Biodiverse Polyculture (USDA 8a Zone Pasture) - sounds better than "My Acres of Weeds"

[U_Stormcrow]

I just got my Mann Lake catalog.

@U_Stormcrow, how far is Winter Haven from you? ML has 5 frame nuc for sale, $160. Nucs are pick up only. Since it's 5 frames hanging in a box (like a small hive box), they are much too fragile to ship. ML (and lots of other places) do ship packages of bees, and I'm seeing $200+/- per package, depending on the type of bees.

6 hours each way, with good traffic. Florida is a strangely shaped state.

I know the 10 frame NUCs are more popular, was looking at 8 frame because an individual box is lighter, and because the hive itself is taller, which has some (theoretical) value given our usual 30-35* swings in daily temps.

and I'm going to buy because I haven't the patience or the table tools to do dovetail joinery.

 

[Sally PB]

These are our two (deep) brood boxes on our original hive. Deeps are 9 5/8" tall.

This is the second hive. One deep and two mediums (6 5/8" tall) on top. Why two mediums? Because I thought I had a second deep, but didn't. This is the hive that didn't make it, so I'll be getting another deep box before we set it up for bees. Which won't be ready until mid June, but oh well.

6 hours each way, with good traffic.

Ah. That's quite a ways.

Have you given any thought to ordering packages? They can be shipped postal, just like live chicks. And I think the post office is just as happy to have them... be picked up asap.

This is how you open a package of bees. I have the queen cage in my hand. It's just a tiny box with the queen inside. We've pried off one of the sides of the box.

Set down the queen. Dump the rest of the bees out of the box onto the frames of the hive. Most of them are on the hive, some fly around.

After dumping out the bees, you need to take care of the queen. (The cage is the little box sitting by the front of this hive.) There is a hole (3/8"or so) in one end of the cage. It's plugged with a cork. Remove that. Underneath is a piece of candy blocking the hole. Leave that. There is a flap of metal on the cage shaped to hang over the top of a frame. Hang the cage, close up the hive. The worker bees will eat the candy. By the time they get through it, they and the queen will "know each other" (she's releasing pheromones) and all should be well.

Aren't bee suits adorable?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yeah, this is looking less and less like a great idea. TY for the pictures. You look great in spacesuits!

 

[Molpet]

Yeah, this is looking less and less like a great idea

That's where I ended up thinking a couple years ago. So I support local bee keepers instead.

 

[Bawkbok]

This definitely will not work in our yard - others suffocating us on all sides, much too close. If they think the chickens are annoying - imagine what the bees would do. This project / hobby will have to wait a bit longer for me as well. sighing

 

[Sally PB]

This definitely will not work in our yard - others suffocating us on all sides, much too close.

The president of our club lives on the a standard city lot and kept bees in his garage. He cut a hole in the wall and had essentially a stove pipe that went from the opening of the hive to the hole. This was before Grand Rapids, MI, said it was ok to have bee hives. He gave his neighbors some honey to help keep the info on the DL.

You do NOT want them flying "loose" in your garage, or other out building. Never mind the "they could sting me," bees do not defecate in their hive. I heard a story from someone else in the club who thought he'd overwinter his bees in his garage. "Everything in the garage was coated with bright yellow bee poop," he told us.

When it gets cold bees "cluster" in the middle of the hive and vibrate their wings to create enough warmth. The queen is in the middle of the cluster. The bees shift around, some moving closer to the center, some moving farther away, so that they all get a chance to be in the warmest area (the center). If the outside temps get into the upper 40s, you'll see some flying out of the hive, very briefly. These are called "cleansing flights." Really, they're potty flights.

The other day, I visited the hive and put my ear near the opening. There was a slight humming noise, which is the sound the cluster makes. They're still alive in there!

 

[Bawkbok]

Fascinating. Where there is a will, there is a way. Creative thinking on his part. Happy to hear your hive is doing well.

 

[Sally PB]

So... anything growing in your acres of weeds?

We just got some snow two days ago. We will get more snow tomorrow. We will have lows around zero F next week. Right now, I am living vicariously through everyone who has temperatures conducive to growth.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The things I listed above. A little bit of clover, a few blades of grasses here and there. Some bog violets (I think), a little cud weed, ramping (evening primrose), and maybe some yellow wood sorrel. Basically, if it doesn't get more than an inch tall, or its a stick, its recovering. Otherwise, mostly not.

 

[U_Stormcrow]