Newbie hive configuration

[H-D]

Hi. Looking to start beekeeping in urban East London. Modest ambitions - I only want one hive, but if it's successful then I'd like to have the space to expand, to prevent swarming and perhaps sell the surplus as nucs. What should I do?
My preferred hive is probably 14x12. Do I need a second? Is it possible to split the colony into a nuc box, or do I need a second hive? Without wanting to start a war, would a beehaus be good for me since I could have a large colony using 3/4 of the space and still have room for a nuc (but it's expensive. Although not as expensive as 2 hives)?
Also I'll need really gentle bees, so if anyone near London has some seriously boring, docile sloth carnies I'd be glad to meet them!
Thanks.

 

[Luminos]

H-D

You will most certainly need more than one hive!
I too only planned to have one colony, but the bees make the decisions round here...

I changed from standard WBC (too small) to WBC on 14 x 12.

I'll leave the Beehaus debate to other forum members

Good luck!

 

[psafloyd]

Hi. Looking to start beekeeping in urban East London. Modest ambitions - I only want one hive, but if it's successful then I'd like to have the space to expand, to prevent swarming and perhaps sell the surplus as nucs. What should I do?
My preferred hive is probably 14x12. Do I need a second? Is it possible to split the colony into a nuc box, or do I need a second hive? Without wanting to start a war, would a beehaus be good for me since I could have a large colony using 3/4 of the space and still have room for a nuc (but it's expensive. Although not as expensive as 2 hives)?
Also I'll need really gentle bees, so if anyone near London has some seriously boring, docile sloth carnies I'd be glad to meet them!
Thanks.

Roughly where in Hackney are you, H-D? There are quite a few beekeepers around you and you can get in touch with them via the community gardens at Pearson Street, there is also a co-op down near the canal with some top bar hives and others, too. Might be worth contacting the London Beekeepers Association.

As for gentle bees, even the nicest can turn if only for a short period, so there is nothing that will satisfy that request all the time.

There is a lot of debate about the Beehaus. I think it looks good and sounds good in practice, but I haven't heard of any stories of people using them successfully for more than a few years. The kit just doesn't seem to be as resilient, though I am sure that will be refuted by a proponent.

 

[nickhodge]

I'd advise more than one hive. Mainly as if you lose that in any winter, you are starting from scratch each time and whilst you may not be in it for the honey, it is nice compensation for you.

I had two colonies in my first year going into winter and fortunately both came out and are (in one case certainly), very strong now. I know last year was poor anyhow but I got only a few pounds last year as the whole year was spent growing bees.

If you have two hives, your options are always greater and there is always a market for surplus colonies if you have good luck overwintering.

I wish now I had gone for 14x12 from the 'get-go'. I have standard Nationals and have toyed with brood and a half but it always seems to be if you have the box below or above, it's always the wrong way! The brood is 'split' and inspections take far longer. On a warm June day, that's great but when a colony needs looking at in between showers and it's blowing, inspecting 22 frames is......

Just my inexperienced £0.02

 

[drstitson]

realistically you need 2 complete hives per colony. plus 3-4 supers per colony. and a couple of nuc boxes.

 

[H-D]

Thanks a lot psafloyd, I'm not far from Pearson St and I'll join the LBA.
Disappointed it sounds like I'll need more than 1 hive to stop the colony overflowing, as I don't think that's feasible for me.

 

[itma]

Thanks a lot psafloyd, I'm not far from Pearson St and I'll join the LBA.
Disappointed it sounds like I'll need more than 1 hive to stop the colony overflowing, as I don't think that's feasible for me.

You need more than one colony to give you a modicum of sustainability - resilience against accidents, mistakes and blind fate.

For each colony, you need one hive with supers plus some spare kit (to handle swarm attempts). Exactly what spare kit depends on the technique employed. The simplest to understand need the most kit; the more complex can be done with less.


Get to grips with some bees, and learn a bit about their practicalities, before buying any kit.

 

[susbees]

realistically you need 2 complete hives per colony. plus 3-4 supers per colony. and a couple of nuc boxes.

Not strictly true - if you perform vertical swarm control methods rather than horizontal...saves on space, floors and roofs....but lifting the bigger boxes on top of a stack when full takes oomph and a good back - or a hoist. Having done a few Demarees this week colonies on pallets win hands down