Hello Beepeeple!

[Happy Chooks]

I have Langsroth hives and love them. If you are concerned with weight, you can always use 3 mediums instead of 2 deeps. I probably do 3-4 inspections in the bottom deep a year, so I don't move them that often. The first is in the early spring, when there is a good flow, to check if the bottom deep is empty. If it is, I reverse the boxes so the queen can move upward for laying and storage. Others have been to check on the strength of the hive, look for queen cells, and/or make splits.

I don't do crush and strain for the same reason. I like to keep the comb mostly intact.

 

[Maggiesdad]

Hey, BEEPEOPLE!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Less than a month to the solstice and these girls are still bringing in pollen... beekeeping is a whole lot of location, and a whole lot of weather.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

What a beautiful pic. Pic of the week material for sure!

 

[Latestarter]

Mine are hive-bernating right now. cold, wet, snow, sub freezing weather... sunny but cool and windy days... generally, I guess you'd say it's about winter here on the front range. Under a winter advisory right now till Friday morning.

 

[Mini Horses]

"my" beekeeper retired There are others in the area & I would sure need a mentor to work them. But, still a consideration! I do want the benefit of the bees. I'm even thinking of finding a keeper who would tend the hives (want 2) and mentor, while keeping the honey, except a couple pints for me for the effort. I really use very little of it, or sugar for that matter. Still have 4 pints from my hive of several yrs ago.

With the boxes added for honey, no issues with results but, with a TBH -- how do you retrieve the honey and when? I mean with the box, you take it and replace. Do you actually take one of the hanging "v" units from a TBH? I'm definitely confused with the set-up there

 

[Maggiesdad]

Yes, you go through the bars like going through files in a filing cabinet. Lift out a capped bar of honey and take the whole comb. It's well suited for a homestead type operation.... no heavy lifting, small frequent harvests.

 

[Mini Horses]

OK, thanks. If you are only raising for own use, that would be very good. Of course, for sales and or commercial rental of hives, not so good, it seems.

Maybe that's why the method seems new ... most hives seem to have been commercially used. And/or to collect for honey sales.

I actually saw a location with several hives on way home yesterday (now have to remember where that was !) and will go there to check the keeper out. It was by some farmed fields as well as a home -- so could have been rented OR home used.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[Latestarter]

Thank you Chooks! I had a very laid back holiday... I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving as well!

 

[Happy Chooks]

It was nice, thanks. Dinner was good. Well, other than the 2 bottles of special wine I hid to save for a special occasion. I apparently hid them very well, because I can't find them anywhere! So frustrating!