Oregon bee keepers

ROFL! :joy: Well, Oregon is a big state, but the manufacturer of the Flow hive cedar parts is located there too. Perhaps @beethinking Matt (owner of Bee Thinking) can point you in a friendly direction. :wink:

Well, that is true, it is a big state. Sadly, there doesnā€™t seem to be another Central Oregonian around here! Boo.

How is everyone doing with their hives?? Did you get bees? Where did you get them? Howā€™re your first experiences going?

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have a few questions if thatā€™s alright? I am new to bee keeping and looking for other people in southern Oregon to ask questions too, is this the right forum? also I am not using a flow hive system does that matter in this forum? thanksā€¦three

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We live for questions on this forum. :smile:

We welcome all beekeepers, all we want to do is talk about doing our best for bees. It doesnā€™t matter what kind of hive you are using. There are lots of experienced beekeepers here who have used all kinds of different hives. You are very welcome to post here or in any of the other topics on the Forum.

thank you. a person can only learn so much from books and the internet. I got my first hive in may and my second mid June, both are started from nuks. My first hive is exploded and have expanded two deeps and I added a Super. Checked on the hive today and the Super is being drawn out and filled. I am worried about my second hive, it is not expanding as fast as my first one being a month behind. I have two deeps on it, but there are empty outside frames on both boxesā€¦( I am running 8 frame systems),
I have tried to research the nectar flow for Grants Pass, Oregon and cant seem to get good information. Is my second hive in trouble already prepping for winter?
should I start feeding them to help them expand? I am not worried about trying to take honey this year, just want my time and effort to make it through the winter. Any thoughts? thanx three

Assuming your second hive is in the same location as the first, I would say the problem is either with shade/wind etc, or maybe with the queen. Even saying that, two deeps in one season, sounds like good progress for a new hive. I donā€™t think it is in trouble, and I wouldnā€™t feed it unless it is short of stores. Stores are honey and pollen stored in an arc above the brood on the deep frames. If the hive has plenty of stores, they will be capped all the way from the edge of the frame to the brood. If all of the cells are empty, the bees are short of food.

You have been very helpful in giving your geographical location, but if you put it in your profile, people will be able to see it no matter where you post on this forum.

Hope this helps a bit.

There is SOBA, Southern Oregon Bee Assoc. They meet the first Monday of every month, except the month of July, which will meet on the second Monday.
I believe the president of the association lives in Grants Pass, Oregon

hello all, started my bee keeping journey on May 6th of this year with my first nuke, I am shocked to report today I pulled a little over a gallon of honey out of my 4 frames of my super. Left the rest for the girls for the winter and shifted all the brood from 2 deeps down to the bottom box. Noticed a two mites on my bees, I didnā€™t bother with a mite checkā€¦I know they are thereā€¦ so I going to use formic acid strips as soon as the weather here in Grants Pass is not over 95 degrees for a few days in a row. my question is, do I need to stagger my two deeps so there is air flow between them while I treat, or just leave them stacked even on each other? thanks three

I just got my full flow hive running the beginning of May also with a nuc. They filled the box and the frames all looked good so I added flow hive box on top about a month later they have been working steadily! Itā€™s not full yet though! Yours sounds like it got more than mine! I was told by a local not to take any honey this year to make sure they have enough, then Iā€™ll have to feed them less through the winter too! Not sure on the mites I donā€™t have any, and think Iā€™ll try to stay away from chemicals when it happens, Iā€™ve read a lot of different opinions and methods. Good luck!

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I wasnā€™t going to take any honey this year either, but when I pulled the hive apart I was taken back at how much stores they had built up. A friend who keeps bees for a living told me to go ahead an take what I did, and that they would be fine. I took nothing from my other hive. We did see a bee with a mite in one hive, and two bees with them in my other. I have always assumed that my hives have mites, every beekeeper I have spoken too up here in Grants Pass has them. Itā€™s just very hard to see them on MY bees. So once the weather is going to be a little cooler for at least 5 days in a row, I am going to use formic acid, I am not wild about using chemicals but I am not above using them either. Next spring I plan on building some drone comb frames and trying a drone trap in my hives next season, but truth be known I will probably use chemicals again. I am hoping to expand next year, already have queens on order, and I am reading everything I can on grafting so I can experiment with the hives I have. This year has been great fun and I learned A LOT. Can hardly wait til next springā€¦ hope everyone has a great weekendā€¦

here is a question: I donā€™t use a flow hive and donā€™t know much about them ( I use a standard 8 frame) When you flow the honey out of your hives is it screened coming out of the hive somehow? or do you screen it after its out? I see pictures of people tapping it right into jars?
three

Most people donā€™t strain it at all from the Flow frames, it just isnā€™t necessary. There may be some tiny wax particles, but I havenā€™t seen any reports of bee legs or anything of a significant size.

With the current public interest in raw/organic/minimally processed food, you might even expect a premium price if your honey is completely unstrained. Of course it is very nice not to have another piece of equipment (strainer) to clean up too! :wink:

Are you in Central Oregon? Did you find a local group bee keepers?

I am in Eastern Oregon and suspect your weather is similar.

I took 3 quarts off my hives in late Julyā€¦and I am trying to figure out if I should take more or leave it for them to winter on, how to get them ready for winter and what to do for prevention of pests that might come (have not seen any yet).

I am in grants pass, and I would check for mites before you tuck your hives in for winter. I am getting into my hives tomorrow after a 7 day formic acid treatment.(mite away) Planning on making sure the hives are queen right and checking how they held up after the treatment.

Hello everyone Iā€™m around Oregon City and itā€™s incorrect to say Iā€™m new to beekeeping since I donā€™t have a hive yet but Iā€™m very interested in becoming a guardian of this variety of pollinators. I have three acquaintances who ā€œhave keptā€ bees but no longer do :frowning: Iā€™m looking for a club and/or anyone willing to show me through your hives and Iā€™m scouring the web for knowledge and reading what books I can afford.

oh Iā€™ve never been stung so I donā€™t know if Iā€™m allergic but I wonā€™t let that discourage me too much.

I plan to begin with one or two hives setup with two-three ten frame deeps (beginning with one of course then building) for the bees to keep and then adding one or two flow supers on top. is there any reason you canā€™t stack the flow supers?

Welcome to the Flow forum. :blush: If you have truly never been stung, you canā€™t be allergic. You have to be exposed to something before you can develop an allergy. So i think you are right not to worry at this point. :wink:

I found these links for ideas of clubs, but Google may give you more choices:
https://orsba.org
https://portlandurbanbeekeepers.org
There is also a Brushy Mountain beekeeping supply store in Ruhl, I believe, and they often run courses or know who does. They also have pretty nice equipment, so I wouldnā€™t hesitate to buy from them.

Do you mean 2 Flow supers on one hive? If so, you could do it, but there is really no need. When a frame is full, you just drain it. Instant creation of more storage space for the bees! :blush:

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Thanks for the welcome @Dawn_SD

I wonder about the allergies only because both my sons are allergic and carry the epi pens, but my wife is ā€œcurrentlyā€ allergic to most pollens, molds, etc. so they probably picked it up from her hopefully Iā€™m in the clear but time will tell when I make a mistake and one of the girls gets me.

Iā€™m aware of the OSBA and plan on joining and taking the Master Beekeeperā€™s course next year as it was full this year. Iā€™ve heard Ruhl was a better shop before they sold to brushy mountain but I have no experience with either the local shop or the chain so have nothing to personally comment on them.

I was only thinking about stacking the flow supers so they could fill a second while curing the first - all of which would be above their personal supers. I plan to allow them three or four deeps that I donā€™t take ā€œrentā€ honey from; but will occasionally remove a few frames of brood/queen cells, etc. - I think; Iā€™m new so all this is theoretical.

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I have a lot of Brushy Mountain equipment, and it is all great. I canā€™t speak for individual stores, as I ordered online, but the gear is really good:
Ventilated bee suit
Zippered veil
Goatskin gloves
Smoker
Smoker fuel (burlap)
Nucleus box
Miller top feeder
Pail feeders
Slatted rack
Oxalic acid vaporizer

That is just what I can remember, but there isnā€™t a single item that I regret buying.

They actually donā€™t seem to fill them that way. They often fill and cap the 2 middle frames well before finishing the others. So you can just drain those creating more space. However, if you have the money for double flow supers, why not? :blush: Personally, if I think they need a little more top space, I just put a traditional medium on top. I can always give it back to them over winter, or extract (crush and strain or cut comb) for my own use. Much cheaper, and usually not needed. :wink:

Two or three should be plenty in your climate, but they are your bees, and you will work out the best way for you once you start. :sunglasses:

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Hey @Dawn_SD thanks for taking your time to interact with me about bees; believe me I donā€™t discount anything you said.
Thank you VERY MUCH for explaining your experiences without saying Iā€™m wrong!
Your respect has encouraged me further and shown your good character to all.

Still learning and awaiting the day I can be called a BEEK hehe

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