Beekeeping...for those interested!

[reinbeau]

Skeps used to be used to keep bees, but they have been declared illegal, you can't remove the frames for inspection, so the bee gods have said no more. They're still pretty to put in your herb garden, though!

I go barefoot in my yard, sometimes, but am always aware of any flowers underfoot, and avoid clover at all costs (I was stung on both feet one day, years and years ago, walking barefoot across clover. Ouch!) As for taking out the trash, unless you're walking directly in front of the hives there won't be a problem, Caleb won't need the smoker!

 

[the simple life]

Yeah, but he would be walking directly in front. The barrels are in the very corner where the hives are going to be so he would have to walk across the whole row to get to the corner.
Thats why we were teasing him, we told Joshua we weren't going to move them and he could just wear a suit, just messing with him.
He hates taking out that trash as it is so we pretended there was really no where else to put the barrels.
Of course they can be moved anywhere really, I have been wanting to rearrange things in the yard anyway, I need to move the canoe and the compost pile and all that.
This will give me the boot I needed to do it.

 

[Beekissed]

Here is an interesting article about honey bees and alternative pollinators:

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/sanford/apis/papers/altpol.htm

I didn't realize just how much money is in this whole honeybee thing in the application of agriculture, but I knew it was big. Just not that big!

 

[me&thegals]

My goodness!! What a fount of information! I'm so glad this thread has been revived. I put a pile of books on hold at my library and obviously have a ton of reading to do. Bees appear to be very complex and intriguing. My older friend who used to have them said he learned many, many life lessons from watching and working with his bees

 

[Beekissed]

Here's a note of irony for you all today: we had a heat wave of mid 50s weather and I was out barefooted in the yard. Had on a red shirt and this must have gotten this lonely honeybee all worked up! Kept buzzing me and finally it left me alone....I thought! I stepped on her and got stung! Itches like crazy tonight!

 

[the simple life]

Red is the only color that bees can't see so maybe she was wondering what was blocking her path.

 

[MyGardenHelper]

I would love to be a bee keeper. We went to a scion exchange for rare fruit growers this past Saturday. They had supplies for bee keeping for sale and you can order bees. We're just getting into chickens so my boyfriend wants me to wait until next year for bees (I think he's hoping I'll forget all about it...yeah right ). He's always telling me that I'm planning the next project while we're in the middle of the current one.

The Simple Life,
What kind of bee plants did you plant in your garden to get ready for your bees? I have butterfly bushes and various cottage flowers, but I plan on planting more flowers this spring bordering the fenced garden.

Also, I'm curious....50,000 bees in one hive! Do most of them stay in the hive at one time and just a portion of the bees are out? How often are there tons of bees buzzing around? Do people get stung often?

 

[the simple life]

I do the same thing, I always have the next project in the works.
Yes, some of the bees (the field bees) will go out and forage and other bees like the worker bees and the nurse bees will stay in the hive.
Then you have the guard bees that stand at the entrance to protect the hive.
Its all according to age which job they will have.
I planted lots of agastache, lavendar, cosmos,thyme,poppies, salvia,sage, bee balm,heliopsis,cranesbill,russiage sage and false sunflowers for some.I have alot more flowers but I can't remember if they are bee plants.
They also like mints, borage, clover,comfrey and lots of others.
There are websites that have lists of bee plants and thats a good place to check and see which ones you like and which will well in your area.
I do notice for some reason that all of my purple plants are loaded with bees, I know its not the color that attracts them but it seems like the purple varieties are attractive to bees, my agastache plants are completely covered in bees every summer and so is the lavendar and russian sage. Just a coincidence that I happen to love tall, elegant,purple flowers and planted them all over the yard before I thought about getting bees.
I also planted some shrubs for borders in the area of the hives so there is a windbreak of some sort, I have the fence on the other sides of the hives so I did the shrubs on the remaining sides.
That is not necessarily needed but it can help.
As far as getting stung I have heard most beekeepers say they have rarely if ever gotten stung minding their own business in their yards.

 

[MyGardenHelper]

Thanks so much! I'm addicted to these sights ans now need to get in the shower and rush to work.

 

[Homesteadmom]

I want to get bees too, for a few reasons:
1. I won't have to ever buy sugar again & will give my family more nutrious food than I do now cheaper.

2. To help my garden & fruit trees produce more & better fruits & vegies.

3. To help support the bee population on this planet.

4. This is the bonus one to be able to make a little bit of money on the side by selling the excess honey & wax.

Dh is against getting bees ourselves so I am thinking of finding a beekeeper that would like to put them on our property & maintain them & we would not have to do the work then. But we would get free honey then as payment for them putting them here. Hopefully I can talk dh into this aspect of it. I love to use honey as a sweetner in my cooking & baking. Not to mention to sweeten my tea with.

Plus the added health benefits too, they say the more local honey you eat the less trouble you will have with allergies(as long as it is raw).