“ We are never without food or something to snuggle and love around here , ” say Allison Tolpa , founding father ofSweet Cheeks Farm And Apiaryin Chester , New Jersey .
The family farm originally developed from just “ a garden and some chickens . ” Then Tolpa rescued a mini - gymnastic horse named Minimus . Next came a miniature donkey called Otis and then a pig get it on as Boris .
Now the venture has expand to admit a potent focus on bees and beeswax products .
We spoke to Tolpa about the positive lessons that children can discover from farming and becoming fascinated with bees . We also got the soap on salt dear butter .
What’s in a Name?
A stake shared by Allison Tolpa ( @sweet_cheeks_farm_and_apiary )
The significance behind the name Sweet Cheeks Farm And Apiary come from Tolpa ’s nestling .
“ At the time all three of my kids had the most adorable chubby face , ” she recalls . “ The inspiration has always come from wanting to learn my tyke that they were open of growing , creating and making their own food while instilling compassion in them with the love and concern of animals . ”
Learning to Love Bees
When Tolpa ’s son Benjamin designate an pursuit in bees , she lead along to a stratum with him . They later purchase their first hives .
“ Our passion grow from there , and we have now expanded from selling honey from a farm standstill on our property to throw seven bee M in New Jersey and selling both wholesale and retail , ” she explains .
“ Benjamin was also accept into the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell for this fall . We are very proud of him and have it away he will continue to do great thing for this Earth . ”
Read more : Ready to buy some bees ? Here are style to get your hives seethe .
Breaking down Bee Behavior
“ The most interesting matter about bees to us is their complex social relationships and communication , ” says Tolpa when asked about the fascinating nature of bee .
“ They are able to communicate with each other with ease through pheromones and vibrations for keep everything in the hive running smoothly , from nectar and honey collection to building comb . ”
Queen Bee Qualities
When it fare to the role of the queen bee , Tolpa says that “ even though she is shout out the queen , she does not really have the same sureness that we think about when talk about human high society . ”
or else , Tolpa says , queen regnant bees fulfill a occasion as the “ brood layer . ” This in turn avail ensure the beehive runs expeditiously .
Read more : Beekeeper and Tik Tok superstar Erika Thompson is all about her bees !
Recipe Testing Salted Honey Butter
Sweet Cheeks Farm And Apiary of late posted to their Instagram account about a fiddling something call salt love butter . Tolpa say that honey should be “ respect like a ok Bourbon dynasty or wine-coloured . ”
She adds , “ We just sleep with to enhance it and bring out the complex botanic tone the bees already create with things like sea Strategic Arms Limitation Talks . It ferment the honey into something slimly different but allows it to pair beautifully with an aged ok tall mallow or just with a composition of dark drinking chocolate .
“ [ It ’s ] two simple ingredient that can be integrate , leaving you with a healthier more complex option to salted caramel . ”
The Magic of Honey Bees
“ The most rewarding part is seeing the impingement it has had on my children , as well as the child and families who occur visit , ” say Tolpa , reflecting on the joyfulness of follow up on a family unit farming lifestyle .
“ We teach a beekeeping class with a farm duty tour , and it ’s so nice to see everyone astonished about the magic of honey bee . They will here with a love and discernment of them and the admiration of nature itself . ”
