time and the patterns they produce - very permaculture design! I want to see how the local ecosystem is changing (or not), whether that weather event is unique or did we experience similar 10 years ago, have we lost a species in the local ecology...? We always recorded the first cuckoo call in Spring. Now there are no cuckoos in my area. They do not make it past the guns in Italy. Instead we now receive unusual Arctic visitors because our winters are far colder. I hope that gives you an idea of what we do.
I also have a completely separate Biotime Log related to my beekeeping. Every time I work with the bees I record details of each hive, their temperament, how many brood frames and honey supers are full and the balance of honey, pollen, and uncapped and capped brood. I also record the color of the pollen coming in and any other salient details. I want to build a record over years that I can easily compare week on week for every year to identify how the apiary is progressing and how the changing weather and greater threat of diseases and Asian hornets may affect our bees.
Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Hi Maddy. Sounds like a good idea, to keep such a Log. I started immediately making my own version (using my computer for now, but maybe I'll make a paper version).
Hi, it is simple to make your own version with a plain notebook. Put in the date and month but no days or years. Add the year when you make an entry. It helps if it is hardbound. The advantage to a physical book is that you compare year on year as you make entries. That helps you develop an eye for patterns and unusual events. On a computer it is not so easy to immediately see what happened 2, 5 even 10 years ago. (Having said that The Biotime Log is available from Chelsea Green and it as a full explanation and some great artwork if you are tempted!)
Gail Gardner wrote:Welcome, Maddy. I'm sorry to say I haven't had time to dig into Biotime logs and won't for a while. But one thing I really need to do that might be in such a log is figure out how to track the sun throughout the year to know how much sun any particular space receives. Is how to do that in there?
Like a ship’s log, this is not a journal or diary. It is especially designed to be a portable yet robust, a place where you can record your observations. Each half page is dated without a year or day of the week. You simply fill in the year and beside your entry / observation. Year on year this enables you to refer back and begin to see patterns in the biotime events occurring around you or to identify the unusual phenomena like an early flowering of a plant weeks before it usually blooms. I have also added some beautiful illustrations by Jane Bottomley to help inspire observational practice.
Gail Gardner wrote:Welcome, Maddy. I'm sorry to say I haven't had time to dig into Biotime logs and won't for a while. But one thing I really need to do that might be in such a log is figure out how to track the sun throughout the year to know how much sun any particular space receives. Is how to do that in there?
Like a ship’s log, this is not a journal or diary. It is especially designed to be a portable yet robust, a place where you can record your observations. Each half page is dated without a year or day of the week. You simply fill in the year and beside your entry / observation. Year on year this enables you to refer back and begin to see patterns in the biotime events occurring around you or to identify the unusual phenomena like an early flowering of a plant weeks before it usually blooms. I have also added some beautiful illustrations by Jane Bottomley to help inspire observational practice.
Morning everyone. Thank you for inviting me to this forum. I first heard about biotime or biological time and the idea of keeping a record or log in 1992 when I did my PDC with Lea Harrison, one of Bill Mollison's first batch of teachers ifrom Australia. The idea interested me and TIm and I began keeping records based on events around our garden. Over the years we have recorded late and early frosts (useful to see patterns when planting tender crops or protecting them late in the season), volunteer species - like new wildflowers in the meadow or visiting birds - extreme weather events (again observation of patterns is useful), and astronomical phenomena like eclipses and unusual planetary alignments. We started doing this to help our observational skills and make us better gardeners. What I didn't expect was the evolving patterns I observed over many years and the deeper entanglement I experienced in my ecosystem. It has been a powerful immersion tool that has connected me with nature in my locality. This is not only useful on a practical, ecological level, it has physiological effects. Scientists have evidence that it calms the mind, lowers blood pressure, and makes us happier and healthier. So biotime logging is a kind of permaculture mindfulness. Just five minutes a day of sitting and observing is a great tonic.
My latest project is a Bee Biotime log. I have 2 hives in the garden and every time I work with them or visit them and observe something significant I note it in my log. This can be how many frames of brood and honey they have, the health of the colony, the colour of the incoming pollen, wasp or hornet attacks or their temperament that day. Year on year I will build a record in my bees and be able to quickly compare.
I completely agree with you - it was for me a great privilege to meet and listen to Paul Stamets, John Liu and Allan Savory. There is something very powerful about the personal transfer of knowledge - 50 minutes of a Stamets keynote can be an incredible, lie-changing experience. It was also so valuable to learn from the many permaculture teachers and workers out there doing great things and come away with a huge dose of hope and inspiration that we can and are making a difference in the world.
I think what Diego did was very important and not to be underestimated. It was the most incredible gathering of people. I am very grateful to him for inviting Tim and myself and for the ongoing education we experienced.
This morning I came across this idea from Flip and Jon Anderson - all the fuel efficiency of a rocket stove but with the delicious taste from cooking in a cob oven! Brilliant! Here's a video explaining how to build one.
It was built from softwoods grown within 200 yards of the site - usually timber that is pulped for paper. Ben has developed a way of using this timber - i.e. padstones to prevent rot and large overhanging roofs - that means we don't have to use slow growing species anymore. These buildings are also much cheaper to build than conventional ones.
If you want to know more about his method of roundwood timber framing and about the build I mentioned there is some stuff on YouTube
How about working with the Permaculture magazine website? permaculture.co.uk We get 1,200,000 pageviews a year from 155 countries around the world and post every day. We would happily write a bit of editorial, host your YouTubes and link back to permies.com. Indeed we have already and our viewers loved it! Have a look at the 500 showers from a compost pile. http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/500-showers-heated-one-small-compost-pile-how-tutorial
