Black Box Blooms

the-ecohouse.com · May 20, 2012, 10:29:04 AM

Hi Guys

Just curious if anyone else is seeing black box blooming?

I went for a drive today in southern NSW and there is heap flowering.

I'm going to move my bees up there this week. Maybe catch the flow.

rawfind · May 20, 2012, 04:08:47 PM

Quote from: the-ecohouse.com on May 20, 2012, 10:29:04 AM
Hi Guys

Just curious if anyone else is seeing black box blooming?

I went for a drive today in southern NSW and there is heap flowering.

I'm going to move my bees up there this week. Maybe catch the flow.

Gorilla beekeeping or an established site ?

the-ecohouse.com · May 20, 2012, 07:48:23 PM

lol @ rawfind. Nah its going to be a new site. Legit. :)

Stacks of tree, good water supply and plenty of wild hives, I found two in hollows while i was out there by bee lining.

Birdswood · May 20, 2012, 11:46:37 PM

Good luck with that Eco. Do you have the Blue Mallee Eucalypt up your way? Incredible aroma when they're in bloom.

rawfind · May 21, 2012, 02:08:03 AM

Quote from: the-ecohouse.com on May 20, 2012, 07:48:23 PM
lol @ rawfind. Nah its going to be a new site. Legit. :)

Stacks of tree, good water supply and plenty of wild hives, I found two in hollows while i was out there by bee lining.

sounds really promising i hope it goes well for you.

Wonga · May 21, 2012, 11:43:22 PM

Hey Eco, sounds good. I looked up my copy of Clemson, and he says that Black Box honey "is of good quality with excellent density and good flavour".
How are you moving them? I can get two hives in the back of my mazda, but after that its in the trailer, and that's a hassle.

the-ecohouse.com · May 22, 2012, 10:42:41 PM

lol yeah I'm going to have to load them manually onto the back of the Ute.

shouldn't be too hard now they are all boxed down for winter

the-ecohouse.com · May 22, 2012, 10:59:05 PM

Quote from: Birdswood on May 20, 2012, 11:46:37 PM
Good luck with that Eco. Do you have the Blue Mallee Eucalypt up your way? Incredible aroma when they're in bloom.

not that i am aware of, mainly variations of mallee, black box, red gum, yellow gum, etc

Birdswood · May 23, 2012, 06:44:14 AM

You'll know them if you come across one. They have a very distinct aroma of vanilla and the girls just love the nectar from them.

the-ecohouse.com · May 23, 2012, 06:46:03 AM

One of my current spots has produced a wildflower honey that smells like jasmine? any ideas about that one?

OzBuzz · May 31, 2012, 01:51:27 AM

Quote from: Wonga on May 21, 2012, 11:43:22 PM
Hey Eco, sounds good. I looked up my copy of Clemson, and he says that Black Box honey "is of good quality with excellent density and good flavour".
How are you moving them? I can get two hives in the back of my mazda, but after that its in the trailer, and that's a hassle.

Sorry to hijack Eco - what's that Clemson book Wonga?

bernsad · May 31, 2012, 06:37:27 AM

Honey and Pollen Flora by Alan Clemson. Currently out of print but the RIRDC are talking about a reprint. https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/11-046

Wonga · June 08, 2012, 12:08:59 AM

Yeah OZBuzz, its Honey and Pollen Flora, by Alan Clemson, 1985 by Inkata Press. ISBN 0 909605 33 5. It was published by the then NSW Department of Agriculture, Alan Clemson was their Head Apiary Officer for many years, the book is stuffed full of info and colour photos. They are talking about a reprint - complicated by the fact that the Eucalypts of 1985 have now been split up by botanists into different scientific name families (is it genera? I never remember that stuff, its all Black box, Ironbark or yellow stringybark to me).

I got my copy on ebay, for $45 - but its a hard book to get.