ToniBurnham

Hi -- When honey is labeled as organic, you are correct to be skeptical. In normal life, bees collect nectar and pollen from plants within 3-5 miles around the hive (that's 31,400 hectares) and there are few places in the world where one can assert, let alone prove, that none of the pollinated plants were exposed to pesticides, banned fertilizers, environmental contaminants, and so on. In some developing countries -- including regions of Amazonia -- we have heard that projects where beekeepers work in extremely remote areas are producing certifiably organic honey. I am also aware of a supplier in the midwest who makes that claim, though it is hard to imagine. There is a subgroup of beekeepers who produce "Certified Naturally Grown" honey, which indicates that all the interventions which they make in their hives (disease prevention and treatment, supplemental feeding, etc.) conform to organic requirements, and that is probably very good for the bees. Though I am not sure what difference it makes for the product in the jar, since it was gathered from the greenspace around the apiary. Hope that helps.

The simple answer is that we are not restricted to DC, but as a geek I have a hard time leaving it at that! Beekeepers around the metro area are pretty well networked, and if you are looking to place a hive in a specific area, I would be pleased to connect you with the local club majordomo. We are all in the process of graduating new beekeepers, and we all have community bulletin boards for sharing opportunities. The clubs in VA run the same course in DC and take the same approach that we do downtown -- everyone completes a certificate and gets a mentor. I think it is pretty important for an apiary located at a business to expect a serious and well prepared beekeeper. The Maryland clubs run good but individual courses, and I would just be careful to ask questions about what kind of support a new beekeeper had before coming to your location -- and you might even get a really experienced one who just needs an out yard (most of us do).

Hi all -- I just joined, so please administer correction if I am doing this all wrong! This post is meant to let you know that we are here, and to ask whether there is any chance that one or more or your properties might feature a roof or kitchen garden that might be appropriate for a beehive? An experienced beekeeper is willing to come to your location, have a look, and consult with you on this. We are a group of about 100 downtown beekeepers, about half of whom are about to finish a professionally-taught beekeeping course, and many of whom do not own property in DC on which to place a hive. There's an article about us in today's Post -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/budding-beekeepers-swarm-to-courses/2014/03/11/d9a1efec-a56d-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html_ Each of our new beekeepers is armed with good training, a mentor, and a certificate from UDC Extension proving that they are good students. They tend to be young and poor, though! :-) Downtown bees do a wonderful job of pollinating community and kitchen gardens, and we feel that they are natural allies of chefs who support the farm-to-table movement, even in a major metro. Some fine print: in the MidAtlantic, you start a hive in one year, and get your first harvest in the next. Even so, it may be possible to cut a deal with your beekeeper's mentor to get a few pounds of honey for a special recipe. It is also up to you to work out what kind of deal you would need, and we can provide examples of agreements other beekeepers have used. Our site is www.dcbeekeepers.org, but I am also really happy to answer questions here. Cheers, Toni Burnham

Washington Food Folks! I am so glad to meet you! My name is Toni Burnham, and I have been a beekeeper here for about a decade. Now I am president both of the DC Beekeepers Alliance and the Maryland State Beekeepers Association. The former is only a couple of years old, the latter has been around for 106! In the past, we have shared honey with Corduroy Restaurant. Beekeepers see ourselves as a critical part of the farm to table movement, because we both contribute to the yields that get your fruits and veggies to market, and we produce a ludicrously wonderful local honey. Urban beekeepers are not pollinating huge crops, but we are supporting community gardens and, in several locations, kitchen gardens used by chefs. And that is why I am here today. Beekeeping only became widely legal in DC last year, and we are only now graduating our first bumper crop of local beekeepers, some of whom live in condo or apartment communities where they cannot have hives. I will post on that elsewhere here, if that is OK, but you can see a link to us in today's paper: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/budding-beekeepers-swarm-to-courses/2014/03/11/d9a1efec-a56d-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html There are really two main reasons why people are taking up beekeeping now: they want to help the environment, and they care what they put in their mouths. We are natural allies with you, and already your customers! Cheers, Toni