What did you do in the garden today?

[jerryse]

I have bees again in my hive . They winter killed 2 years ago . Never ordered any . So a swarm finally moved in . I was hoping they would .

 

[Birdsong 82]

Didn’t know swarms could just move in. That’s pretty awesome! We are starting our first bee adventure in June. How cold does it get to kill a hive?

 

[jerryse]

Didn’t know swarms could just move in. That’s pretty awesome! We are starting our first bee adventure in June. How cold does it get to kill a hive?

Cold is a contributing factor of winter kill . The bees cluster in the winter and feed on stored honey . They generate heat and bees move out of or into the ball of live bees so everyone gets heat . In extended cold spells it is too cold to move to more honey . So they starve or freeze due to no food to generate heat . These I believe have been there over the winter . We did get - 20 to -22 this past winter but not extended periods . Bees swarm if a strong hive gets crowded . Also they replace failing Queens every few years . Sometimes the old queen will leave with part of the hive when being replaced . Here is a old saying Dad taught me . I am retired so this goes back a long time . So here it is . Bees that swarm in May are worth a load of hay . Bees that swarm in June are worth a silver spoon . Bees that swarm in July are not worth a fly . The meaning is the July swarm will not have time to store enough honey to feed them through the winter .

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I also have bees in my hive again. Sometimes winters can get too warm for bees too... And that happened here. We had plenty of warm spells and every time it got warm the bees tried to do work, eating out their stores of food to try to draw new comb and such. But there was no nectar or pollen for them to harvest because the plants were all dormant for the winter. Combine that with the fact that we got our bees late last year (June) and the fact that they took a long time to start building in more than one box, and we just didn't have a strong enough hive to make it through the long winter last year. Just not enough bees total and not enough stores. We found the queen dead on the floor of the hive at the end of march and she was still alive at the beginning of march.

We bought a package of 3lbs of bees this year with a queen in a cage. They went into the hive and settled in very quickly. There's already more bees in the hive from the package than there ever was when my hive was at it's strongest. I am excited for these new bees.

 

[dunnmom]

I'd like to try having bees. We use a lot of honey, and the raw stuff can be pretty expensive. I don't think we have enough space, though. I live in residential neighborhood in the city, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for anyone getting stung if they are allergic. I've never been stung myself, but I don't freak out and scare them even if they land on me, so that could be why.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Cold is a contributing factor of winter kill . The bees cluster in the winter and feed on stored honey . They generate heat and bees move out of or into the ball of live bees so everyone gets heat . In extended cold spells it is too cold to move to more honey . So they starve or freeze due to no food to generate heat . These I believe have been there over the winter . We did get - 20 to -22 this past winter but not extended periods . Bees swarm if a strong hive gets crowded . Also they replace failing Queens every few years . Sometimes the old queen will leave with part of the hive when being replaced . Here is a old saying Dad taught me . I am retired so this goes back a long time . So here it is . Bees that swarm in May are worth a load of hay . Bees that swarm in June are worth a silver spoon . Bees that swarm in July are not worth a fly . The meaning is the July swarm will not have time to store enough honey to feed them through the winter .

-20’s. That’s some serious cold. Two nights this winter we got to -3° and places around here were shut down in school was canceled that is how rare negative is where I live. Normally our winter consist of 30s during the day and 20s and teens at night. Winters are fairly mild. And out winter doesn’t really start until January This past winter was probably the artist winter we’ve ever had

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Dunmom, bees take up very little space. I live in a residential area too. My neighbor also has bees. You can have a bee hive on a lot of almost any size. What's more important is what your nectar/pollen sources look like.
Somewhere deep in a city probably has too few sources to feed a strong hive properly. Too much pavement, not enough flowers and trees. I live in a suburb where it's mostly trees and lawns and people's gardens for 5 miles around, dotted with shopping centers. We have deer wander in and out of lawns here and most people are at least somewhat eco-minded. (My city ward council leader actually sent out an email about how to manage laws without pesticides and how to use pesticides in ways that are more bee friendly.) Lots of dandelions, violets, clover, flowering trees, etc.
The bees will mostly stick within 3-5 feet of the hive unless they are well dispersed. If you want to minimize stings around your hive, you can plant tall shrubs, trees or build a short fence near the hive on all sides but the entrance side or around the edges of your property so the bees have to fly up before they can fly away.
But generally speaking a 5'x5' are is large enough to properly hold a beehive safely without contact with the bees.

 

[dunnmom]

Dunmom, bees take up very little space. I live in a residential area too. My neighbor also has bees. You can have a bee hive on a lot of almost any size. What's more important is what your nectar/pollen sources look like.
Somewhere deep in a city probably has too few sources to feed a strong hive properly. Too much pavement, not enough flowers and trees. I live in a suburb where it's mostly trees and lawns and people's gardens for 5 miles around, dotted with shopping centers. We have deer wander in and out of lawns here and most people are at least somewhat eco-minded. (My city ward council leader actually sent out an email about how to manage laws without pesticides and how to use pesticides in ways that are more bee friendly.) Lots of dandelions, violets, clover, flowering trees, etc.
The bees will mostly stick within 3-5 feet of the hive unless they are well dispersed. If you want to minimize stings around your hive, you can plant tall shrubs, trees or build a short fence near the hive on all sides but the entrance side or around the edges of your property so the bees have to fly up before they can fly away.
But generally speaking a 5'x5' are is large enough to properly hold a beehive safely without contact with the bees.

My city has strict rules about beehives, and how close you are allowed to have one to nearby houses. If I'm not mistaken it is 300ft. I'm on a decent sized lot, just under 1 acre, but I don't think I have a spot 300ft from my own and neighbors homes.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Man, that's dumb. You should petition them to change the law. Talk to your city council members. Tell them you don't want the restriction removed but altered. Make it a shorter distance (maybe 100' or 50'?) with the additions of 5 ' tall "bee breaks" (like the fencing or hedges I talked about) on the sides that are closer than 300' to ensure that the bees fly up before they fly away. Lot of info on how to change local laws under the changing local chicken laws section of BYC.

Today in the garden I transplanted my goodman cauliflower and my celery. Very pleased with how both of those look.

 

[dunnmom]

Man, that's dumb. You should petition them to change the law. Talk to your city council members. Tell them you don't want the restriction removed but altered. Make it a shorter distance (maybe 100' or 50'?) with the additions of 5 ' tall "bee breaks" (like the fencing or hedges I talked about) on the sides that are closer than 300' to ensure that the bees fly up before they fly away. Lot of info on how to change local laws under the changing local chicken laws section of BYC.

Today in the garden I transplanted my goodman cauliflower and my celery. Very pleased with how both of those look.

I suppose I might be able to sneak in a hive without anyone knowing the difference. I do have kids that might mess with it, though. Is there a good way to hide a hive?