Managing bees since 2019
Since 2019, we have been wrangling bees and producing beehive products (honey, beeswax, and soap) from our small apiary in Northwest Washington, DC.
We’ve found that bees are not easy to keep.
They swarm in the spring. They lose their queens or produce too many queens.
They are hosts to a variety of pests, including mites, ants, small hive beetles, and wax moths, to name a few.
Before 1922, our neighborhood was the site of historic Tunlaw Farm. It was nearly 100 acres and owned by Thomas L. Hume.
At an elevation of 340′ above sea level, the farm was a bit cooler in the summer than the center of Washington, and the area became popular in the years after the Civil War.
Civil War generals attended 4th of July celebrations at Tunlaw Farm in the shade of the large walnut tree which gave the farm its name. (Tunlaw is “walnut” spelled backwards.)
The photo above is an aerial view taken by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1922. More information about Hume and the historic Tunlaw Farm can be found at the excellent Glover Park History website.
Today, the area is a leafy suburb of Washington, DC better known as Wesley Heights where our apiary is located.