Beekeeping...for those interested!

[me&thegals]

That was so nice of you to pass on so much that late at night! It sounds like the conference would have been incredibly helpful and motivational. Quite neat that you got to rub shoulders with such giants in the bee-keeping world!

Hmm... I'm going to have to rethink this kombucha thing (which I have not done yet).

About feeding, one of my hives comes from a split in July. I'm feeding that one nearly nonstop, really trying to get it built up for winter. Would they advise against feeding in this situation, too?

You know, bees are a bit different than the other animals we keep, aren't they. Our turkeys and chickens, of course we are responsible for most of their feed and get used to the idea of "managing" that. I add probiotics in the form of kombucha/ACV in the chicken's water, yogurt for a treat, etc. Maybe for beekeeping, I need to think of myself more as the landlord and not the one who feeds them. They do that quite well for themselves. Maybe my involvement is limited to choosing a good site, keeping them free from larger animal predation, checking for crowding, keeping toxins out of their hives as much as possible (can't help their foraging area)... If I think more that way, I might see it as ridiculous to spray in other substances, whether probiotics, essentail oils or other.

As always, I surely wish a lot more money/time was thrown at bee research.

Well, thanks again. I'll be looking forward to whatever else you have to share

 

[the simple life]

Well I am back home and the conference was incredibly helpful.
I had so much fun and met wonderful people.
I took alot of pictures and just downloaded them into my existing photo bucket album so if you want to check them out and see what Michael Bush looks like you can check out the link.

Erik Osterland is the editor of a Swedish bee magazine and travels extensively speaking at treatment free conferences.
He was a real sweetheart and the way he speaks when he gives presentations is poignant, he did alot of work with Brother Adam at the Buckfast Abbey and is a wealth of information.
I ate breakfast with him this morning and he asked me about my hives so I showed him the pictures I had stored in my camera.
He likes what I have done with the design of the hives and gardens and asked if he could print them in his magazine.
I was honored of course and he took the card from my camera and downloaded the pictures to his computer and told me he was writing an article and will include my pictures.
He said he was impressed with what I was doing as a first year beekeeper.
I am still in shock over it and I just cannot tell you what a lovely man he is, I really enjoyed our conversations this weekend.

Michael Palmer gave a talk on splits and using that as a way to build your apiary rather than ordering packages from down south that are not acclimated to our environment.
He does not treat his hives, allows the weak to die and builds up off the strong.
Its not for the faint of heart but that is what everyone is doing.
The less hives you have the harder it is to risk them all but its the only way to get survivor stock.

That is one of the biggest recommendations they all gave and agreed on, find someone in your own area who is breeding stock and selling overwintered nucs or at least their spring splits.
Buying packages from down south are not going to do well here long term.

That is not a cure all but is the first step. All of the presenters had at least this in common- they all lost 50-75 percent of their hives when they quit treating their colonies.
Of course that is a huge temporary set back but its what they were prepared to do to weed out the weak and build off the strong.
They are all up to hundreds of hives now some have several hundred hives and they are all surviving without treatments.
It took around 4 years for their stock to develop to where they could exist without any treatments.

Although there are some who say small cell comb does not make a difference, Jennifer Berry just did her own study and she claims she did not find any difference in the survival of her hives that were on large small or small cell.
However,all of these presenters are doing small cell regression and they claim that is an essential piece to the puzzle and they would not have been successful without implementing it in conjuction with being treatment free.
All of the experts agreed that it was a combination of several things that worked for all of them and until they did all components they were not successful.
Small cell regression to natural comb, zero chemicals including all natural treatments like essential oils and powdered sugar shakes, making splits and building their survivor stock, no artificial feeding unless its a true emergency and buying nucs that are fit for your climate.
They discussed queen lineage and breeding but I need to check my notes before I comment on that.
Basically they allow their bees to function with minimal interference.
For the feeding, they feel that if the bees cannot build up on their own and get through the winter then those are not genetics they want in their stock.

For splits though Michael Palmer suggests only feeding them honey frames and not sugar syrup since the sugar kills the microbes in the gut and around the hive.
If you don't have any honey then your only choice is to feed them sugar syrup if you want to feed.
This is where some will just stop feeding and if they make it through the winter then fine if not they start again.
You have to do what is right for you though.
From what I could tell they all feed their splits frames of honey, so they do feed splits but not colonies that are built up, at least not this time of year anyway.
Being that this is your first year and don't have a whole lot of stock built up you may want to feed them this year and not next year if they all make it through the winter.
If possible freeze a bunch of honey frames that you can use to get them started in spring so you won't have to use sugar or you can use them in emergencies or to make splits.
Michael Palmer makes a 5 frame split and puts 2 frames of honey in each of them.
There are so many ways to keep bees and you can do whatever is right for you. I don't want you to feel that you are doing anything wrong when I pass on this type of information, I am just sharing what I learned and you can take what you want from it.
I learned so much that I am still sorting it all out in my head but I am so thrilled that I went to this conference.
Aside from the information I got I met so many wonderful beekeepers there, the people were so friendly and welcoming.
You just sat down at a table during meals and see who you ended up eating with and that is how I got to know so many other beeks.

I met Chris Harp, the "bee doctor" from New York.

Erik Osterland- Swedish beekeeper, researcher and editor.

Michael Bush- some say he is the "Godfather of Beekeeping" and is well respected. He sat next to me during presentations and heckeld the other speakers, (in a good way) and I found him to be very entertaining.

Sam Comfort- I already knew him but he is a knowledgeable and interesting young man, very unique.

Michael Palmer- who is breeding some of the best northern queens and survivor stock right now

Dee Lusby- leading the way in small cell regression (and defending it adamantly) man is she funny. Not at all what you expect from reading about her.
She tells you like it is.

I already knew Dean and Ramona who put this whole thing together but it was nice to see them again and it was amazing to have this many people with the same interests hanging out together and talking and learning from eachother.
We exchange alot of numbers and addresses today and we all made alot of new friends.
They are already working on next year's conference so you may want to consider attending.

http://s679.photobucket.com/albums/vv153/natalierosepeterson/?start=all

 

[me&thegals]

Hey Natalie--I got the link from your post on beemaster. Wow! I'm in the middle of your photo album right now (dial-up internet). I LOVE your hives! I think I may be developinng in inferiority complex, though. What a lovely garden, hives and home!

I think I will be able to get to the mind set of live and let die. I'm already there for chickens and turkeys. I will baby this first year and spring. Next year they are on their own. I put in 2 bars of honey for my split but have been steadily feeding syrup since then. I fed syrup for a while for my packages but pulled it--per my admittedly poor memory--in late June.

Very interesting. Makes me want to work this winter to find good breeders around here, learn about swarm boxes (I've heard of a decades-old feral hive in a bluff on family land) and other ways of procuring wild bees.

Glad you had a great time! Thanks for all you have shared!

 

[the simple life]

Your comments are very sweet, thank you.
I am happy to share what I learn, I like to help and support other people who are trying do the same things.
The schools and clubs just don't preach this stuff so its hard to get information sometimes.
You are doing this as a hobby and it should be fun, do what you are comfortable with as time goes on.
If I had listened to all the people who told me not to do topbar hives, 8 frame mediums, foundationless frames, no chemicals and to stay away from russian bees I would not be keeping bees.
It would take all the fun out of it for me and I would not be enjoying my hobby at all.
The thing is I have had a great year, everything is going well and all of the bad things they told me to expect because of the way I chose to do things never happened.
This year is your biggest learning curve so mistakes are expected and can actually be helpful because you will learn from them.
I think it would be great for you to start looking around now for acclimated stock for next year.
That sells out very quickly and usually the orders start around february.

 

[me&thegals]

The thing is I have had a great year, everything is going well and all of the bad things they told me to expect because of the way I chose to do things never happened.

Me, too I don't want to seem arrogant by ignoring some of the advice of older beeks, but already several things I was told not to do (but many folks online had done) have worked out fine.

I think it would be great for you to start looking around now for acclimated stock for next year. That sells out very quickly and usually the orders start around february.

Thanks. Good to know! My friend of a friend is apparently trying to raise northern bees. I will look into that further. For now, my split hive is getting ready to swarm on me and I'm going to focus on luring that one into the hive nextdoor. If that doesn't work, I would like to try another breed besides Italians

Good luck!

 

[me&thegals]

So, everyone. How did this year of beekeeping go for you all? I had an amazing year! I got to install 2 packages all by my lonesome, help my husband build topbar hives (first, of course), and observe bees at the entrances and observation windows all summer long.

Friends and family were very intrigued by the bees, so we had many wonderful and educational conversations about bees this year.

One hive swarmed, and I got to watch the whole thing happen, I believe it swarmed again along with another one, so I got to watch hive numbers dwindle while I waited for time and weather to get into the hives. I had the experience of making a third hive with splits from the other 2 (before they swarmed) since the other 2 were exploding in population. Then, today, I finally inspected all 3 again. All 3 have queens. Two are very low in population but the third is absolutely booming. I pulled 1 bar of comb (irresistible!) and we had a great time chowing it--distinctly different in taste from the honey I pulled earlier this summer.

I also watched major robbing going on in Sept, so another lesson learned.

What a year! I feel like every single experience has been a learning one. I don't regret anything that has happened because it taught me something either way. It looks like 1 hive should be able to make it through winter. The other 2 have very little stores. Since it was my bad management that probably got them there, I will feed them.

The good news is I have seen no evidence of varroa mites, SHB or any other diseases or issues. It's only their first season, but this still pleases me.

I also have made a LOT of lip and skin balm with bee's wax, canola oil and essential oil. I will be set for life

How about the rest of you? How has your beekeeping year been?

 

[Beekissed]

TSL, I really like the info you posted about the conference! I have been reading about this kind of hive management and it makes a lot of sense to me! This is the way I raise my chickens also and, though it seems self-destructive to some and even ruthless, I feel its the only sure way to get a hardy flock.

Please continue to expand on the subject! I would love to find someone in my area to buy hardy bees from, as this is the year for me! This spring I am finally getting bees! A dream that has been a long time coming.....

 

[reinbeau]

I've bottled over 200 lbs from the four hives down here, and there's another 5 gallon bucket to go. We haven't taken all the honey off the four hives up north, we have 48 lbs bottled from there, so far. What started out as a not-so-good year turned into a banner one for us down here!

 

[me&thegals]

Wow--That's awesome, Ann! And weren't those first-year hives, too? That is incredible!

I thought it looked like an excellent year here, but a 47-year local beek veteran told me last night he only got about half of last year's production. I guess our very chilly year made it tough.

I'm excited for next year, as now my 2 hives are 3 (crossing fingers) and have comb already built up, ready to fill with brood and honey. I also plan to be much more vigilant about swarming and harvesting, something that needs to be watched more often with topbars.

BTW, all you MEN readers--did you see the article about topbar hives in the latest edition? Phil Chandler wrote The Barefoot Beekeeper, a book I am STILL trying to lay my hands on. He has a website, biobees, which is a great forum for natural beekeepers.

 

[me&thegals]

Ann--Where and how do you sell your honey? At least I'm assuming you need to sell with so much! I could possibly go through 1 lb of honey per day before I bloated to a size that wouldn't allow me to get into the kitchen Man, ALL honey is great!

Side note: Does anybody have or plan to try a Warre hive? I'd eventually like to have a couple topbar Langstroth hives (or at least foundationless), a couple Warre and my current 4 topbars filled.

Also, has anybody come up with good ideas for swarm boxes? I have empty comb and lemongrass oil for lure. Any suggestions on the physical setup of the box?