'Bee Man' gives his gardening tips

We called him 'Bee Man'. He lived in north riverside, on Coolidge I believe. 'Bee Man' would bring us honeycomb to sell at the store, and always had a square for me to take home and enjoy.  There was something that tasted so good in that 1" square piece of honeycomb as I chewed it. First it was the sweet nectar and then the comb, which was like gum only better. 

Honey is nature's perfect food. According to medicaldaily.com, a few of the benefits of honey are: it alleviates allergies, is an all-natural energy drink, it boosts memory, acts as a cough suppressant (not for young children), aids in sleep, treats dandruff, wounds and burns. It is reported that honey will build your immune system, fight cancer and helps with .... hangovers!  Probably the best part of it is it never spoils and is very easy to store.  

Another overlooked benefit that is a product of honeybees is beeswax.  Uses that you would never think about, but it is the preferred product used.  Ukrainian egg painters use beeswax in their craft. Coat nails and screws with beeswax and it will not splinter the wood. Applied to sliding glass doors, wood windows and drawers and they will open smoothly.  Need a good shoe or boot waterproof material? Use beeswax. Beeswax candles burn longer, brighter and remove toxins from the air. I use it on my gardening hand tools, pruners, trowels and shovels to keep them rust free. It's the best lock tight that I've found for small nuts and bolts. I'm sure there are hundreds of uses for beeswax that are still being discovered.  

Are you wanting to learn more about beekeeping in general or have some questions about what it takes and how often you'll get stung?  Are these bees that I will potentially have in my backyard the 'killer bees' I've heard so much about?  

Stop by Johnson's @ West 13th St. this Saturday at 10:00 for our "Become A Beekeeper" Seminar presented by experienced beekeeper Wes Wolken. Signups and a bit more info are online, so check it out and we hope to see you there!

Happy Gardening,

Marty Johnson

Owner - Johnson's Garden Center