Lets look ahead.

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Poly Hive

Queen Bee
Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Messages
14,093
Reaction score
393
Location
Scottish Borders
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
12 and 18 Nucs
I think that we are all frustrated over the quiescent period and we turn to reading and planning not to mention making items for the season to come.

So.... shall we offer up our plans for next season and debate the wisdom of them and possibly get some advice to save heart ache and expense in advance?

PH
 
in a perfect world my plan for 2011......

1. Take my Basic
2. Expand from 2 to 3 colonies
3. Catch a swarm
4. Get enough honey for friends and family
 
Buy 2 nucs, get called out to 2 swarms, ho and get a bit of honey from bees
 
:bigear:Watch 'em like a hawk in spring - it's a far more risky time than winter in my experience, they can so easily run out of food. It's esp. important if you're going to feed them early - all that new brood can hoover up the incoming food supply very quickly.
 
I have three National colonies, one fairly weak so I'm dubious of it's winter survival.
I would like to move 2 on to 14 x 12, one wooden hive and one into MB's poly. I like the idea of overwintering in one larger box and not having to feed with fondant.
I'd like none to swarm.
I'm planning to read and read to get to understand swarm prevention and swarm control.
I was reading bushfarms.com site about splitting the brood with empty frames. Has anybody any experience of this? Is it realistic?

I'd like some honey..........................................please.
 
Sell the remainder of this years honey :seeya:

John Wilkinson
 
1. Grow from 1 to 3/4 colonies, by splitting, buying a nuc and possibly a queen.
2. Move from standard BB to 14x12.
3. Start up an out apiary.
4. Not get stung too much.
5. Actually taste the honey my bees make
6. Start to think like a beek not a newbee...

Too much to hope for?? ;)
 
  • Take my Basic
  • Expand from two to five or six colonies
  • Make some honey - not personally I'm hoping the bees do that for me
  • See if I can talk the bees into following the plan
 
1. Grow from 1 to 3/4 colonies, by splitting, buying a nuc and possibly a queen.
2. Move from standard BB to 14x12.
3. Start up an out apiary.
4. Not get stung too much.
5. Actually taste the honey my bees make
6. Start to think like a beek not a newbee...

Too much to hope for?? ;)

I did a similar thing this year. Trouble is you don't get much honey.
 
  1. remember to strim the grass and nettles in the apiary before they choke the entrances
  2. resite two of my hives on new flagstones pitches ( wet land, they sink)
  3. Kill the mole ( nay, but it destroys my pitches and i fall down his holes)
  4. plants those pussy willows i bought last year somewhere
  5. put up new discrete beware of bees signs to keep the farmer happy
  6. make a new hive stand
  7. make up those 10 supers and 100 frames before the night before i need them!!!!
  8. requeen the terror colony with a new queen
  9. shook swarm my hospital case as i have used bayvarol on it and want to reduce residue


    and retire
 
humm well if yet to tell the girls and their union..
convert to 14x12
increase number of hives
Produce more honey as ive nearly sold out
improve stock
do my basic ??
and enjoy beekeeping more
 
In Aug I posted:

I will overwinter my one colony perfectly. In March, weather permitting, I will start stimulative feeding and brood spreading to build the colony as big and fast as possible, getting onto double brood. I then put supers between the boxes and arrange the frames as per Ted Hooper to induce queen cells in the top box. I then split the boxes to make 2 colonies. If my 2008 queen is still in residence I take her out and bank her in a nuc for insurance. I then have 2 lovely strong hives.

Both of these will be 14 x 12's. My ambitions have now increased to requeening the nuc with one of Nortons Buckfast types. If they turn out to be the pussycats I'm hoping for, they can come back to the garden, while the others stay at the apiary.

Starting well- I haven't killed them yet! :hurray:
 
"God laughs at people who make plans"


But I'll be trying anyway, to go from 3 to four, and split to eight for a friend who needs some.
 
It will be my first full season so lm dreading dealing with swarming but it would be a brill start next year if l could find any one of my three queens.
 
Swarming bees can be terrifying, but are actually nice to deal with, since they are well fed usually, and just want a home.
 
ps

Don't get hung up on finding queens, if you have eggs. larve, don't worry.
 
Much the same as others:
1. Make new hive stands, 2x doubles, 2x singles.
2. Make 4x mesh floors, 2 with underfloor entrances.
3. Refurbish a number of oldish hives.
4. Bring my 2 colonies through the winter successfully.
5. Increase from 2 to 4+ colonies if possible.
6. Move from single to double brood boxes.
7. Breed a few new queens for my own use,
8. Prepare a nuc or two to sell. (There is a lot of interest from local new bees)'
9. Take my basic. (is there any benefit in doing this other than personal satisfaction?).
10. Oh, and read lots.
 
1. Sell all of this year's honey.
2. Hopefully get a new, gentle nuc for christmas.
3. Pick up as many swarms as possible.
4. Start all the new colonies at my granny's house.
5. Re-queen the nightmare and then move it to my granny's house after the rape flow.
6. Get a good honey crop again.

Oh, and hpefully fit in some time to study for and pass my GCSE's!!!

Ben P
 

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