All about life and it's challenges on our little homestead built on a sand hill!
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Bee Stuff
I never did get that nap after my Monday-Monday. I decided to open one of the two boxes of the beehives that came while I was sick. There were no info in the box so I went to the place I ordered from and started reading their lessons as I hadn't a clue as to what went where. It is a very informative site.
I have pieces of hives all over the living room. One thing I discovered since I am now up close and personal is bee hives look simple to make. We'll probably make our own from here on out. Now that I am all excited about the hives, I get a letter from the Bee Company saying my bee's wouldn't be shipped until May....dang ....I could have sworn when I ordered theses hives the web site said the latter part of March or the first week in April. I was hoping the bees would be established enough to start harvesting from the early blooms. We have bodies of water all around us and I am hoping the bees will be in range of some Tupelo trees. If not our woods are full of wild blueberries and blackberries and from what I read the bees forage up to 3 miles of their hives. That's a lot of land to cover. We also have fields and fields of goldenrod that blooms. I have heard that some people do not like golden rod honey. I guess it is a wait and see. Unless we are real lucky we won't have any honey for our use until next year at any rate.
Isn't this picture funny?
While searching the web, I did find out we have a Beekeeping Club in our County that meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Which happens to be today. I may go and check them out. Dues are only $15.00 a year. I would sure like to meet up with some experts and get hands on experience rather than try to learn everything off the web.
Becky... I was a little afraid too until I read more and more about beekeeping. I especially enjoyed reading post from Pioneer Preppy his blog has a variety of subjects but I love reading about "his girls"
I am trying to learn code for posting links in my comments but apparently I still do not have it right. "Pioneer Preppy" shows up as a link when you mouse over it but it is an error when you click on it... Back to the drawing board! Here is the link that you must copy and paste. http://smallhold-pioneerpreppy.blogspot.com/2012/01/hardest-part-of-beekeeping-getting.html
I wouldn't worry too much about when the girls begin foraging MB. They will hit whatever gives the best payout at any given time. Starting in May you more than likely won't get any honey anyway because so much effort will need to go into the girls building comb. As far as goldenrod honey goes it smells like old socks sometimes before it is fully cured since it is a late Summer flow crop around here I generally don't harvest much of it but leave it in the hive as their Winter stores.
The hard part about putting together hives on your own is getting the bee spacing just right. Or at least it is for me. Even being a fraction of a fraction of an inch off can lead to the girls making comb in the area. I have found my best payout is to order boxes that I put together myself and paint. By the time it is all said and done I usually don't spend much more money than I would starting completely from scratch and save myself the measuring and dovetailing.
Thanks PP... I just want everything to happen yesterday...LOL I am still thinking about trying to catch a swarm. Do you have a favorite vendor where you purchase your supplies?
Mamma - because of PioneerPreppy - i have finally gotten up enough courage to order some mason bees - they are fantastic pollinators but don't produce honey. so i am starting out slowly. my hat is off to you for taking the jump and getting "real" bees. and to anyone other than Mamma reading this - if you are interested in bees then you need to read PioneerPreppy.
Mamma - can't wait to hear about all of your upcoming bee experiences. your friend, kymber
kymber....the last time you mentioned Mason bees I had to go look them up. I thought you were maybe talking about Carpenter bees and I thought , why in the world would someone want to have those aggravating things, let alone pay for them...LOL So, I got a lesson in Mason bees thanks to you.
I want the honey bees as much for pollination as I do for honey...well kind of. Maybe you'll decide to make the leap into honey in the future, thanks for coming by my friend and I hope we all have great success with our bees
Sounds like a good idea to me. I would love to learn more about bees too. I want some but am still afraid to get some.
ReplyDeleteBecky... I was a little afraid too until I read more and more about beekeeping. I especially enjoyed reading post from Pioneer Preppy his blog has a variety of subjects but I love reading about "his girls"
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by today!
I am trying to learn code for posting links in my comments but apparently I still do not have it right. "Pioneer Preppy" shows up as a link when you mouse over it but it is an error when you click on it... Back to the drawing board! Here is the link that you must copy and paste.
Deletehttp://smallhold-pioneerpreppy.blogspot.com/2012/01/hardest-part-of-beekeeping-getting.html
I wouldn't worry too much about when the girls begin foraging MB. They will hit whatever gives the best payout at any given time. Starting in May you more than likely won't get any honey anyway because so much effort will need to go into the girls building comb. As far as goldenrod honey goes it smells like old socks sometimes before it is fully cured since it is a late Summer flow crop around here I generally don't harvest much of it but leave it in the hive as their Winter stores.
ReplyDeleteThe hard part about putting together hives on your own is getting the bee spacing just right. Or at least it is for me. Even being a fraction of a fraction of an inch off can lead to the girls making comb in the area. I have found my best payout is to order boxes that I put together myself and paint. By the time it is all said and done I usually don't spend much more money than I would starting completely from scratch and save myself the measuring and dovetailing.
Thanks PP... I just want everything to happen yesterday...LOL I am still thinking about trying to catch a swarm. Do you have a favorite vendor where you purchase your supplies?
DeleteMamma - because of PioneerPreppy - i have finally gotten up enough courage to order some mason bees - they are fantastic pollinators but don't produce honey. so i am starting out slowly. my hat is off to you for taking the jump and getting "real" bees. and to anyone other than Mamma reading this - if you are interested in bees then you need to read PioneerPreppy.
ReplyDeleteMamma - can't wait to hear about all of your upcoming bee experiences. your friend,
kymber
kymber....the last time you mentioned Mason bees I had to go look them up. I thought you were maybe talking about Carpenter bees and I thought , why in the world would someone want to have those aggravating things, let alone pay for them...LOL So, I got a lesson in Mason bees thanks to you.
DeleteI want the honey bees as much for pollination as I do for honey...well kind of. Maybe you'll decide to make the leap into honey in the future, thanks for coming by my friend and I hope we all have great success with our bees