I made mine with white cotton bath towel using the RO dimensions. I did this last year and I am using them again this year. They seem just as effective as Apivar and they dont seem to upset the bees so much. The worst thing is the liquid is quite corrosive.
I was watching a video by Trevor Swales in Yorkshire and I saw that he feeds his bees with dry sugar poured onto the crown board. It saves a lot of messing about making syrup. He is a professional and has been beekeeping for years so I suppose he knows what he is doing. Any thoughts?
Is it possible to get any state contributions for this sort of start up enterprise?
I get the impression that the UK agricultural sector is in a muddle at the moment with the change in the payment schemes and food products coming from outside the EU. It is sometimes possible to take advantage of...
I got started with beekeeping in the same way.
In Italy the difficult bit is getting the bees through July and August. There are no flowers so the bees rely on stored honey. Feed them syrup if necessary and make sure they have access to clean water. Good luck.
Where I live in hill country in central Italy we have them in good numbers at the moment. Surprising because the natives do their best to exterminate all small birds. The only place I regularly heard a cuckoo in the UK was in the North York Moors.
Have you looked at this website?
https://www.latiendadelapicultor.com/en/material-vivo/package-bees-with-buckfast-queen.html#/369-pick_up_date-last_week_of_april
Thanks for that link. I hadn't thought about an upper entrance. In summer I let them fly out of the top of the hive to give them an airflow. In July and August it is normally above 35C.
I have 4 hives with only one building queen cells. I am following the Barnsley Bee Keepers recipe for Demaree.
https://barnsleybeekeepers.org.uk/the-demaree-method/
I have the first queen cells. If I make a Demaree how often do I need to check the brood box? I assume they can build queen cells at the bottom as well as the top or is that unlikely?
I like Sungold. It fruits very early and has lots of flavour. Makes a nice orange pasta sauce.
I like Habanero peppers too. They have quite a bit of flavour. The plant is attractive too.
I bought the 36v Makita multi tool with brush cutter and chain saw. I tested it today and it works very well. Nearly as powerful as the 35cc Husqvarna.