Year end totals

[DulwichGnome]

OK here goes,

I came out of the winter with three hives at Site A, all from swarms last year. Hives 1 & 3 did not get away well but Hive 2 (the followers) did and have produced over 50Kg of honey. Not knowing if the week ones would survive I bought in two of Bickerstaffes Buckfast queens, split the two and waited. The result was 1&3 recovered and the two nucs did well.
Due to some good luck and cheeky asking I now have 5 more sites,
Site B has one hive and produced a suprise 12Kg of honey.
Sites C & D have two each and doing well.
Site E has two but it's a bit dark so not sure how they will do.
Site F has four new nucs after I split 'the followers' and requeened.

Most of this has been done with splitting or buying in queens/nucs so it's been an expensive year. I am now getting them all ready for the winter and could come out next year with 14 producing hives. *must update profile* 2010 could be a busy year!!

Pete, when you are with your 'childen', on those darker days, remember your brother and sister beekeepers are with you as well. Keep up the vids and the inspiration.

Mike.

 

[Hawklord]

I received, as a gift, a nuc of bees covering 4 frames on 9th of July. They are currently covering 8 frames. Cost to date is two hives at £295, smoker £25, suit £70, the odd '£' here and there for gloves, lighter etc.

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Pete ... How long before you become a fully commerical venture?

140+ nucs means you can't be far off, especially with the huge yields you are getting...

 

[jezd]

So, every time you have bad weather, you feed them with sugar syrup? is your bumper honey harvest from flowers, or sugar beet?
As a newbie, this is an interesting thread, can we all just feed our hives with sugar syrup and get loads of honey and wax?, do we need flowers at all?

you could just buy cheap honey and feed them that, sugar syrup feeding does not equal honey sadly

 

[JCBrum]

you could just buy cheap honey and feed them that,

Not a practice to be recommended because of contaminants, diseases and infections.

sugar syrup feeding does not equal honey sadly

Seems ok, and very handy, to me. Where do you see the problem ?

I notice the patriotic flag smilie. Are you American ?

 

[hedgerow pete]

roof tops you are spot on for me missing the sugar i have used since february around 40kg brought at 65pence per kilo. i missed it off because the recpeit went into the beer and wine spread sheets, also roof tops you are pretty spot one with getting 60kg from a hive, dont forget i am in exceptional areas where i live in sandwell west mids there is a dearth of competition so much that several times that a plant i thought would be covered in bees is completly missed in prefferance for somewhere else, sods law in effect again!!

someone also asked about going commercial with 140 hives you are considered doing it commercial when you go passed 40 hives, we the group i am with am planning to runn 150 in total with the added help of the three of use being able to swap visits whilst all still in full time occupation, there is of course the chance one of us could become unemployed and so we will allow him to do more to earn!! money, we are also expecting our wives (2) and children (4) to put in time and effort as well so we are talking about 9 people working 150 hives.
there are many big draw backs with going over the 20 mark and thats for another thread. i thank the others for there resualts because these are the facts that can be calculated and people can compare whats happening in the bee world , i was talking to someone in the country side, you know where they dont use poopa scoopas for sheep!! he has hardly got over the 25kg for any of his hives and most of that was osr based so some people have struggled and others not, i am the exception to many purely because i mother the ladies and can fiddle with them daily, i have seriously considered adding weigh scales under each hive to help the mothering as well

 

[JCBrum]

H Pete, do you treat against Nosema or Varroa ?

Well done getting going again.

 

[hedgerow pete]

yes i do treat for nosema i lost a hive to it last year and might lose one this year but i am waiting test results, and as for varroa sorry to sound out ragous but i dont have it at the bee shed, if you buy off mick the bee, you dont get varroa he dont have any and so neither do i. thequeens and nucs i have reared are clear as well but the other nucs raised for the project by the others do so we are trying a few unusual meathods of removal i will start another thread with them if you want

 

[JCBrum]

Yes please H Pete, tell us what Nosema treatment you use, and how you plan to deal with varroa.

Probably another thread is best and please consider a movie if you think it's a good idea. We would probably all like to see something of your 'commercial' setup if pos.

 

[jezd]

Not a practice to be recommended because of contaminants, diseases and infections.




Seems ok, and very handy, to me. Where do you see the problem ?

I notice the patriotic flag smilie. Are you American ?

nope just bored...must do the garden now

 

[hedgerow pete]

i have on anotherr thread described as much of the commercial set up and security as i am willing and allowed to say sorry but for security reasons there will be no more on this subject , if you want ideas on security please pm me and i will help but i wont be drawn on something that has considerable set up costs and i have an awlfull lot to lose

 

[tonybloke]

My Yield this year
18lb from a swarm I collected on June 2nd, 16 lb from a 'nuc' I purchased from P.Metcalf BA NDB.
both in commercial brood boxes with national supers, in my back garden.
both hives are now being treated with apiguard at the moment, but are still 'ramming it in', and shouldn't need to be fed any sugar beet this winter.
(haven't melted my wax yet, and generally feed the drone comb to my mates hens, but maybe I'll start keeping the wax)

 

[hedgerow pete]

well impressive tony

 

[OXFORDBEE]

i am the exception to many purely because i mother the ladies and can fiddle with them daily

I don't think this is the case; the real reason you are doing so well is:

i am in exceptional areas where i live in sandwell west mids there is a dearth of competition.

Once you start expanding significantly it will be interesting to see how your average yield figures move around.

 

[JCBrum]

With respect, oxfordbee, whilst you may have your suspicions, you have no better knowledge of the real reasons, than anyone else.

> the real reason you are doing so well is: < ...... Is merely an uninformed presumption on your part, and the real reason is actually unknown to anyone as yet, except maybe H Pete, who has stated his case. Who are you to tell him he's wrong ?

I personally know of of two beekeepers within a couple of miles of H Pete in Sandwell who are not doing so well.

 

[OXFORDBEE]

JCBRUM:

I bow to your superior knowlege.

 

[Baggyone]

2009 - first year of beekeeping.

1 hive as a nuc on 25th May from thornes, queenless on arrival/clumsy bastard hiving it.

Total honey yield - 7 jars. And I only wanted one just so I could say I got some honey this year. Currently on double deep brood with 2 supers on for room. Trying to build up colony for winter and then do a reasonably early split.

Its been an interesting year so far.

 

[Hombre]

At least three in Rowley Regis to my knowledge, The Carnis are coming to allotments near you Cue the sound effects.

 

[JCBrum]

JCBRUM:

I bow to your superior knowlege.

Arise, you are forgiven. (It's divine)

 

[hedgerow pete]

as for those three hombre beware the fly spray, carni's and super duper bee's are not welcome around by me