potrero view
Photograph by Elizabeth Freeman

Photograph by Elizabeth Freeman

Beekeeping 101: A healthy colony has between 40,000 and 60,000 bees in the spring and summer – the height of bee season. A modern beehive consists of several boxes called supers. In the supers are eight to 10 frames on which the bees build the wax comb. The bottom two or three supers are where the queen lays her eggs and the brood is reared. During a nectar flow, honey supers with empty frames or previously drawn honeycomb are placed on top of the brood boxes. As the season progresses and the frames are filled, the beekeeper adds more supers. It’s harvest time when the hexagonal cells, each filled with honey, are sealed with wax.

August 2010

Locally Produced Honey All the Buzz

By Lisa Tehrani

De Haro Street resident Jackie Cherry is an aspiring locavore – committed to eating locally and sustainably-grown foods – but her desire to be an urban beekeeper is rooted in her deep love of the earth and all its creatures.  “I have a backyard vegetable garden, and became interested in honeybees after reading about Colony Collapse Disorder. Entire colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate, not just here in the U.S., but throughout Europe as well. Honeybees are responsible for the pollination of about one-third of the U.S. crop species:  almonds, apples, cucumbers, the list goes on and on.  In essence, if we want to continue to eat fruits and vegetables and see the wildflowers blooming, we need to take care of the bees,” Cherry said.She got busy with bees after her spouse, Beth Freeman, brought home a small jar of individually-tended honey she received as a Christmas gift.  “There was such a huge difference in the honey…and the stuff you buy at Safeway. It was the best honey I’ve ever tasted,” she explained.  Cherry has tended her garden for 17 years, complete with tomatoes, cherries, figs, lemons and grapes. Despite its abundance, she figured it could accommodate a beehive or two.

“When I first said that I would like to have a beehive Beth said, ‘Oh no, we can’t do it,’” Cherry recalled. Freeman was initially concerned that beekeeping might pose risks to their then three-year-old daughter, Firefly.  She also worried about how the neighbors would react.

Cherry started by hosting a hive that belonged to another beekeeper, but quickly learned that she preferred to be the primary caretaker. A newfound passion took over, but not without a learning curve.  In 2009 when Cherry was hosting the other beekeeper’s hive, “I looked out the window and saw the bees were swarming. It was amazing and beautiful and a part of nature I had never seen before.  And there it was, right in the middle of the City.  I had to make friends with the neighbors and explain that I’d be more careful. If a colony is strong, its natural desire is to procreate.  The colony produces a new queen and sends out scouts to check the surrounding area for a temporary abode.  Half the colony left and those bees decided to stop in a tree two houses down on Rhode Island Street.”

The beehive and what was left of the colony was returned to its owner. Cherry traveled to Santa Cruz to purchase her own bees. “It does not matter how many books you read, it is about getting hands on, getting stung,” she explained. Cherry’s bees thrived in her backyard.  Within four months of being established in late-July, 2009, the hive had produced 85 pounds of surplus – more than the bees’ needed to survive – honey.

Cherry’s neighbors were initially worried about having beehives – which are legal – next door.  She largely assuaged these concerns by applying proper bee management techniques.  Bees need protection from the wind and the hot afternoon sun, and an ongoing supply of fresh water.  Hives should be oriented so that the bees fly up and high over heads and patios, which can be done by placing the hive near fences, trees and tall shrubs.  

According to Freeman, “So much about beekeeping is educational; people just don’t know.  The more you learn about bees, the more impossible it is to become afraid of them.  I thought bees were prone to attack and they are not.”  Cherry explained that most people don’t know the difference between a honeybee and a yellow jacket, which do tend to be aggressive and annoying.

Although beekeepers need to influence swarms and flight patterns, it’s bee poop that can be the biggest annoyance.  Potrero Hill residents are used to the black grime that collects on window sills and porches from bus and highway exhaust. Organic as it might be, yellow specks of bee poop on cars and windows aren’t generally appreciated.  A good beekeeper might be able to prevent a swarm, but even the most talented beekeeper can’t prevent their bees from pooping.

Cherry processes the honey in her kitchen, careful to keep the environment clean. The two-day task involves extracting the honey from the comb, straining and bottling.  She uses a barrel-like contraption that spins the honey out of the comb, three frames at a time, with centrifugal force.  In temperatures below 75 degrees it’s a challenge to work with the viscous honey, so she straps heating pads to the extractor to help it flow.

Potrero Hill produces “champagne honey,” a term used due to its light hue and mild, yet complex, flavor. With its countless backyard gardens, the Hill is rich in biodiversity, and has the best weather for beekeeping in San Francisco. “We didn’t realize that Potrero Hill honey is so highly sought after,” Cherry explained.  According to Cherry, the bees collect nectar from whatever plants are in bloom, and can travel within a radius of up to three miles to forage. The De Haro Street bees have already had an impact on the local ecosystem:  a nearby old avocado tree has begun producing fruit after years of dormancy.

In addition to being delicious, honey is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, and is a natural cough suppressant. Many people claim that local honey is great for allergies because it exposes your body to the local pollens, and helps build a natural resistance.

Local honey is also helping the greater community. Using a $750 grant from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, Cherry launched an effort to market her honey.  The profit from honey sales goes to St. John’s Episcopal Church Julian Pantry, where Cherry serves as a deacon, to buy food from Potrero Hill-based San Francisco Food Bank.  That successful endeavor led to two more grants from the Episcopal Church, which has enabled further growth.  Julian Pantry beehives are now located in the Portola and Outer Richmond neighborhoods.  

 “I thought it was such a genius idea,” said Freeman.  “We have a global food problem, half of it has to do with big ag [agriculture], chemicals and the environment, and the other half is sociopolitical. And the honey bees are in trouble,” Cherry added, “We need bees to grow food; we keep bees, they make honey, we sell honey to benefit the Julian Pantry so we can give healthy food to hungry people. It’s pure local honey, people don’t think twice about giving $10 for a half pound jar.”

With three backyard hives in production, Cherry also makes her own private label, “Firefly’s Own Potrero Hill Honey,” which is available to friends and sold at M&M Market, also on De Haro Street. The market sells-out within days of receiving a new supply. “People just love it, they always ask about it and we’ve never had any complaints about it. They say it is the best honey they’ve ever had. We run out so quick,” said Frank Hernandez, M&M Market’s owner.

Cherry plans on producing honey well into the future. “I love it. I’ve also become a bee evangelist; a couple of my friends have backyard hives now, and some who don’t will! I like spreading the good news of the bees.”

For more information on local beekeeping opportunities, visit San Francisco Beekeeper’s Association: http://www.sfbee.org, San Francisco Urban Beekeeping Group, http://www.meetup.com/SFbeeks/.

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