Candy Board & Quilt Board Workshop Leave a comment
Winter losses are often caused by two simple problems—lack of food and excess moisture. Our Candy Board & Quilt Board Workshop is designed to help you prepare your hives before winter while saving you the time and mess of making everything at home.
We transform our classroom into a workshop where you can build your equipment, make fresh candy, and leave with a finished product that’s ready to place on your hive.
Workshop Information
- No registration fee. You simply pay for the materials you use.
- Stop by anytime during the posted workshop hours.
- Most candy boards take about 30 minutes to complete.
- Build your own box or purchase one already assembled.
- Bring your own candy board super to refill if you already have one.
- We provide the workspace, tools, and instruction to help you every step of the way.
- Register for the workshop
An Open House Workshop
Our Candy Board & Quilt Board Workshop is designed as an open house, so there’s no need to arrive at a specific time.
Simply stop by anytime during the posted workshop hours. Most participants complete a candy board in 30 minutes or less, although you’re welcome to stay longer if you’re building boxes or making multiple boards.
Whether you’re making your first candy board or simply refilling one you’ve used for years, we’ll help you every step of the way.
What You’ll Build
During the workshop you can make a candy board, a quilt board, or both.
If you enjoy woodworking, you’re welcome to build your own boxes during class. If you’d rather skip that step, we’ll have pre-built boxes available so you can focus on assembling and filling them.
We provide all of the materials you’ll need, but you’re also welcome to bring your own supplies. Some beekeepers bring their own sugar, while many simply bring in their existing candy board supers to refill for another season.
The Candy Board
A candy board is a 3-inch super with a queen excluder and a wooden frame attached to the bottom. Before filling it, the queen excluder is lined with wax paper and then filled with candy. Once it dries, it becomes a solid block of emergency food for your bees.
Making candy boards is a simple process, but anyone who has done it knows it can also be incredibly messy. That’s one of the biggest reasons we offer this workshop—you get all the fun without turning your kitchen into a sticky disaster.
Why Use a Candy Board?
A properly made candy board serves three important purposes:
- Emergency winter food when the bees have consumed their stored honey.
- Early spring nutrition before flowers begin producing nectar.
- Additional insulation and moisture absorption above the cluster, helping create a healthier winter environment.
The Quilt Board
The quilt board is built from a similar super but has a screened bottom instead of a queen excluder.
The screen is lined with burlap and then filled with untreated wood shavings. The wood shavings absorb moisture that rises through the hive while also adding another layer of insulation.
For those wanting the best winter protection, the quilt board is installed directly above the candy board.
Why Moisture Matters
Many beekeepers worry most about cold temperatures, but moisture is often a greater danger than the cold itself.
As bees cluster through the winter, they produce warmth and moisture. If that moisture condenses on the cold inner cover and drips back onto the cluster, wet bees can chill and die.
The candy board and quilt board work together to help manage moisture while providing emergency food and insulation, giving your colony a better chance of surviving until spring.
Workshop Details
This is one of our most popular hands-on workshops because you leave with finished equipment that is ready to use.
Whether you’re making your first candy board or simply refilling one you’ve used for years, we’ll guide you through every step of the process.
Bring your own candy board super if you’d like to refill it, or build a new one during class. We’ll provide the workspace, equipment, instruction, and most of the materials—you simply enjoy the experience without the mess of making candy in your own kitchen.
We look forward to helping you prepare your bees for a successful winter.
Candy Board Recipe
20 pounds sugar
3 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
optional ingredients
1 tsp Nozevit
1 tsp Deseret Healthy
Place sugar in a large container. Mix liquid ingredients together and add to the sugar. Mix together until all the sugar is moist.
Pack sugar into candy board super on top of wax paper. Let dry for several days before placing on your hive.
