Friday, January 30, 2015

i'm hoping to keep bees this year

I'm hoping to keep bees! Tomorrow my bee keeping class begins. It will be six 2 hour classes. I have a bee keeping text book that I have been reading and am half way through. I am looking forward to the class.

Last fall, a friend gave me two stacks of beehives. They're out in my backyard. I've been working on putting them in a good position. Where they are now is out of the way of the sprinklers. I was pleased to see yesterday that it's a warm spot as the snow around them is melting. I think this is good, but will ask in my class.

I'd like to keep bees both as pollinators, for my vegetables and fruit trees, and for honey. I suppose there are enough native bees for pollination, but it will be interesting to keep bees and to have honey from my yard.

The hives I have are only the outer wood boxes, so I will be purchasing new inner parts. In the spring I will purchase the bees - if I pass my bee class.

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3 comments:

Unknown said...

I have kept bees, and I have many farmers in my area that keep bees, so if you need help or have a question, I can help. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I once captured a hive (with help from an old-timer) and that was really exciting.

David said...

Oh now I am going to have to follow your adventures even more! I also keep bees and it is a great adventure even when they die in the middle of winter. Make sure you find a local bee club so you get an idea of what your winter losses are going to be like. Here in the northwest 50% survival rate is the usual. Still a lot of fun though!

Johanna said...

All the best to passing the class and becoming a be master. :) all I've read about bees make it sound really interesting, great that you take the step further and have your own hives.