North Mount Pleasant Magazine 2020-2021

NMP www.NorthMountPleasant.com | www.ParkWestNeighborhoods.com | www.BrickyardHomes.com north mount pleasant N othing quite captures the wonder of nature like a jar of local honey. But beekeeping is not easy — it takes perseverance and patience. Can you taste those nuances along with wildflowers in your honey? The Charleston Area Beekeepers Association (CABA) will hold their ninth annual Charleston Honey & Bee Expo ( charlestonbees.org ) on Sunday, April 5, in the Regal Cinebarre parking lot off Houston Northcutt Boulevard in Mount Pleasant. Last year, 6,000 people attended this free event that showcased 10 honey vendors. James Craig is CABA’s secretary and a beekeeper himself, the “porch pick-up” kind. He is also a honeybee wrangler, removing swarms from backyards and redistributing them to the likes of local beekeepers, the Charleston Community Garden and The BeeCause Project. CABA’s annual beekeeping seminar weekend was full this year with 52 participants. Craig explained that, yes, while there are lots of bee-hivers in the area, they are not all necessarily producing honey. One who is, however, is Henry Lowrimore of Lowrimore Apiaries. He sells quarts of his Georgetown Wildflower Honey on his website, lowrimoreapiaries.com . It’s easy to fall under the spell of local honey — local raw honey that is. Any honey not treated with heat over 110 degrees during processing is raw, and only raw honey has those wonderful natural properties. Lowrimore swears by an elixir (see “Good Morning Toddy” recipe on p. 104) that he drinks each morning. Mothers who buy from him are confident it will rid their kids of colds and coughs as honey is a natural anti-inflammatory. He’s been in the game for 30 years and has a headful of bee knowledge that he gladly imparts to others as an instructor during the CABA weekend. Lowrimore is also part of the Blackwater Beekeepers Association (BBA) that pulls in about 35 participants to their own educational workshop. The world should be abuzz with new colonies, but Lowrimore was quick to caution that time and cost are not your friends when it comes to raising bees. He should know; he loses on average 20 hives a year, out of about 50. “Roughly 30 percent of beekeepers quit in the first two years because it’s hard to keep your bees alive,” he confided. “Losing a colony can be devastating. It’s trial and error on raising strong bees, knowing how much food is needed to support the colony, if the queen is a good layer and do you have enough drones to supply the pollen. Weather is a huge determiner, too. A week of rain means your bees are eating their own honey to survive.” Besides honey, Lowrimore Apiaries also sells production BY PAMELA JOUAN The Buzz on Local Honey andThoseWho Sell It Photos by Tony Smith. Beekeepers inspect their hives. Nothing tastes as sweet as locally made honey.