Why did we choose this place to situate an Apiary?
Kosharevo East, spring time The Apiary is located about 3 km east of the village, in the middle of vast areas of meadows and falls within the boundaries of Natura 2000. We chose this place not only because the region is extremely beautiful and clean, but mainly because of its importance for the normal life of the bees. The region is rich in flowering vegetation and it is very sunny, quiet and peaceful, away from cities, roads and contaminants. There are acacia forests, wild fruit trees, variety of flowering shrubs and thorns. There are several flowering plants in the region, which are of the importance for beekeeping such as магарешки бодил, синя жлъчка, метличина, детелина, комунига, лъжичина, лечебна мъдрица, секирче, гръмотрън, пролетен фий, мъдука, бучиниш, резене, etc.
What kind of bee products we produce in the Kosharevo Apiary?
Honey produced of Kosharevo East apiary We produce mainly bee honey, bee pollen, propolis and Royal Jelly. The honey and pollen are produced primarily of meadow herbs (honey is known as polyfloral, herbal, or meadow honey). The nectar flow in the region is low, based on the average yield of the country. Although low, the nectar flow is constant, starting in the spring and ending in mid-August. Due to the wavy terrain of gullies, hills, and hillsides, there is always a flowering vegetation in the warm months. Honey is extremely flavorful, dense, with amber color, which then crystallizes very well, with white traces ensuring its maturity and creamy consistency. Late in the summer, the bees add to the honeycombs some thistle honey, which is 5-10% of the meadow honey. It happens also to have some small amounts of sunflower honey from the fields bordering the region. Each year we hope for good weather for flowering of the acacia, which happens rarely, once every 3-4 years. The pollen is colorful, with a strong aroma and luscious taste of sweet meadow herbs. Propolis is also in small quantities since there are not many plants emitting resins in this region. Nevertheless, the small quantity we produce has excellent qualities.
How many colonies we grow at this Apiary?
Kosharevo East Apiary Currently, there are about 80 hives in this Apiary. We are planning to split the Apiary in two, but we are still looking for the right place for the additional Apiary. By 2017, the Apiary had 40 hives and our experience shows that this is the perfect number for this place.
Is there any farming in the region and what is grown?
In 2013, when we set the Apiary, the region had only a few fields. Over time, few rich flowering meadows, looking just like a carpet of flowers, were converted into fallow land. Others were planted with flowering grass mixtures. There are no huge fields with plantations in the region such as those in Northern Bulgaria due to its highly hilly terrain; there are small and fragmented fields of several dozens of acres instead. The farmers grow wheat, hemp, fodder grasses and sunflowers. Our Apiary is located on the border with Natura 2000, which guarantees a high percentage of meadows, banned for agricultural activity. The fields are somewhat below 20% of the whole area, and the flowering industrial crops are under 3%.
