Hello

[bee56]

Hello
Love the forum.
I've now collected a pile of bee books and started reading them.
Its all a bit confusing everybody seems to do things a different way?
Sorry if I ask a few silly questions.

 

[Cedar]

Welcome to the forum Bee56 lots of knowledgeable people on here.

 

[jackbee]

no need to be sorry, in my view questions can't be that silly, you're just asking something you don't know - it's the answers that cause problems

 

[BeeBus]

Welcome, never forget Bees don't read books

 

[Heather]

The silly ones never ask- just plough on and get it wrong- and you will get differing views- consider all and do what you feel is best for you.
Get a mentor from your local group too - Books great- but hands on is better. ( No comments, lads!)

 

[Cedar]

Welcome, never forget Bees don't read books

Welcome to the forum

 

[bee56]

Thank you for the warm welcome, I'm sure you will have a good laugh when I first get some bees, things never seem to be straight forward when learning something new.

 

[MandF]

Welcome

Remember, aside from a few golden rules to follow, whatever you do will not kill your bees, pretty much everything is opinions, and you should be happy and encouraged to question perceived wisdom.

Understand WHY someone is suggesting (and sometimes telling!) to do something one way, then you can make your own choice.

Dont be afraid to ask questions, or apologise for asking questions

 

[bee56]

Hi MandF
Allways willing to learn and be given good advice.

 

[yeogi75]

welcome to the forum ,
every body has to start as a new bee, i have collected my first nuc yesterday and spent most of today watching the entrance, wondering if one of them are going to do something different

 

[bee56]

welcome to the forum ,
every body has to start as a new bee, i have collected my first nuc yesterday and spent most of today watching the entrance, wondering if one of them are going to do something different

Hi yeogi75
Yes I seem to be hooked on bees, fascinating things

 

[Luminos]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Skyhook]

Welcome

Remember, aside from a few golden rules to follow, whatever you do will not kill your bees,

Try not to lose/squash the queen, that's never good

Main tip I would suggest for using the forum- check your books before asking basic questions, or you will lose goodwill . If you look up your question still aren't sure, then people will be happy to help.

 

[village girl]

hi and welcome to the forum, are you planing on taking a corse ? i would recomend you to find one with a hands on approch to lerning, good luck

 

[bee56]

The only person that I've met was new to bee keeping himself , but I did get to see his bees and he told me how to contact the local club. I was told by my local club admin that all the bee keeping courses and field trips were full for this year and it would be better to join the club in September when the new subscription year starts. So it looks like I will have to wait.

 

[ratcatcher]

welcome, newbie of only 3 weeks here too, but have already collected my second cast swarm, google is a wonderful site, I too joined the local bee club, and nearly had a heart attack when they mentioned £450 for a 2 day course, Im sorry, but I aint paying that, Im a beliver of "bee's on a budget" so, so far all my nucs and bits have been home made, Ive read loads of books,internet articles, and watched loads of online clips/video's, and then jumped in the deep end, thankfully have a couple of beekeeping friends that have always got time to give advice or hands on help

 

[bee56]

welcome, newbie of only 3 weeks here too, but have already collected my second cast swarm, google is a wonderful site, I too joined the local bee club, and nearly had a heart attack when they mentioned £450 for a 2 day course, Im sorry, but I aint paying that, Im a beliver of "bee's on a budget" so, so far all my nucs and bits have been home made, Ive read loads of books,internet articles, and watched loads of online clips/video's, and then jumped in the deep end, thankfully have a couple of beekeeping friends that have always got time to give advice or hands on help

Hello ratcatcher
Sounds like your having fun, wish I were a bit closer to you, let me know how you get on.

 

[ratcatcher]

Hello ratcatcher
Sounds like your having fun, wish I were a bit closer to you, let me know how you get on.

will do, I picked up a national hive complete from good old flea bay, although probably wont be moving the girls into it just yet, they have been in the 6 frame nuc for a week today, probably best to wait a bit longer and make sure the queen has mated and is laying, it'll then also give me time to try making another hive from 6x1 using this one as a template

Im also liking top bar hives for a good reason, cheapness and easy to make from scrap wood, quite a few people use them, there's a section on here for them, but a lot seem to suffer from cross combing, I did on mine, thus Im going to make a square top bar hive, and the top bars will have sides and a strip of foundation in them, hopefully get them building the way we want them, my whole reasoning to liking tbh is you constantly read about the theft of hives, Im not wanting to put £160 plus worth of national hive on my landowners farm, just for some scally-wag (see I held my bad language there) to pinch, a tbh may cost £20 max to build, Id rather that go walkies, and keep the national for our garden

 

[always weeding]

i am too a newbie, not joined an association due to costs, being insular etc. a lot of people have recommended to join a club but i am still going to go it alone.done loads of reading,internet,vids,friends as beeks.

still lots of good people on here who are too willing to help and there is still so much more for me to learn and having been diddled by a beek who appears to have sold me a queenless colony but as i said,people on here are helping me to get my colony back on track

good luck with your journey

ade

 

[alanf]

Not all local associations are the same. If you don't get on with the folks at the nearest, there's nothing to stop you joining a neighbouring area. The other thing to bear in mind is that all associations are no more than a bunch of individuals. It's entirely possible to avoid one or two you don't see eye to eye with. Easier to avoid than on a forum really (!).

Some of the fees quoted are far out of line with the average. Typical annual fees around here are between 30 and 70 quid. The higher fees tend to include things like Beecraft magazine subscriptions, free loan of extractors, group buying and other facilities. Course fees start at free - or rather included in first year membership. Otherwise 50-90 quid would be more typical. I can only think several hundred pounds would include something like a starter hive.

What any association provides is a second opinion. Or third. And fourth... There's no real substitute for having someone else you can call to have a look at any problem. You might know people outside the association, which is an alternative. You should at least be familiar with the stuff on Beebase, you're paying for it through your taxes. Be aware of the orthodox way, even if you have good reason to do something else.

And far from being prescriptive or scathing about alternatives, you might be surprised how many are curious about the multitude of ways of tackling any task. It's unfortunate that they tend to be of a quieter disposition.