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Goss

New Bee
Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Crawley
Hive Type
National
Hello to all here, I’m a new beekeeper and have joined a local group in West Sussex for an intro course starting end March. I have purchased a National with a brood and two supers with lots of frames and some basic kit from Thorne’s. just placed an order for some bees from Paynes in Sussex as I can collect. So excited!

Bonus is my sons girlfriend is super excited and wants to get involved with looking after them too so possibly two new beekeepers. I hope to have a couple of hives at home as I have plenty of space and a couple perhaps next year in the secure garden behind my office which I visit 5 days a week and is only 3.5 miles from home.

I went for the slightly wider top bars SN5’s? But these don’t seem to be that popular, my thinking was that as a newbie I would have fewer problems with them.

My first question is should I have a dummy board as a beginner? I have a couple of excellent books but they don’t really mention them.

Regards

Goss
 
Yes, using a dummy and 11 frames in the brood box make inspections a lot easier.
SN refers to shallow national ("super frames") and DN, deep national ( (brood box frames).
The 5 is a wider top bar than the 4, hence is a bit stronger and you tend to get less comb built across from top bar to top bar ( brace comb). Personally I use the 4's as they are a bit cheaper and get little brace comb anyway.
A dummy board is easy to make yourself, a piece of ply cut to frame size screwed on to a bit of wood the same size as a top bar. I guess you bought the complete kit, hence have no spare frames, otherwise you could use a standard top bar plus the ply.
I hope you get on well on the course and are not overwhelmed when surrounded by a crowd of flying bees - some are and end up selling their newly bought hives .
A lot of associations offer free bees to people who complete their course.
If you take to it, I suggest you get another spare hive, as you will need it for swarm management, and if you are lucky enough to get away without any swarming can always split your original colony towards the end of the season to end up with two colonies. If you have just one colony and something goes wrong, you can be up a gum tree, but having a second colony can help you get the first out of any trouble. Enjoy.
If keeping bees in a garden it is always good to have a potential second site in case they turn angry, or you can surround the apiary area with netting six feet plus high, which makes the bees fly up above head height and be less of a nuisance
 
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Thanks Drex, I like the idea of 5's but I guess I can mix and match in the future. I purchased it all as components because the sale prices were competitive and ended up with close to two hives... 1 brood, 3 supers (looking at invoice now) 50 of each frame, 20 deep and 40 shallow foundation. All I need to make another hive is a stand, floor, brood body, QX, crown board and roof! I will have a NUC box with my new bees so I guess that will help?

I have been around bees in a hostile environment (helping a keeper remove an aggressive swarm from an old workshop) and although it wasn't a pleasant experience I can deal with it, hence committing to the purchase. I have spoken to the apiary manager and he said that I could buy a NUC from a few members later in the season but decided that a overwintered colony, strong queen with less disease would be a good start?

I will make up a dummy board before my bees arrive.

I hope my garden will work well, its 80 ft wide and they will be backing on to a 10 ft high beech hedge facing SE and the other side of the garden has a double garage with a pitched roof so 16ft high. I have seen some hives in much smaller spaces so hopefully it works. I live in a road with older properties so we are quite well apart and I'm on a corner plot, fingers crossed!

Thanks and any other tips welcome.

Goss
 
Hopefully you will need more supers. My established colonies regularly have 3-4, but then I do only extract once per crop. It is a nuisance that foundation is sold in packs of ten, but you need 11 for a full brood box.
I try to make as much of my own kit as possible - the easy stuff like crown boards and stands etc. . Dave cushmans site is a good source of plans.
Nucs boxes always good to have. Many uses. Again I make my own and have about ten at present, more soon to come, as I raise my own queens. All depends on what I find in any skips for materials.
 
Personally, I prefer DN5/SN5 top bars.
I think you'd be much better off with a nuc of local bees obtained from an association member. What is this over Wintered colony you mention? Is that from Paynes?
Over Wintered would have last years Queen, if not it's a case of an introduced, imported queen.
I would recommend getting your feel for beekeeping at association sessions, being patient and obtaining your own bees from a known, local source.
 
Hopefully you will need more supers. My established colonies regularly have 3-4, but then I do only extract once per crop. It is a nuisance that foundation is sold in packs of ten, but you need 11 for a full brood box.
I try to make as much of my own kit as possible - the easy stuff like crown boards and stands etc. . Dave cushmans site is a good source of plans.
Nucs boxes always good to have. Many uses. Again I make my own and have about ten at present, more soon to come, as I raise my own queens. All depends on what I find in any skips for materials.

More supers would be great, would love to have a flying start but trying to keep things manageable for my first year with ideally two smaller hives.

I will probably do the same with the simple stuff like stands and boards too as it all starts adding up, i'm looking to have some fun and keep costs low initially.

I will have a look at Dave Cushman's site, thanks and will keep you posted.

Goss
 
Personally, I prefer DN5/SN5 top bars.
I think you'd be much better off with a nuc of local bees obtained from an association member. What is this over Wintered colony you mention? Is that from Paynes?
Over Wintered would have last years Queen, if not it's a case of an introduced, imported queen.
I would recommend getting your feel for beekeeping at association sessions, being patient and obtaining your own bees from a known, local source.

Hello Swarm,

I will probably obtain a local nuc as well but a local member had a bad experience with one which may have been bad luck but he suggested a Paynes one to start with which is what I have ordered followed by a members offering later in the season.

I was assured that the Paynes nucs were very good but will try a local source too, as long as the queen is young and healthy I hope things will work out. Main reason for going to Paynes is that I have a guaranteed start by end April to mid May. I hope to be at quite a few sessions prior to collecting my bees weather permitting.

Goss
 
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Goss, where have you joined ... if anywhere, and where tuition?. Happy to see you at Brighton & Lewes Div. See their web site for any info. Contact me if you need any help.
 
Hello Heather,

I have joined the Central Sussex Beekeepers Association, I know one of their committee members and their apiary is only five minutes drive from my home so very convenient. Thanks for the offer though. Just read that their classes are fully booked for this year so got in just in time!

Goss
 
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