Member Lauri was kind enough to share her recipe making sugar blocks for her bees! THANK YOU, Lauri!
Ingredients:
25# cane sugar
one quart organic apple cider vinegar
sprinkle of electrolytes
1-2 T citric acid (Found in your canning dept.)
splash of pro Health or other scented essential oil of choice
Mix together about 1/3 of the sugar and vinegar at a time in a five gallon bucket with a large drill and paint or drywall mud paddle mixer. If you try to mix it all at once, you will get uneven moisture distribution. Mixture will feel very soft, but not wet or sticky.
Sugar is very alkaline in nature. Nectar and honey are on the acidic side of PH levels. Using apple cider vinegar acidifies the mixture. Cider vinegar also has many health benefits.
Have you ever noticed your bee
s getting water from potted plants? The soil contains electrolytes and minerals they crave. That is the purpose of the electrolytes. One package makes up to 220 gallons of water. Make sure you only use a sprinkle of the electrolytes.
The citric acid is used for the inversion of the sugar and vitamin benefits.
Tony divided a medicine ring in half with wood and put ¼ hardware cloth along the bottom. He put a small piece of PVC pipe in the ring (covered with wire) for ventilation. Line the bottom with the wax 
paper that separates foundation sheets. (It is easy for the bee’s to chew through). Adding the wire over the top of the pipe will prevent the bees from gathering on the top of the sugar block until they have enough of the block eaten for easy movement during freezing weather. 1 batch will easily fill 2 medicine rings.
