- Aug 8, 2011
- 1,981
- 40
- 141
Quote:
there are several different ways to keep bees... top bar hive, which lots of folks think is a really nice way to start, and traditional langstroth (square box) hives, which is easier to find equipment for and more productive in the honey department.
the way to start is with one or two hives, and I really recommend buying an intact hive from a beekeeper if you can. it'll have a full setup (bottom board, brood boxes, honey supers, a lid, frames for for the honeycomb, bees and a queen). usually they'll deliver it and put it in place for you, and many of them will teach you the basics, on your hive, or on theirs.
a set up hive may seem a little expensive, but when you consider the cost of bees + equipment, it's really not, and you're less likely to have the bees swarm off and leave the hive if it's already established in that box, then relocated.
in the standard box hives, a Deep box that is full of honey is about 100 lbs on average, a medium box is maybe 80 lbs, a shallow box is maybe 40-50 lbs. most of that will be honey, some of it is wax and frames and the weight of the box itself. the last time I processed a hive in CA (right before I sold them because I was moving) I took two 5 gallon buckets of honey and comb out of the hive (stacked, not packed) and after filtering and removing the wax, had a bit more than 2 gallons of filtered honey, and perhaps another quart's worth that I gave back to the bees. plus a HUGE chunk of lovely honey-scented wax.
I wouldn't consider that an exceptional amount, maybe a bit less than average.
if you're keeping bees for honey and pollen production, you can process the hive after each nectar flow (when there's lots of a particular plant in bloom). for instance, the first flow might be avacodo or orange, the second strawberries and eucalyptus, the third wildflowers and buckwheat... just depends on what blooms near your area and when. I leave the last round for the bees to overwinter on so I don't have to feed them. (you do have to check them from time to time in the winter to make sure they have enough supply on board so they don't starve.)
because I keep them mostly for pollenation, I usually only process once during the summer, I could certainly have done more. your area will determine what's possible for your bees... if you've got long summer, lots of blooming all through the warm months, you may have several harvests. or you may just have one (short summer, not many blooming things, other conditions.)
I've never collected pollen, but it's an easy thing to do, just add a pollen trap to the entrance. anyway, I can't tell you about what to expect on pollen collection since I haven't done it.
as long as you're in an area where they're plenty of nectar to collect and access to water, bees don't take a lot of time to maintain - maybe an afternoon once a month to check on their supplies, general health, look for issues, make sure the queen's present and laying, and treat for issues should you need to. harvesting takes another afternoon if you do it by hand, and less if you have a honey extractor (often the bee clubs will have one to share.)
if you've got a bad fall season or newly established hive that doesn't get enough supply on, you may have to feed them over the winter, and that might take half an hour once every week or two, if you feed using a 2-gallon or larger feeder.
as with all husbandry there's the production methods which use more chemicals and the organic or natural methods... I'm a natural method person myself. strong opinions on both sides, the local bee club may have both, or be oriented to one style or the other.
anyway, it's a little investment up front, and a small investment of time once a month, and AMAZING honey. not to mention better production in your garden.
and bees are just cool.
there are several different ways to keep bees... top bar hive, which lots of folks think is a really nice way to start, and traditional langstroth (square box) hives, which is easier to find equipment for and more productive in the honey department.
the way to start is with one or two hives, and I really recommend buying an intact hive from a beekeeper if you can. it'll have a full setup (bottom board, brood boxes, honey supers, a lid, frames for for the honeycomb, bees and a queen). usually they'll deliver it and put it in place for you, and many of them will teach you the basics, on your hive, or on theirs.
a set up hive may seem a little expensive, but when you consider the cost of bees + equipment, it's really not, and you're less likely to have the bees swarm off and leave the hive if it's already established in that box, then relocated.
in the standard box hives, a Deep box that is full of honey is about 100 lbs on average, a medium box is maybe 80 lbs, a shallow box is maybe 40-50 lbs. most of that will be honey, some of it is wax and frames and the weight of the box itself. the last time I processed a hive in CA (right before I sold them because I was moving) I took two 5 gallon buckets of honey and comb out of the hive (stacked, not packed) and after filtering and removing the wax, had a bit more than 2 gallons of filtered honey, and perhaps another quart's worth that I gave back to the bees. plus a HUGE chunk of lovely honey-scented wax.
I wouldn't consider that an exceptional amount, maybe a bit less than average.
if you're keeping bees for honey and pollen production, you can process the hive after each nectar flow (when there's lots of a particular plant in bloom). for instance, the first flow might be avacodo or orange, the second strawberries and eucalyptus, the third wildflowers and buckwheat... just depends on what blooms near your area and when. I leave the last round for the bees to overwinter on so I don't have to feed them. (you do have to check them from time to time in the winter to make sure they have enough supply on board so they don't starve.)
because I keep them mostly for pollenation, I usually only process once during the summer, I could certainly have done more. your area will determine what's possible for your bees... if you've got long summer, lots of blooming all through the warm months, you may have several harvests. or you may just have one (short summer, not many blooming things, other conditions.)
I've never collected pollen, but it's an easy thing to do, just add a pollen trap to the entrance. anyway, I can't tell you about what to expect on pollen collection since I haven't done it.
as long as you're in an area where they're plenty of nectar to collect and access to water, bees don't take a lot of time to maintain - maybe an afternoon once a month to check on their supplies, general health, look for issues, make sure the queen's present and laying, and treat for issues should you need to. harvesting takes another afternoon if you do it by hand, and less if you have a honey extractor (often the bee clubs will have one to share.)
if you've got a bad fall season or newly established hive that doesn't get enough supply on, you may have to feed them over the winter, and that might take half an hour once every week or two, if you feed using a 2-gallon or larger feeder.
as with all husbandry there's the production methods which use more chemicals and the organic or natural methods... I'm a natural method person myself. strong opinions on both sides, the local bee club may have both, or be oriented to one style or the other.
anyway, it's a little investment up front, and a small investment of time once a month, and AMAZING honey. not to mention better production in your garden.
and bees are just cool.
