Home Distiller

Bees need very little attention But there's a few important things you need to know and do throughout the season. Burst activity is in JUly for harvest, then again in fall for the fall harvest.

Here's the best resource on the planet, George Imirie is, was the dundrhead of beeks (beekeepers). Chris is keeping Georges words alive on this site. Read by month to see what to do when etc. http://pinkpages.chrisbacherconsulting.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

PS: Nobody in my family aside from me and the dog have ever been stung. Ansd them cases it was our fault LOL. Honey bees are very docile. I never wear the garb when I work with the hives. Using a little smoke and moving slowly and carefully (no banging) and they walk all over me without stinging.

PPS: Here's a shot of me with a swarm I captured out of a tree after work one day (before I even went in the house haha) http://homedistiller.org/forum/download ... p?id=20220

Thanks Jimbo. I will bookmark that. And watch the video later at home. When would be the best time of year to setup a new hive? This would tell me if I need to start researching heavy now. Or if I can wait a little bit.

Bee suppliers do their splits and package bees in April. You have 3 choices from most suppliers, a package of bees with a new queen that you shake into your own hardware. A 'nuc' which is 5 full frames of food and eggs with several thousand nurse bees and a new queen, or a 'hive' which is basically a nuc and 5 more empty new frames in a complete hive box with bottom and top cover.

Either way, hardware is the bigger pain and expense up front. You need a hive bottom, 2 hive boxes, a top, a cover and at least 2 'supers' per hive. I built all my own boxes and buy frame kits by the case and the metal clad top covers. Supers are the narrower top boxes that you steal honey from. Hive boxes are the 2 bottom boxes the bees turn into home.

It wasnt a video, it was pic I posted here on HD a while back of me holding a branch with many thousands of bees hanging on to it. LOL

Oh HaHa I don't know why i thought if was a video.

Thanks for the info Jimbo. Yea more lingo to learn. I don't know if we will get this project started this year or not. Will have to see what happens.

I wonder what honey from juniper pollen would taste like? Oops I let that slip.

ohhhhh Honey Gin maybe? Double juniper... Juniper Berries and Juniper Honey?

Bee's would be fun once youre established and need another hobby haha. They're fun, but sounds like you have your work cut out for ya for the next couple years. Im following this thread closely. Envious.

Jimbo,
Wifey has ordered a nuc for this spring
decided we needed bees.

Childhood friend has kept bees for 20 years
his recommendation was "Beekeeping for Dummies"
which I found helpful I think.

Got to worrying about those darn little things and if
I would be a good keeper of the bees - what with all
hive collapse, and mites and such.

Really got to bothering me thinking I would kill off
a whole hive. . .

Buddy finally put in in terms I could understand.

He said " Just think about bees like 60,000 little bitty
cows with wings" Its just raising livestock.

Calmed me right down

Coyote

Look out the cows are swarming. LOL

Stampede of bees

Coyote

Coyote wrote:Jimbo,
Wifey has ordered a nuc for this spring
decided we needed bees.

Childhood friend has kept bees for 20 years
his recommendation was "Beekeeping for Dummies"
which I found helpful I think.

Got to worrying about those darn little things and if
I would be a good keeper of the bees - what with all
hive collapse, and mites and such.

Really got to bothering me thinking I would kill off
a hole hive. . .

Buddy finally put in in terms I could understand.

He said " Just think about bees like 60,000 little bitty
cows with wings" Its just raising livestock.

Calmed me right down

Coyote

Cool! Youre helping the world. We need more bee's. The Dow Chemicals of the world are wiping them out with their new improved insanely effective chemicals they're unleashing on us.

Dont worry about hurting them. Its like fermenting. The less you dick with em the happier they are Worst case (best case?), you do nothing. They will take care of themselves like they been doing in the wild long before we ever started lassoo'ing em flying cows up.

For some reason I have a picture of a bunch of little cowboys riding junebugs. Chasing down bees with horns. LMAO.

Jimbo where would you recommend getting a herd of bees from? And other supplies?

lol, that's an image. Did the wheat your malting grow a little Ergot fungus? Weeeeeeeeee

I'll answer your questions later when I'm not on my phone

Jimbo wrote:Bee suppliers do their splits and package bees in April. You have 3 choices from most suppliers, a package of bees with a new queen that you shake into your own hardware. A 'nuc' which is 5 full frames of food and eggs with several thousand nurse bees and a new queen, or a 'hive' which is basically a nuc and 5 more empty new frames in a complete hive box with bottom and top cover.

Either way, hardware is the bigger pain and expense up front. You need a hive bottom, 2 hive boxes, a top, a cover and at least 2 'supers' per hive. I built all my own boxes and buy frame kits by the case and the metal clad top covers. Supers are the narrower top boxes that you steal honey from. Hive boxes are the 2 bottom boxes the bees turn into home.

It wasnt a video, it was pic I posted here on HD a while back of me holding a branch with many thousands of bees hanging on to it. LOL

https://www.millerbeesupply.com/catalog/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Yes, Miller is good (Taters post). Here's 3 more, Ive used the first 2, fine outfits

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Brushy Mountain

http://www.dadant.com/catalog/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Dadant

http://www.mannlakeltd.com/beekeeping-s ... ry/pb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Mann Lake, have bees too but pickup in PA or MN only

Thats hardware, for bee's do a search on google of local suppliers near you. They dont mail bee's so you need to go get em somewhere hopefully close.

Just a question but would you be better getting bees that are as close to you as possible? What I am asking is are the bees in FL the same in MN as Canada????

A good article on bees i recently read, thought yall might find interesting, maybe not. http://www.kentuckyliving.com/life-in-k ... ee-friends
I'm not allow to have them, wife says theys dangerous.....

thanks masher

baked, honeybees are a european strain. Most common is Italian. Queens are raised in California and Florida mostly. doesnt matter where you get em

I am waiting for a local bee keeper to expand his hives to my farm to get back into beekeeping . My buddy Mel Forbes was getting me into the hobby years ago when he suddenly developed an allergy to bee stings and had to quit .
Like Jimbo , we worked the bees without suits . In many farming areas you can rent bee hives for additional revenue beyond the honey production . Focusing on bee hives first could be a very lucrative investment toward achieving your goals of self sufficiency .
You start playin with bees , shower well , use no deoderants , move slow and stay calm .

And don't breath on them.

Yes they the same. Just like killer need is the same just
got that aggressive gene. As far as Robbin them it all depends on your
honey flow. Round here it poplar. Then we hail em to sourwood
In July. Id also be careful about how much honey you suppose to get.
It takes 3days for the nectar to rise after a rain. You have
rain every 3rd day and they ain't gonna be much surplus.
depending where you is if you Robbin the heavy you best be feeding them
Or you gonna crack the hive and find a bunch of dead bee added
faceing you . I'm a pollinator so I'm lookin bees you might want
Wax production other might want honey. About like chickens
they all a little bit different but the same.
As far as not suiting up. Ole not had the most gentle bees ever
till one day a Carolina wren flew into that hive. They killed that bird
but ole not came out there like usual and they tore his ass up.
He suited up tore the hive apart found the bird an took it out.
Bees went back to the gentlest bees ever. If the queen is
failing they'll do the same thang.
As far as experts say. Use what suits you cause you can have 2 bee keepers and 3
options. As far as organic honey. If you got neighbors that spray
.round here sourwood is the most looked for. To certify you have to send a sample off and they do a pollen count.
They had the sourwood festival in black mountains last year and no sourwood cause of the rain.

So I'm tole

Where Im at the locust sourwood honey is desired by most.

Valid points all way round , Goose eye . I was just speakin of what can be done under good conditions . You get a black bear or a boar hog tear up your hives and you better suit up too . Them bees are going to be in a VERY bad mood .

Down here raw wildflower honey can go for up to 12$ a pint that's what I pay gladly. Any word PP?

Just read where trucking said pollinator can be lucrative.
Ha ha. You best love it cause I ain't never seen no old
bee keeper didn't have back problems.
My advice is to use all mediums for everything and migratory tops.
One less thang to worry with. Break the brood cycle for mites.
That means just pull the ole queen out and let them raise a new one.
now let's talk about feedin them for winter if you rob heavy.
Take a 1 gal jug and put 10 pounds of suger in it an about
2 ouches of water. You gonna need to melt it and that
what you feed in the fall. Not just 1.

As far as saleing honey. You will lose your ass if you
counting on that. China dumping honey on us so prices will always be down
So I'm tole

In my parts local honeys the big all natural allergy fix, it works too. PP I will buy a 25$ quart if you get them bees going.

Honey here is about 8 bucks a quart, my hive died last year, didn't feed them right or c c, I know people have been losing 1/3 of there hives a year here. If anything is blooming don't put out pesticides

Here in the city its going for $9 a pound. Or so. And being in the city. Most of it ain't all that great. We do have a friend that owns and runs a community organic gardens. Where you can buy in. And either plant your own spot. Or volunteer to help with the main community garden. And get so much of the take. But he keeps bees. And his honey is pretty good. He doesn't sell it to just anyone. He doesn't produce a whole lot. So he has a list of people that get first dibs on it.

We are going down tomorrow to meet with the owner of the land. And do some serious walking. LOL Can wait.

I've been paying 5.95$ a half pint straight from the hive and gladly, it's so good but when you raise your own meats and chickens for meat and eggs to sell there's a deep appreciation for quality hand made/raised stuff. That's why I like this hobby never another bad drink or hangover. PP good luck with your endeavor into living for a living.

SoMo wrote: living for a living.

Love that.

Goose is right about honey, up to a point, but people will pay good cash for local honey.

Have you thought about making craft bread, PP? You got that excellent mill close by. Good money in dough.

I did BD. But there is a craft bakery a couple miles down the road. Seen it when we went down the first time.

But I'm thinking about craft vinegar. Like Kappa does. I don't remember how to spell his handle. But he makes vinegar from honey. I'm thinking. Honey vinegar, Apple cider vinegar, and maybe a malt vinegar. Just an idea at this point.