Hello folks.
I don't know the first thing about beekeeping, its costs in terms of time/money, or the practical end of HOW to do it... but I just bought a home on a ranch that used to have bees, and the other members of my community would love to see them return.
Any books or sites to recommend to someone who literally is taking the very first step?
I've known since I was a child that someday I would answer the call to keep bees... now I have an amazing opportunity to follow through, if only I can figure out how to do it!
- Alice
I don't know the first thing about beekeeping, its costs in terms of time/money, or the practical end of HOW to do it... but I just bought a home on a ranch that used to have bees, and the other members of my community would love to see them return.
Any books or sites to recommend to someone who literally is taking the very first step?
I've known since I was a child that someday I would answer the call to keep bees... now I have an amazing opportunity to follow through, if only I can figure out how to do it!
- Alice
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Getting Started
Thu, April 17, 2008 - 7:29 AMWell, I don't know a thing either, but I just took the plunge and bought a "Beeginners'" kit from Dadant. $185 with shipping. Expecting to spend another $100 on bees.
I'll keep you posted. -
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Re: Getting Started
Thu, April 17, 2008 - 8:09 AMTry to buy local bees that were raised in your climate.
Have fun!
G
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Re: Getting Started
Fri, April 25, 2008 - 6:36 PMI just built this type of hive and started a colony. It's a great, sustainable and low cost way to go.
www.biobees.com/
...dave -
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Re: Getting Started
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 12:13 PMPlease let us know how your top bar hives work out. I'm very curious. I've been planning to switch over to those from the langstroth type for a couple of years but haven't been able to make the time to do it. I like the whole concept and not having to be dependent on buying all that foundation. It is expensive. Besides, I like harvesting the beeswax anyway.
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Re: Getting Started
Sat, April 26, 2008 - 12:15 PMI see you're in the SF Bay Area. If you don't already have orange trees on your property, go ahead and plant some. Orange blossoms smell so sweet and are very attractive to honey bees. The trees really thrive in the moderate Bay Area climate, and your bees will produce some deliciously sweet wildflower honey~
:)
(and your yard will smell wonderful!) -
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Re: Getting Started
Wed, April 30, 2008 - 1:51 PMBeekeeping for Dummies is helpful for me (as a fellow total newbie) -
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Re: Getting Started
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 8:27 AMI read "Beekeeping for Dummies" before I started beekeeping. I almost didn't keep bees after reading about all those chemical dependant methods, so I realized that conventional beekeeping wasn't for me.
This is my second year beekeeping in a chemical free Top Bar Hive. I really love TBH beekeeping. I took a hive making workshop last year and in one day 8 of us made 10 hives. The 2 hives cost me $50 in wood to build. A TBH is easy to build, and it's easier to work, because there isn't as much heavy lifting. Because in a TBH the bees draw their own comb without a foundation, the bees will make smaller bees which fly better and are more Varroa resistant. These smaller bees spend 18 hours less in the brood cell before emerging, and that disrupts the Varro mite's life cycle. TBHs also produce more wax.
The best places for info on chemical free beekeeping, is the Organicbeekeepers Yahoo group. There are beekeepers there who have been chemical free for decades. The group is very active and has 2000 members, so put it on web or daily digest. There are both Small Cell Langstroth beekeepers and TBH beekeepers on this list.
pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/O...keepers/
Top Hive is a yahoo group for TBH keepers, I have gotten great help here for my TBHs and the front page has some great links for Top Bar HIve info and plans. There are a couple of long term TBH keepers on this group, who don't post on Organic Beekeepers, so I recommend both groups if one wants to do TBH hives.
pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/TopHive/ -
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Re: Getting Started
Mon, May 19, 2008 - 11:37 AMOK, so my hive is built. It's time to paint it.
I've seen various bits of advice on what to do here. Clearly, painting the inside is a no-no, but what are my options here.
My first thought is a Low VOC white outdoor paint on the outside (Does it have to be white or is that just tradition?) and nothing on the inside, but I've seen mention of wax and or oil methods that seem to include the inside. -
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Re: Getting Started
Mon, May 19, 2008 - 2:30 PMYou can paint any color but do remember that white reflects light/heat and the darker the color the warmer your hive is going to run. Yes you have it keep the paint on the outside and go with an exterior latex. -
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Re: Getting Started
Mon, May 19, 2008 - 10:10 PMThe bees create a lot of moisture in the hive because they evaporate water out of the nectar. I think that the flat exterior paints may "breath" better than the enamels / latex and allow the moisture to escape through the wood with less bubbling and chipping. It's probably a good idea as well to use a thin coat of primer as a base before the main coat of paint.
A good source for paint is the discounted "mistints" that you can find on the bargain shelves of Home Depot, Lowes, and paint stores. Those cans of paints either weren't mixed quite to the customer's liking....or the customer never came back for the paint. I usually go for the lighter pastel colors. If you have a row of many hives that are painted several different colors....some would considered an added benefit that the bees can more easily find their way back to their own hives as opposed to a long row of all white beehives.
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Re: Getting Started
Tue, May 20, 2008 - 8:32 AMI paint my hives with raw linseed oil. It's non toxic to the bees, but linseed oil dries slowly and it needs several coats and a couple weeks to dry. I've seen bees walk through puddles of raw linseed oil without ill effects. Raw linseed oil is also very cheap. Leave the inside of the hive alone, the bees prefer raw wood.
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