How to sell propolis
All About Propolis | How to Clean & Harvest Propolis, Propolis Tincture Recipe & Uses for Propolis
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hey everyone lucy here from beekeeping
made simple and this video is about
propolis
um
you know it's the end of march and it's
kind of
b season but not quite so i wanted to
talk about some of those fun things you
can do with the products you're
harvesting from your hive um
uh to get you excited about beekeeping
and the things that you can do come the
fall once your bee keeping is over or
when you have free time in the summer
and propolis is one of those things that
people know a little bit less about so
i'm going to talk about first you know
what propolis is what you can do with it
how to harvest it
traps you can buy how you can make traps
then how you process it and then what
you're going to do what you can do with
your propolis and my experience with
propolis and how it has helped me and
selling it and stuff
so um
does the propolis
it's this uh
you know
usually dark brown though i have had
hives that had propolis that was like
this more of a palish brown gray color
um and it is really sticky and tacky
when it's hot out and sunny and when it
is not hot it is really hard um
so like this
you know it's super hard and stuck on um
not tacky anymore because it's a lot
cooler in here so
the bees gather propolis it plants up
and they gather it um and they bring it
to the hive now propolis is high in
antibacterial antimicrobial properties
so one they're lining the cells within
the honeycomb with it before the queen
lays an egg in it so they're essentially
disinfecting
um that crib for the baby bee
they are also using it around the hive
they are making it really hard to pull
boxes apart to get the lid off um and
plugging up holes within the hive and so
when they stick everything together in
the hive with propolis it makes it
harder for
humans bears uh predators to come and
pull it apart and then of course they're
plugging up the holes and that prevents
sunlight from coming in
as well as rain and elements
so um
they say that autumn is a good time to
harvest propyl is but you see it you can
take it you know it's i haven't really
found that that matters too much
um now first off harvesting propyl it's
like how you can gather it from your
hive you can just pull it out of the
hive where you see it um
like
you know like this queen excluder i have
here you have propolis in your queen
excluder you can always just pull it off
with your hive tool scrape it
but there are propolis traps and i will
put a link in the show description to
places you can go to find uh propolis
traps you can also make your own
propolis trap um you just take a screen
with holes that are um
too small for bees to get through you
know bees are like you know that
three-eighths of an inch roughly is the
hole that they can get into so you want
the hole smaller than three-eighths of
an inch
and you would um
put it on the very top of your hive so
you have however many boxes assuming you
have a langstroth style hive and then
you're going to take your propolis trap
say this is your purple strap put it on
top of the very uppermost bars and then
you're going to have your lid on top of
that now what you're going to want to do
is put something between the trap and
your lid to just
prop it up a little bit just slightly
and when you do that that allows
sunlight
to come into the hot and when bees have
that light and air and
wind and everything coming into the high
they will go and they will plug up those
holes in the trap with pro bowlers
um
you can also
so you could put a screen in there or um
some people take corrugated plastic and
you know that's what um
signs political signs are made out of
but you can also find corrugated plastic
at the hardware store
and you can just drill small holes that
are smaller than 3 8 of an inch in there
you know not a ton just
however many you want to
um and put that just like i mentioned
before
on the very top of the uppermost box
between the lid and the uppermost box
um
now
you can just scrape the propyl is
wherever you find it in the beehive just
keep in mind
you don't want to scrape it if it was
potentially in the hive when um
honey was being uh when your hive was
being treated uh because that can then
be in the pro bowls i'm not positive
about whether it would be in the
propolis i know that is the case for
beeswax because beeswax is um
really absorbs all of those chemicals uh
it's very porous but just to be safe i
would not use it for um i would not use
it if you had it in the hot during
treatments and
the reason why is because you're using
this propolis either you're ingesting it
or you're applying it topically and so
um
you know those treatments aren't things
that you want
to be exposing yourself to beeswax on
the other hand is not always used
topically it is often used for candle
making so um you can use that wax that
was in the hive so
if you're going to you know nix the
traps and you just want to scrape it out
of your hive i would at very least like
you know just pull it off for the queen
excluders or something plastic um
otherwise you're going to be getting
bits of wood and paint in with your
propolis
and
the wood you can strain out but um while
you're cleaning it and processing it but
the paint you know
isn't really ideal so you know it's
pretty easy to just make that propolis
trap with um a piece of corrugated
plastic drill some holes that are
smaller than 3 8 of an inch in there or
buy a propolis trap
or you could just take two plastic queen
excluders and just put them on top of
each other so that the holes are smaller
and um put that between the lid and
upper most box and just prop it up just
a teeny little bit and see how it goes
um
okay so
now that you have your propolis once you
have
the trap in and the bees have plugged up
the holes and you have it to pull out of
the hive um
[Music]
what you want to do is just put it in
the refrigerator um if you have it in
clumps if it's like stuck in your trap
put it outside in the sun so that it
heats up and it's warm and then you can
take your hot tool and you can scrape
the pro plus off um
and then you can put in the refrigerator
so that it cools down and once it's
cooled down in the fridge you can smash
it with a hammer and when you smash it
with a hammer you get in into a whole
bunch of teeny little pieces
um
so once you have it in a whole bunch of
little pieces i'm like yeah i know it's
not like i do this
very often
um you will take your little pieces that
you smashed up with a hammer
you know just
put the pieces in a plastic bag and you
know on the sidewalk or the concrete
somewhere really hard just smash it and
then you're gonna have a bucket fill it
up with water just like an inch um and
then put your propolis into that because
the pro pulse will stick to the bottom
of the bucket otherwise and then once
the rest of the propolis is in um you
can fill the bucket in a little bit more
and just swish the propolis around so
that you're getting all the dirt and
debris and stuff if you're using a
propolis chop on the top of your hive
you're not gonna have so much but if
you're scraping it from your boxes or
you're pulling it from a queen excluder
like this that was somewhere while we're
in the hive then it's gonna be a little
bit more dirty and have more stuff in
there
um and then you know just
strain that out all the dirt is going to
go to the top so empty that out have
like a strainer or something so you can
catch the proposed pieces and put more
water in and just keep on swishing it
around until you get all that dirt off
of it
um and then you're going to go and
put it on a tray or some kind of sheet
and lay it in not the sun not in direct
sunlight but somewhere so that it can
dry off um
you don't want to put it out in the sun
or somewhere where it's going to get too
hot because then it's going to get all
mushy and
gooey again and stick to whatever you
put it on and you know if that is um
waxed paper not so much of a big deal
but if you're sticking it on any kind of
metal
pan or something it's going to be a mess
so once it's all dry then stick it in
the freezer to freeze
and you can use it for your tinctures
and lotions and stuff so there's two
things you can do with your propolis
once you've taken it out of the hive and
washed it
you can use it um
in oil you can make a tincture or
alcohol
now they say that the alcohol is
stronger
so if you're looking for something you
know using the propolis because you want
those antibacterial antimicrobial
properties then i would do it in alcohol
but the oil is good if you're using it
for lotions and things of that sort you
don't really like to add alcohol well i
don't like to add alcohol to lotions
because then that dries your skin out
and kind of avoids you know what you're
trying to do which is usually
moisturized
so
um
[Music]
if you are doing the tincture
what you want is uh everclear or vodka
but it has to be 75 proof or higher
and can be kind of hard to find this i
had some difficulty where i am in
finding it i finally found it at a um
liquor store
like a high-end liquor store oddly
enough um
and it sold like a lot of um
high-end wines and whiskies and um
uh i couldn't find it at just like the
corner liquor store um though other
people told me that there was just some
random hole in the wall liquor store i
didn't even know existed that also sold
it
um so you're gonna take that 75 proof or
higher vodka everqueer whatever it is
you have and it's um one part propolis
weight by nine parts alcohol i'm gonna
post a link to my blog post um that's
gonna have like some of these charts in
here
because um
make it a little bit easier for you guys
to um
follow so you're just going to you know
it's pretty handy so if you don't have a
little kitchen scale they're like ten
dollars
you get one so it's one part propolis by
weight by nine parts um alcohol by the
way i do not use rubbing alcohol uh
because if you ever use this for some
kind of purpose where you're ingesting
it that's no good you know for like a
throat spray or something
um and then you're just going to put it
all together in a canning jar you want
that propolis
to be smashed in those little pieces it
should be already in pretty small pieces
um from earlier when you were cleaning
it but if not if you didn't clean it um
make sure it's in the smallest piece as
you can so after you freeze it it's
really hard
put it in another plastic bag and smash
it with a hammer until it's in really
tiny pieces throw that in the canning
jar with the alcohol
and shake it
you're going to store it in a dark place
so you can put it in like a paper bag in
your kitchen so you don't that's what i
did so i didn't forget about it because
if i just put it like in the
medicine cabinet in my bathroom or like
underneath the sink i was going to
forget about it
you want to shake it two to three times
a day for two weeks
i set a reminder on my phone that went
off daily because i just
never can keep up with all of my random
craft projects
um now once you are done with like two
weeks is over and you're done shaking it
you're going to then strain it
uh coffee filters work best but it takes
a lot longer so you can use a
cheesecloth but you're then going to
pour it over another clean jar
with
some kind either a cheesecloth or coffee
filter to get the proposed pieces out so
you just have
what should be brown alcohol in your jar
now you're going to want to store this
in a dark colored jar you don't want to
keep it in a
light colored canning jar you know like
more of those medicinal bottles
and you can reuse the purples after
you're done with this shaking and
storing
um so
i'm gonna have in my blog post um
because this is a little bit you know
beyond
talking about but if you that's to make
a 10
strong propyl solution you can do 20 and
30 beyond 30 they say it doesn't work
very well i've never tried making it
stronger than 30
um
so
you're just going to have you know a
not as high of a ratio so you're just
going to have a lot less alcohol and
more propolis to make a 20 or 30 ratio
to make it a little bit stronger if
that's what you want
so you can also do a
oil tincture and that's very similar to
the propolis um with the alcohol
tincture the only thing is is that you
have the option you can either do it the
same way and put it in the oil and shake
it two to three times a day for three
weeks and keep it in a dark spot
or you can heat it up and
make it in one day so you're gonna heat
up the propolis and most people use
olive oil you can use other oils um
avocado oil works well i wouldn't
use oils with a scent to them like
coconut oil
but it's still nine parts the oil to one
part propolis by weight
so if you choose to make the oil
tincture with propolis you're going to
have the nine parts oil to one part
propolis
by weight and so you just measure it out
and put it in a small
pan and you are going to heat it up but
you do not want it higher than 122
degrees fahrenheit because there are
anti-microbial properties the propolis
so you don't want to kill those
beneficial things and you're going to
stir it for about 10 minutes so first
off you don't want to put over direct
heat you want a double boiler so you can
have um
a large pot full of water and then you
are going to put your smaller pan inside
that and that's where your olive oil and
your propolis is going to be and you are
just going to keep that up slowly over a
low heat do not have it over
120 degrees fahrenheit and stir that for
10 minutes
and that will give you an oil tincture
so there's um
you know different things you can do
with your propolis
the bees use it to disinfect their hive
and to seal up holes they say it's
antibiotic antimicrobial antiviral and
anti-fungal so obviously you're using it
for things like um
sorry you hear the baby crying in the
background my husband is with the baby
so it's not like um she's being left to
scream while i talk
so not only anything i've really used
propolis for is a throat spray
you can put it in a little spray bottle
and spray it in the back of your throat
and that can help with a sore throat
um
people also use it for bronchitis as a
preventative supplement um and for other
kinds of colds you can spray that
propolis spray in your mouth and that's
just a direct um you know ever clear
propolis tincture that you're making you
put a spray bottle and you can spray um
internally some people use it as nose
drops for sinus infection or congestion
um you can make a mouth rinse
with for mouth sores
or for irritated gums you can use the
rinse for a toothache i
one person came by the farm and asked
for a piece of propolis because they had
a toothache and they just put the whole
bod right there in the tooth
um and then externally it can be used
for cuts and burns and bites and rashes
and nail fungus
um
if you're going to put it in the oil
usually you're using the propolis
um
the oil infusion propolis for severe
dryness eczema psoriasis not just for
general um oils and lotions
so um throat spray here's a quick little
uh recipe for you
um that would be three tablespoons of
the propolis everqueer tincture uh two
tablespoons of honey one tablespoon of
warm water and you mix that in a spray
bottle you can spray in the back of your
mouth now that's something to do right
on the spot you're not going to keep
that around for a while because um
that's honey and water mixed together
and so those things don't last very long
together
um
but
also just a straight up propolis
tincture would work fine as a throat
spray but you can all add the honey and
warm water if you like
and then there is a sap that you can
make which is a real easy one as well
that is using a propolis tincture
in alcohol but making it stronger so
it's a 30
um which i'll have in the link to my
blog post so how to do the 30
versus the lighter tinctures so it's a
one part prophylus tincture
um
and then nine parts petroleum jelly
and you can heat that up
over in a double boiler so you're just
putting everything in a small pot or um
you know yeah pop and then you're
putting that in a larger pot so that
you're not putting over direct heat but
you're putting it in the hot water of
that pot and you're just going to slowly
heat that up
and stir it until it you know
gets all liquidy and then take it off
the heat and continue to stir it while
it's off the heat so while it's
solidifying you're stirring it if you
don't continue to stir it while it's
solidifying it will separate
so just keep that in mind it takes a
little while but um and you can also use
other
other things
i wanted to
share with you a really great place if
you want some propolis recipes
go to
facebook and there's a facebook group
called be propolis tincture processing
and there are a ton of recipes and
people asking questions posting things
that they've worked on
photos of things that they're doing and
is a really great place to get
information and help and to look at
recipes
though
when you go there as soon as you join
the group you can find there's like a
files link and there you can find a
whole bunch of recipes people posted
already
um
and so those are
some real quick recipes
and again i'll put the link to this
facebook group in the description of the
show below and the link to my blog post
which i'll have these recipes and how to
make the oil and um
alcohol tinctures for propolis now in my
experience propolis isn't a big seller
like if you're looking for products to
make to sell at the farmers market or
online or
wherever you sell your honey and stuff
and you're thinking that the proposals
would be in that another product
i haven't found that people care
um now it all kind of depends on how you
market it so people aren't like oh
propolis i love this stuff um you're not
going to get a lot of people contacting
you asking you for propyl is i
definitely had a lot more people asking
for pollen than propyl is um it doesn't
have that cell like royal jelly does i
feel that royal jelly people are a
little bit more aware of what it is and
the benefits
is used in a lot of high-end
beauty products and lotions and has a
high price tag and so people have a
little bit more like that royal jelly
kind of thing maybe also just the name
of it sounds fancy
um
so
i wouldn't i don't recommend just you
know throwing it in there as another
product but if you are looking to make a
good product um to add to your line of
skincare and you already have the basics
uh you know like a nice face cream
handset
um uh you know a body butter and you
want to add like another one that goes a
little bit
in another direction this is a good one
for people with eczema psoriasis and
severe dryness
or it can also be um
like a a
a healing set that you would be
um
you know maybe add some comfrey
also to it you can um infuse comfrey
into one of the oils you're using and it
can be a great lotion for um bites and
burns and um
you know
to put on minor cuts and abrasions
so that is my experience with propolis
i've used it personally as a throat
spray
it worked okay i mean my
it didn't make my cold go away
you know within 24 hours or anything
um
but it it did make it feel a little bit
better um because you are spraying
alcohol in your throat
um
and i've never actually played around
with the oil tinctures so if anyone has
any recipes or questions let me know and
of course if you appreciate this um
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for watching um please let me know how
you like to use propolis and if it works
for you because propyl is in my view is
one of those things that some people
swear by and say is great and other
people are like
yeah i don't i don't know i don't it's
um
and
i haven't had a ton of
experience like with it working
incredibly well
um but i also
never had any
severe wounds
or problems to test it out on so if you
have had some great or bad experiences
with it please let us know because um i
always like to know whether something is
just an old wives tale
or
whether it's actually worked for you
thanks for watching have a great sunday
bye