Joel's Apiaries

Joel's Apiaries London beekeeper to 2 apairies, one in my Thamesmead home garden, another at farm near Plumstead and Welling

Happy ! 🐝💛With warmer weather in the forecast, our local pollinators will be busier than ever, including the bees at Jo...
20/05/2026

Happy ! 🐝💛

With warmer weather in the forecast, our local pollinators will be busier than ever, including the bees at Joel's Apiaries.

You don’t need a hive of your own to make a difference! Here are 3 easy ways you can help bees right from your backyard, balcony, or garden:

1️⃣ Plant native flowers – Give them a diverse, nutritious buffet to forage from.

2️⃣ Leave the weeds – Dandelions and clover are vital early-season foods for bees.

3️⃣ Provide a water station – A shallow dish with pebbles gives them a safe place to land and sip.

Celebrating World Bee Day today on 20th May, let’s show some love to the hardest workers on Earth today! 🌎🌻

08/05/2026

A bee swarm is a natural, temporary, and typically non-aggressive cluster of thousands of honey bees, often shaped like a rugby ball, searching for a new home. Stay calm, keep away and contact your local beekeeper.

If you come across a bee swarm in Royal Borough of Gree, feel free to contact me.

20/04/2026

Beekeeper’s work never stops. 🐝✨

This evening’s job: extracting beeswax from old frames. It has to be done after dark, because bees don’t forage in the dark and won’t be drawn to the molten wax and get stuck.

The beeswax from old frames is too valuable to waste. We reuse it in a range of our bee products, giving it a new purpose and making the most of everything the hive provides.

First hive inspection of early spring 🐝A quick check on brood pattern, stores, and colony health after winter. Every tim...
10/04/2026

First hive inspection of early spring 🐝

A quick check on brood pattern, stores, and colony health after winter. Every time I open a hive, I am reminded how incredible bees are—organized, resilient, and already getting ready for the season ahead.

Off to a strong start.

Cleaning old frames, every beekeepers' dreaded job. Its a chore but needs to be done, essential to get things ready for ...
28/12/2025

Cleaning old frames, every beekeepers' dreaded job. Its a chore but needs to be done, essential to get things ready for next year's beekeeping season. good thing i found a much faster frame cleanup method!

I learnt about this boiling method for cleaning my beekeeping frames and decided to improvise with a simple setup: an old oil drum over a wood fire. I filled the drum with water and added soda crystals to help break down all the stubborn wax and propolis. Once it’s boiling, the frames got chucked in with a brick dropped in to weigh it down, lid closed allowing the submerged frames boil for 5 mins. Repeat this after flipping the frames over and out they come after an additional 5 mins noticeably cleaner. Then it’s a good rinse with the watering can with a few mins of manual scrubbing of the more stubborn stains from the lugs and they’re left stacked up to air dry.

Before this, I was doing it the slow way, scraping frame by frame, and it took about 5 mins to scrape clean each frame which is forever. This method is a huge time-saver.

While Joel is tending to the outdoor market at the Royal Arsenal, I'll be nicely tucked indoors at our regular Plumstea...
17/12/2025

While Joel is tending to the outdoor market at the Royal Arsenal, I'll be nicely tucked indoors at our regular Plumstead Community Market for the last market of the year.

Do come along for your LOCAL honey, handmade beeswax wraps, homemade jams and honey gift boxes. There will also be choir at 1pm, and plenty artisan goodies from other local talents.


This Saturday 20th December 2025
11-4pm at St Mark's Hall SE18 1QE

Last market of the year, it will be our second outdoor market at the Royal Arsenal MarketThis Saturday, 20th December10-...
17/12/2025

Last market of the year, it will be our second outdoor market at the Royal Arsenal Market

This Saturday, 20th December
10-4pm at the Artillery Square SE18 6GD.

Come get your LOCAL honey (from Thamesmead and Plumstead) , handmade beeswaxwraps, homemade jams and Christmas gift boxes and meet the beekeeper



Looking for Christmas Gift ideas?Here are the few options for our DOUBLE honey gift box combinations1. Two large honey +...
09/12/2025

Looking for Christmas Gift ideas?

Here are the few options for our DOUBLE honey gift box combinations

1. Two large honey + large honey drizzle + two lavender pouches
2. Two large honey + large honey drizzle + one small beeswax wrap
3. Two large honey + one large beeswax wrap
4. Two large honey + large honey drizzle + beeswax balm

*Large honey from both of our apiaries, Plumstead or Thamesmead, there will be a little note in the gift box explaining where the honey is from.

*beeswax balm are made of just 3 simple natural ingredients : beswax from our hives, olive oil and jojoba oil, handmade in our kitchen.

*beeswax wraps are pure cotton fabrics coated with our own beeswax mixed with jojoba oil and pine resin, again, made in our kitchen.

Check out our SINGLE gift box on the other post!

Get in touch or come see us at the Plumstead Communit Market on the 20th December 2025. Check out details on our main page.

Looking for Christmas Gift ideas?Here are the few options for our SINGLE honey gift box combinations1. Large honey + sma...
09/12/2025

Looking for Christmas Gift ideas?

Here are the few options for our SINGLE honey gift box combinations

1. Large honey + small honey drizzle + lavender pouch
2.Large honey + small beeswax wrap
3.Large honey + beeswax balm

*Large honey from either of our apiaries, Plumstead or Thamesmead, there will be a little note in the gift box explaining where the honey is from.

*beeswax balm are made of just 3 simple natural ingredients : beswax from our hives, olive oil and jojoba oil, handmade in our kitchen.

*beeswax wraps are pure cotton fabrics coated with our own beeswax mixed with jojoba oil and pine resin, again, made in our kitchen.

Check out our double gift box on the next post!

Get in touch or come see us at the Plumstead Communit Market on the 20th December 2025. Check out details on our main page.

Charlton House Christmas MarketWe're here today 10-4pmDo come join us and check out the markets (indoor and outdoor)Grab...
30/11/2025

Charlton House Christmas Market
We're here today 10-4pm
Do come join us and check out the markets (indoor and outdoor)
Grab your local honey and Christmas gifts!

30th November Sunday 10-4pm
Charlton House SE7 8RE



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