Intro to Beekeeping

Post Reply
User avatar
bee_pipes

Intro to Beekeeping

Post by bee_pipes »

Are there any other beekeepers out there?

I had no experience, didn't know anybody that did it, and had only the casual knowledge one picks up from watching TV nature shows. Knew that beekeepers use smoke, wear hats with veils over them, but the rest of the activities were a mystery.

In 1994 I had a job managing a feed store in Indiana. During slow periods I'd kill time browsing through Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. They had an article about beekeeping and it didn't sound too hard. Bugs gross me out, and I had a healthy respect for bees from stings received as a kid. The thought of being impervious to stings was interesting. At the time gardening looked boring - this was gardening with an element of danger.

Read everything I could find about the subject at the library, found suppliers, and started planning. We lived in town, so the hives would need to be kept on other people's property. Most folks were happy to keep them once they understood the bees would not attack them. One farmer was happy to have them and crowed about the fruit he got off his blueberry bushes from the bees working the blossoms. Rent for use of the land was paid in honey.

The bees were purchased from a local orchard. Most orchards keep bees to pollinate fruit trees and sell packages and nukes as a sideline. Started out with two hives, had 4 after two years, and only got stung once. It was pretty much a hobby, and couldn't justify expensive processing equipment. Some honey was kept as comb, thew rest was placed into glass pans and baked at low temperatures until the honey and wax separated. This honey was bottled and the wax used for candles.

Got a new job and moved from Indiana to Virginia. Gave the hives to a friend. Eventually wound up in Tennessee and now live in the country. This last spring we started three new hives. One was an experiment - a top bar hive. It did not work out this year, but we are going to try again next spring. The cost of materials was less than $50, compared to the $200-$300 for a langstroth hive. It does look promising, and we have learned from our mistakes. If we can make it work, we will never buy another langstroth.

This year Tennessee had a terrible drought and hot temperatures. Being new packages, the bees were under enough stress as it was. We had to do some supplemental feedings, lost a swarm from one hive, but still got a modest harvest. I picked up a small, manual extractor at a local Mennonite auction, so we were better outfitted for processing the honey. This year's yield was 7 gallons. Nothing to brag about, but the hives are healthy and well populated - even the one that swarmed.

Concerns for this year are keeping the hives alive through the winter and purchasing a package for the top-bar. We expect a much better harvest next year, barring unforseen problems.

What was your intorduction to beekeeping? Are you thinking about trying it this year? Benefits are the honey, wax, and heavy-duty pollination of garden and fruit trees. More intangible benefits are the calm and relaxing pass time of watching the bees work and getting reconnected with the seasons and blooming times of the various plants in the area. My wife, along with many other people, swear by local honey as a way to get desensitized to pollen. Eating local honey is supposed to relieve allergy symptoms. The stings are also supposed to relieve the symptoms of arthritus.

Regards,
Pat
User avatar
whitewolf

Post by whitewolf »

SURVIVALIST YES BEEKEEPER NO,

BUT WE WILL BEGIN THIS YEAR, GOT 2 OLD HIVES FROM THE NIEGHBOR AND WANT TO CLEAN THEM UP TO USE .

LOST HIS HIVES BY MITE INFESTATION.

MY PROPERTY IS HIGH AND OVERLOOKS A SWAMP AND IS SURROUNDED BY RUNNING BAMBOO THAT FLOWERS IN THE FALL.

I THINK THIS COULD BE A WONDERFULL ADDITION TO OUR HARD TIMES PLAN.

IN THIS VENTURE OF BEEKEEPING I WILL HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS...
User avatar
bee_pipes

Post by bee_pipes »

Have you found a soure for your bees yet?

Regards,
Pat
User avatar
whitewolf

Post by whitewolf »

NO AND IM CONCERNED ABOUT COLONY COLAPSE SYNDROME.

MY OTHER CONCERNE IS PROPER PROCEEDURE FOR CLEANING THE OLD

HIVES (MITES, AND THEYVE BEEN STORED IN A CHICKEN COUPE......
Post Reply