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The best thing you can do is head to your local beekeeper association. The groups usually meet monthly and are a wealth of knowledge for anyone wanting to get started. The beekeepers in our club are 60+, hilarious and super nice.
Other than that, we’d say to hold off on buying your honey bees until you’ve spent some time learning about them. There are so many diseases in Australia that can quickly move from one hive to the next, devastating colonies along the way. It’s a responsibility to make sure you know what you’re looking at and manage them to thrive – it’s not just about collecting the liquid gold.
Winter is a great time to read up (or watch videos like we did!) before you get into it. Plus it would be devastating to purchase a colony of bees in early spring and then they fly away in a swarm! It happens all the time; it’s their natural cycle of procreation.
Oh, and don’t forget to register your beehive with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries so they can keep you informed and keep track of your new clever stripey friends.
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50-70kgs per hive a year. It totally depends on rainfall and blooms.
A Smoker, Hive Tool, Beekeeping Jacket/Veil, European Honey Beehive (we like to work with a 8 frame Langstroth), Honey frame extractor, Uncapping Knife or Fork, Strainer, Honey Pails and lots of storage – as your beehive grows so will your Langstroth components but they need to shrink back in the cooler months.
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Globally there are more honey bees than other types of bees and pollinating insects, so essentially it is the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination. It’s pretty simple: if we don’t have pollinators, we don’t have food!
Regarding getting stung, I love when people ask this question! We totally get it. Roger and I still get stung from time to time. Roger says he aims for 15 in a season, he read somewhere that you can build up a tolerance with that amount!
The thing is, when you do get stung it’s usually something you’ve done. Bees aren’t naturally aggressive. Roger and I usually get stung when we accidentally squash a bee when checking the hive, or Roger is pretty much peering in the entrance. They are reactive, so the bees have taught us to be calm and slower. We nearly always get stung when we are rushing through the hive. Some days we open the hive after smoking them, notice they’re moving around a lot quicker and bomb us in the face a few times. Time to shut up shop and come back another day!
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Starting Settler, we feel we had an opportunity to create a brand that can satisfyingly offer others a solution and complement the lifestyle we want. Consumerism feels like it sucked the souls out of us for the longest time. The pursuit of happiness has led us to try and live a life slowly, being present in what we do, how we feel and how we connect with others. It feels like our current culture isn’t thriving in a healthy way. There is not enough time left in the day/the week to enjoy what you’ve worked so hard for. Surely we’re not alone with this feeling and frustration …
Growing something from seed is so satisfying, because you do have to give it your attention (watering, protecting it from pests) and it takes time and a fair bit of patience. Forcing us to not demand the instant, not be in a rush.
Beekeeping also helped us notice what trees and plants are doing and how that affects the beehives. We feel like when we’re not in a rush or trying to cram every (good) thing in, our happiness actually increases.
We were so excited to release our seasonal seed sets for this very reason! They are hands down the number one favourite seller. We knew it would make it easier for new gardeners to just get in and get started. We are always trying to remove roadblocks for people so they will give gardening a go.
In winter, it’s not true that nothing grows substantially. We pop some snow peas and radishes in the ground, and they come up reliably. We also keep the micro kale going for a boost in nutrients to any meal. Winter is perfect for planting paper daisies, forget-me-nots and sweet peas too.
In spring, plant all your nectar flowers, like lavender. And you’ll want to get your cut flowers like dahlias, zinnias and stocks in the ground, ready for summer. We also love chamomile and cosmos to add some texture and height to the garden beds.
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Be in it. In the daily form of it, just to feel the fresh air and potter around the house in the yard.
We don’t have a huge space; a 510sqm suburban block is our home base and the cottage takes up most of it. We love the trial and error of planting seeds and working out pretty annual blooms like growing here (it’s amazing what difference the soil makes from this yard to our cousins just 2kms away!). We even dug up our front weedy lawn to make room for more flowers.
We just returned from driving to Perth with our girls (4 and 1 year old). We had three months to cross the Nullarbor and explore the Great Southern and South West corner of WA where we have about twenty beautiful stockists we were so happy to visit in person. We lived in a converted Ford Transit which is now our daily run around!
Our favourite way is picking up two flat whites (one large and a medium) and a baby chino with the marshmallow on the side.
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HOMECAMP Ts&Cs
Welcome to Homecamp. This website is owned and operated by Homecamp and if you purchase from us you are subject to our terms and conditions. You should read these conditions carefully prior to purchase, as placement of an order implies your acceptance of them.
RETURNS
Homecamp wants you to feel completely satisfied with your purchases made online. For any reason an item is not what you expected - the wrong colour, size or you've simply changed your mind - it can be returned for an exchange or full refund.
Please note that an item will only be accepted for exchange or credit note under the following conditions:
• The item is unused, unworn and in brand new condition with packaging intact and the original labels attached.
• A copy of a valid receipt is included with the return.
• The item is returned within 14 days of the receipt date.
Please note that all conditions must be strictly adhered to in regards to returns and exchanges and that exchanges will not be accepted under any conditions if you fail to meet these requirements.
We always inspect our goods to ensure our highest quality standards are met. Many of our products are made from natural products such as wood, canvas and leather. Any variations or marks naturally occurring in these materials are intended. If, however, you receive faulty or incorrect items, we will gladly pay the postage costs for a replacement. If the reason for the return is a ‘change of mind’, then this must be shipped and handled at your own cost.
If you wish to return something, please email [email protected] with your original order number and reason for return.
RETURNS ON SALE ITEMS
We have a NO RETURN ON SALE ITEMS policy.
MISPLACED ORDERS
If for some reason your parcel does not arrive within a reasonable time please contact us on [email protected] and we will track it for you.
PRIVACY POLICY
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ORDERING
All prices are listed in Australian Dollars (AUD) and include 10% Goods and Service Tax (GST). Orders will be processed in Australian Dollars (AUD) only and we do not accept payments in other currencies. We accept payment for goods via major credit cards or PayPal and all your information is securely transferred through an SSL encrypted connection provided by eWay. Goods will be shipped promptly once full payment is received. We reserve the right to change prices advertised on this website at any time.
AVAILABILITY AND BACK ORDERS
In some instances it may be that an item is listed as in stock when in fact, it is not. If this happens we will contact you within 24 hours to come to an agreement on offering you a refund, placing the item on backorder or replacing with a suitable alternative.
DELIVERIES IN AUSTRALIA
Orders are processed as quickly as possible, typically within 1-3 business days of placing your order. We use Australia Post and Couriers Please for small parcel (less then 15kg) deliveries throughout Australia, with the exception of larger orders such as our tents where we engage the services of a courier delivery service, usually Toll or TNT. Courier and post delivery times vary and we cannot guarantee delivery by a certain date so we recommend you allow plenty of time for your order to reach you, particularly if you live in WA or regional areas. If you need an item urgently, please opt for Express Post at the checkout if this option is not available (i.e. on tents or free delivery over $200) then please email us for a quote ([email protected]).
All delivery costs are normally calculated at the checkout. If you are not at home to accept your delivery, then a card will be left and your parcel will be available for collection from your nearest Australia Post office. The same system applies to all courier deliveries. If you would like the courier to leave your package without signing, please ensure you leave this instruction when you checkout. If you choose to have an order left without a signature, Homecamp is not liable for any missing or damaged items.
INTERNATIONAL DELIVERIES
We use Australia Post, Sendle or Shippit for all deliveries to international destinations. Some items such as tents are not available for international shipping and you can contact us for quote. You should be aware that import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. Please check with your local customs office to find out what these additional costs will be. If you have any questions regarding deliveries in Australia or internationally, please contact us at [email protected]