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Any Beekeepers on here?

paulc

Registered User
I’ve just got my first colony of Bees in the garden after doing a years course in Basic Beekeeping at the the local beekeeping association. Fascinating and incredible little things to study. 1 Canadian cedar hive built so far, another to pick up next week. I’ve been looking after this colony for a year at an Apirary down the road and this particular queen creates very nice natured bees. Anyone else a beekeeper on here?
 
My brother-in-law is a beekeeper and very busy getting honey out of the hives as they've been rather busy the last few weeks. Tastes absolutely fantastic. Been doing it about 10 years and obviously he's pretty much immune to stings these days..........
 
Not a keeper here due to my wife's total intolerance/fear of stingy insects. Would love a couple of hives otherwise.

Very important part of the ecosystem I gather, so great to see somebody doing their bit to help the little beasties out. Good work Paul.

I'll follow the thread with interest :)
 
A couple of months ago I was approached by a number of suspicious looking men at the top of my drive. They were trying to find out who owned two local fields because they wanted to place a few hives near the local lime trees. Long story short, I have allowed them to fence off a bit of my field and they have about 14 hives down there. This week we were presented with our first wooden frame of honey/honeycomb. Scraping off the honey was a most amazing experience! I’ve also noticed a lot more bees around the garden, which can only be a good thing.
 
I don’t keep em, but across one field are 13 hives, and we too have made a bee friendly garden. Maybe too successfully, since in dry spells, our pond is their nearest source of water. Standing in the veg patch puts me on the flight path. Bored one day, I did a rough count. About 100 bees a minute back and forth and maybe a thousand or more at the pond. Glad to see them though. Pollination is never a problem in the orchard:)
 
I have a friend who keeps bees on one if my fields. We've had at least 4 spectacular inward swarms this year, and some winter losses have been more than made up. I've also got two matching cavities in my chimney stack, into one of which a hive moved a dozen years ago, and has lived happily since. Last week a new swarm moved into the other one.

A bee swarm is a fantastic spectacle, visually and aurally.
 
I've been beekeeping for eleven years and have got hives on five different sites, my garden, my mate's garden, an allotment, an orchard and a farm. The forage is different at each and so the honey looks and tastes different from each. We sell it from my front door, to friends and to my bee buddy's wife's colleagues.
Paul, I'm a great fan of the polystyrene hives from Abelo. Bees overwinter in them a lot better than in cedar, and the full supers are a sight easier to carry.
As for lime trees doctorf obviously missed the email I circulated round our mutual friends a few years ago asking if anyone had a place in north Leeds where I could place some hives. In a good season a hive can bring in about 30 to 35lbs of honey during the few days they're in flower. But they're unreliable. There are lime trees in the park opposite my home and we've only had one good season in eleven years. Either it's too dry in the weeks before they flower or too wet during the flowering period.
Paul, beekeeping is a fascinating hobby, but can be frustrating. The bees don't read the same books as us, and just when you think you understand them they do the very opposite to what the books say they will. join the Beekeeping Forum. You'll get a lot of advice from its members, different advice from every one who responds to your questions, but there's a nugget of truth there somewhere.
 
I've been beekeeping for eleven years and have got hives on five different sites, my garden, my mate's garden, an allotment, an orchard and a farm. The forage is different at each and so the honey looks and tastes different from each. We sell it from my front door, to friends and to my bee buddy's wife's colleagues.
Paul, I'm a great fan of the polystyrene hives from Abelo. Bees overwinter in them a lot better than in cedar, and the full supers are a sight easier to carry.
As for lime trees doctorf obviously missed the email I circulated round our mutual friends a few years ago asking if anyone had a place in north Leeds where I could place some hives. In a good season a hive can bring in about 30 to 35lbs of honey during the few days they're in flower. But they're unreliable. There are lime trees in the park opposite my home and we've only had one good season in eleven years. Either it's too dry in the weeks before they flower or too wet during the flowering period.
Paul, beekeeping is a fascinating hobby, but can be frustrating. The bees don't read the same books as us, and just when you think you understand them they do the very opposite to what the books say they will. join the Beekeeping Forum. You'll get a lot of advice from its members, different advice from every one who responds to your questions, but there's a nugget of truth there somewhere.
Interesting Thorny. I must have missed the email!
 
I've been avoiding insecticides and planting pollen and nectar plots for a while, No Mow May finally seems to have got bees here.

Unfortunately they've decided to make their home in the wall of my office, checking out the insurance on Monday to see if i'm covered for dismantling and removal.

They'll love it if they have to stay, we've got a row of lime trees across the yard and the paddocks are mostly flowering weeds.
 
Something that really interests me... Some really interesting info above :)

Once we've got the garage and a bit of landscaping done; I'm looking to fence off the section of the woods at the bottom of our garden (like everyone else has) but we're going to put chickens in there, and have always wondered about a beehive or 2 as well...

Not sure if the woods is the right place for them though... Or is it/can it be?
 
I've been beekeeping for eleven years and have got hives on five different sites, my garden, my mate's garden, an allotment, an orchard and a farm. The forage is different at each and so the honey looks and tastes different from each. We sell it from my front door, to friends and to my bee buddy's wife's colleagues.
Paul, I'm a great fan of the polystyrene hives from Abelo. Bees overwinter in them a lot better than in cedar, and the full supers are a sight easier to carry.
As for lime trees doctorf obviously missed the email I circulated round our mutual friends a few years ago asking if anyone had a place in north Leeds where I could place some hives. In a good season a hive can bring in about 30 to 35lbs of honey during the few days they're in flower. But they're unreliable. There are lime trees in the park opposite my home and we've only had one good season in eleven years. Either it's too dry in the weeks before they flower or too wet during the flowering period.
Paul, beekeeping is a fascinating hobby, but can be frustrating. The bees don't read the same books as us, and just when you think you understand them they do the very opposite to what the books say they will. join the Beekeeping Forum. You'll get a lot of advice from its members, different advice from every one who responds to your questions, but there's a nugget of truth there somewhere.

Abelo hives look interesting, funny I was admiring one in the Apiary the other day. I am very lucky that I live very close to the local beekeeping association (Newbattle Beekeepers Association) and there are plenty of very experienced beekeepers for support.
 
I did a course over about a year some 7years ago and helped look after some of our local apiarist society hives in exchange for an annual supply of honey - stopped a couple of years years ago. Never had any hives of my own though.
 
I do find bee keeping really interesting. Is the honey better when fresh?
Honey from a beekeeper v supermarket honey….no comparison. Very much depends on what the bees are foraging on, but the honey out of our apiary last Autumn was excellent. We took part in a study where the honey was analysed to indicate what the bees were first by on, very interesting. Paul
 
No, but I'm glad you posted as I would be interested in learning more about your newish project. Do you have any photos you could share?
 
Something that really interests me... Some really interesting info above :)

Once we've got the garage and a bit of landscaping done; I'm looking to fence off the section of the woods at the bottom of our garden (like everyone else has) but we're going to put chickens in there, and have always wondered about a beehive or 2 as well...

Not sure if the woods is the right place for them though... Or is it/can it be?
Bees in the wild nest in hollow trees. Provided the woods aren't too thick they'll do okay. One of my apiaries is on the edge of a field up against a wood. It was full of bluebells a few weeks ago and I hope the bees went in foraging.
 
When my daughter lived in central Marseille one of the guys in the house had a hive on the roof terrace.

Had to be a bit careful where we sat in the evening but it was very productive.
 
Bees in the wild nest in hollow trees. Provided the woods aren't too thick they'll do okay. One of my apiaries is on the edge of a field up against a wood. It was full of bluebells a few weeks ago and I hope the bees went in foraging.

Super; thanks :)

We've a fairly large cleared area right at the back of the garden behind a plastic Keter shed and storage box (where my lifting stones live); but once I've hacked all the overgrowth down; my stones will be going further into the woods and I'll be fencing the remaining area off for chickens too

Plenty to think about!
 


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