Beekeepers year

[Arfermo]

Is this attachment useful? Seems a good aide memoir?

 

[SkiBee]

Thanks yes!

 

[iball]

Remember it's a guide, not the law.

 

[Rosti]

Doc states author as Hugh June 2010, source out of interest?

 

[Arfermo]

Doc states author as Hugh June 2010, source out of interest?

No idea. I've had it for some time but from whom or where cannot recall. Whoever suggested it was law anyway - certainly not the author or me. Some people........................................ It was offered in good faith and if it doesn't suit you, you don't have to use it do you?

 

[Arfermo]

Remember it's a guide, not the law.

Read the damned thing and you wouldn't offer your puerile remark.

 

[chycarne]

Actually quite a good aid memoir, having printed it of i now regret ding so as I have edited it a bit adding in bits we have found and etc. yeah I know dont press print till sure... ah well recyled now... Afermo, thank you for a useful diary addition and another hint about forward planning - Perfect Planning Prevents P Poor Performance as one of my old coaches used to say, but the caveat is all great plans are great till contact with the enemey... (life weather universal constants and etc the bees of course are always allies and at that point I'll stop... )

 

[biggles]

This is where it comes from http://www.beekeeping.co.uk/beekeepers_guide.htm

Pete

 

[iball]

Read the damned thing and you wouldn't offer your puerile remark.

Arfer, don't get your knickers in a twist, I have read the damned thing and overall it's a reasonable document. It does however raise a lot of questions and could possibly, perhaps, maybe cause some confusion for new bee keepers (I myself am still in my first season).

As an example where it says;

MONTH September
What to Do It is time now to feed the colony for the winter replacing the Honey taken. This is done by adding 1 Kg bag of Granulated Sugar to a pint of water and heating until all the sugar is in solution, add Fumidil B for Nosema. The colony will need at least 15Kg (more for the bigger hives) of this Syrup to make it through the cold months ahead. Feeding needs to be completed before the end of the month allowing the colony to process off the excess water. Remove Varroa strips after 42 days. Fit a mouse guard to the entrance.

After my experience of my first September in 2010 my aide memoir would say;

"MONTH September
What to Do It is time now to add more supers!! Do not use any thymol products, unless of course the season is very different from last year in which case take a look at what is going on, make a judgement on how to proceed, record everything so that next year you can make an informed judgement."

Why? well in 2010 the balsam flow was around to mid October and because I treated with Apiguard in September I missed out on over 50lbs of honey.

So that's the reason I suggested that bee keepers treat it as a guide, a starting point and not to treat it as the bee keepers law.

Ian

 

[Arfermo]

IBall,
If you have another look, at the top of the document (which I must have copied and pasted from somewhere because I am not the original author) it actually says its only a "Helpful GUIDE". Like anything else in beekeeping, you have to use your loaf according to circumstances. Nothing I know of in beeking is a law unless Trading Standards and 'elf and Safety get involved. Sorry but I am adamant that your original comment was competely superfluos to the thread, adding nothing of benefit to anyone and contrary to the aims of this forum. Padding it certainly was, possibly to satisfy your ego alone.

 

[iball]

IBall,
If you have another look, at the top of the document (which I must have copied and pasted from somewhere because I am not the original author) it actually says its only a "Helpful GUIDE". Like anything else in beekeeping, you have to use your loaf according to circumstances. Nothing I know of in beeking is a law unless Trading Standards and 'elf and Safety get involved. Sorry but I am adamant that your original comment was competely superfluos to the thread, adding nothing of benefit to anyone and contrary to the aims of this forum. Padding it certainly was, possibly to satisfy your ego alone.

Noted. My ego being sated I find no reason to reply, apart from having the last word!! Removes tongue from cheek, gets on with more important things.

Ian

 

[Storm™]

 

[freethorpe bees]

Thanks for the guide Afermo. Any help is very appreciated by a newbie! Can I just ask one daft question? In March you mention considering giving a weak syrup. Is that 1:1? Then in April a half strength syrup. Is that 0.5:1?

 

[Arfermo]

The rule of thumb adopted by most beeks and which can found in many other places is that Autumn feeding is 1pt to 1 kg (thick syrup) but for spring build up 1pt to 1lb (thin syrup). I think I have it right though somebody will probably correct me if not but that is what I do. I'll leave you to convert to metric or imperial according to preference.

 

[xgeordie]

The rule of thumb adopted by most beeks and which can found in many other places is that Autumn feeding is 1pt to 1 kg (thick syrup) but for spring build up 1pt to 1lb (thin syrup). I think I have it right though somebody will probably correct me if not but that is what I do. I'll leave you to convert to metric or imperial according to preference.

Autumn use 2:1 i.e. 2 kg of sugar to 1 kg water (or 1 litre water as this weighs 1 kg)

Spring use 1:1 i.e. 1 kg sugar to 1 kg water

Add the sugar to warm water

 

[Arfermo]

Autumn use 2:1 i.e. 2 kg of sugar to 1 kg water (or 1 litre water as this weighs 1 kg)

Spring use 1:1 i.e. 1 kg sugar to 1 kg water

Add the sugar to warm water

I thought somebody would confuse the issue and that is what I think Geordie has done. I attach yet another document to this thread that I started which confirms what I wrote about the sugar/water mixes for feeding. See the attached which also has the link from whence it came. I also have other documents and links which say the same. QED. Over and out.

 

[BobH1]

I thought somebody would confuse the issue

Where is the confusion? You are quoting exactly the same proportions as Geordie.

You actually cofuse me when you say that 1 kg to 1 litre is the same as 1 lb to 1 pint

("a pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter")

1kg to 1 litre is a ratio by weight of 1:1
1lb to 1 pint is a ratio by weight of 4:5

 

[iball]

Putting my pedantic hat on, nothing new there then, a 1:1 mix is 1kg:1litre in metric or 20oz:1pint in real money. A pint a water weighs a pound and a quarter, a litre of water weighs a kilogram.

Unless of course you're in the USA where a pint of water weighs 16oz.

Not that it makes much difference, it's only a syrup mix, but a difference it is.

This household uses a mixture of that'lldoos and that'senuff, which are completely interchangeable.

Ian

 

[Peter Cox]

Much easier to use the same measure for both.
1 gallon of sugar to 1 gallon of water
1 litre of sugar to one litre of water
etc for 1:1
2 gallon of sugar to 1 gallon of water
etc for 2:1

The values are close enough that it saves messing around with scales and stuff. I just use a couple of the same size canning jars.

 

[Finman]

.
The shortest beekeeping book what I have seen.