Aims and objectives for 23 season

[JimBee463]

Where abouts in Devon are you moving to? I grew up in Devon and have family there with potential for an apiary

I'm in Devon so interested in where your family are for a possible 2nd apiary

 

[JimBee463]

Those are all excellent aims. If it’s a hobby don’t turn it into a drudge. I got bogged down with honey volumes. Now I don’t care, I just like to enjoy my bees. I have 13 colonies and want six max. Some I will gift to my BKA members others will get united in the spring.

Thanks, I'm aiming to enjoy my bees, not make it too huge and enjoy whatever honey they produce (I aim to leave a super of honey on the hive at the end of each season, for the bees)

 

[Curly green finger's]

Plans are to raise more 4/5/6 frame nucs with grafted cells 95% mating rate last year with most queens laying well after two weeks some 3 weeks, June , July and august are my months for nuc building.
- making mini nucs strong with older and younger workers ( trialing this as my mini nuc matings 2022 were rubbish.
- requeening with purchased stock
- keep an eye on the heather as I was a week late .
Expanding colony numbers from wintering 86 to 150 end of 23 hopefully all strong in either single brood or double most of my nucs 22 are all in single or double brood .
- plan is to keep all stock for expansion and honey crops .
Projects
Building some log hives getting the wbcs into action and making hopefully some hive body’s and frames from timber sourced at work .
- wax processing
- honey processing
Loads more happy new year all I’m off for a lye down

 

[drex]

@E&M Looking at a property in Ipplepen near Totnes

 

[E&MBees]

@E&M Looking at a property in Ipplepen near Totnes

Probably a bit too far from my relatives to be convenient, especially in the summer with all the holiday visitors. The coastal lanes are gridlocked with caravans and daft drivers.

 

[enrico]

Intend to do same. Extracting in one go at the end is just awful and because it is, the job drags.

And every extraction is different!

 

[drex]

Thanks anyway. Kind thought

 

[enrico]

AHBIC reported 17500 managed colonies destroyed as of 7 November.....they were in the red zone. Sticky mat etc. surveillance in the purple zones continues.
https://honeybee.org.au/ahbic-varroa-update-day-184/

Those are horrendous figures! Wow!

 

[Wingy]

2023 will be my 7th year and hopefully a more exciting one with much more available time on my hands as I retire mid July and can dedicate my time to the bees and allotment.
So plans:
Have 20 hives and 7 Nucs all presently doing well.
1) cut down numbers by doing early combines to boost colony strength for the OSR
2) move a number of colonies out to 3 OSR locations
Get my largest colony out of the long hive so I can set it up as per my initial intention- Queen bank.
3) raise a number of queens early season from my best selected queens
4) build a better platform / stand at one of my farm apiaries to accommodate 8 hives that will remain there on a permanent basis
5) raise some later queens to over winter in nucs
6) purchase smaller (10 litre) buckets to keep extracted honey separate and extract through the season in order to experience different types instead of just mixed in large buckets as usual where I have only concentrated on keeping the OSR crop separate
7) make more effort to sell my honey by trying to find other outlets and advertising it. Last season I took 800lb and still have some left as only sell through 1 small shop, friends, family and neighbours.
8) effectively deal with and get rid of all my nasty colonies. Last season I was too soft with them but not prepared to take 100’s of stings again this season even though I don’t get too much of a reaction.
9) organise my kit better and build a new shed on the allotment for over winter storage of boxes rather than occupying a large amount of patio space.
10) try to avoid swarms by not leaving unused boxes accessible as last season it seemed every time I left a brood box or couple of supers lying around a swarm moved in and most were nasty.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Unlike the above, year 7 and looking to downsize to 4 colonies + nucs.

It may be the season but somewhat jaded. Enjoy the beekeeping not being a food producer. Too much honey to sell last year. (Wondered about just leaving the 3 supers of honey on a hive to see what happens the following year. Didn't do it.)

I'm into the phase of improving on the techniques I've been using for queen rearing, swarm prevention and varroa management. Less interesting than learning new things.

Small target - be more confident handling and marking queens.

. . . . Ben

 

[Ian123]

AHBIC reported 17500 managed colonies destroyed as of 7 November.....they were in the red zone. Sticky mat etc. surveillance in the purple zones continues.
https://honeybee.org.au/ahbic-varroa-update-day-184/

So do they appear confident it’s under control?

 

[Antipodes]

So do they appear confident it’s under control?

They're going for full eradication. They haven't found a mite since Dec 22. Mandatory washes there and full reporting. It will have to go on for years I suppose.

https://www.facebook.com/NSWDPI.Biosec/

 

[pevanstone]

Very weather dependent.. BUT:
raise more queens ( improve my grafting lack of skills!)
raise more nucs for resale.
Produce more early spring/summer honey as it sells better and no-one appears to sell it locally in any volume, preferring to wait until late August (by which time I have sold c60% of my crop)
Attract more swarms using bait hives (4 last year into our garden)

Overwinter more nucs for resale 2024

I hold a long term view,This is in MidDevon.That every one who collects swarms will end up with a big fire.This is sad but a fact of life.I know of top experts who this has happen to.A kindly beekeeper l knew said breed from your own bees,a Snellgrove will give you one or more extra colonies with minimal loss of crop.Sorry to ruffle feathers.

 

[Ian123]

They're going for full eradication. They haven't found a mite since Dec 22. Mandatory washes there and full reporting. It will have to go on for years I suppose.

https://www.facebook.com/NSWDPI.Biosec/

Thks……..Good news they may have a lid on it! Even if other cases are found the immediate spread appears to have been halted

 

[Somerford]

I hold a long term view,This is in MidDevon.That every one who collects swarms will end up with a big fire.This is sad but a fact of life.I know of top experts who this has happen to.A kindly beekeeper l knew said breed from your own bees,a Snellgrove will give you one or more extra colonies with minimal loss of crop.Sorry to ruffle feathers.

Ruffle feathers ? On here ? That hadn’t happened for a while as many were booted off

Off to get the popcorn

 

[Newbeeneil]

Ruffle feathers ? On here ? That hadn’t happened for a while as many were booted off

Off to get the popcorn

I didn’t understand the post so no chance of ruffling any feathers of mine even if I had some

 

[Mabee]

I hold a long term view,This is in MidDevon.That every one who collects swarms will end up with a big fire.This is sad but a fact of life.I know of top experts who this has happen to.A kindly beekeeper l knew said breed from your own bees,a Snellgrove will give you one or more extra colonies with minimal loss of crop.Sorry to ruffle feathers.

I’m also not too sure what you mean, do you mean many swarms have AFB?, hence the big fire?

 

[user 20297]

....back to "the objective"; my own: to ban swarming.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Intend to do same. Extracting in one go at the end is just awful and because it is, the job drags.

I agree and you use less equipment by extracting as the supers get filled.

 

[JimBee463]

Didn't get a single jar of spring honey last year, it was too cold. I also sell my summer honey from early June as I extract as supers are capped.

I think i'll do the same extraction method to be honest, much easier to to a bit at a time, as we say in the military 'eat a bit, sh*t a bit' (apologies if that offends anyone)