Beekeeping for a beginners

And @o01Chrism I sell all my honey blended as ‘local bush honey’ and it sells because of it’s consistency of color and flavor, and that is what I aim for. I don’t see the point in selling an unknown taste of honey to my regulars. The feedback I get is positive. It is still a boutique honey, it is pure honey that is unheated and not watered down with other things unlike the so called ‘honey’ in our supermarkets, a lot of the honey sold by them is ‘processed’ in China – you know what that means.
Regards

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Hi Peter48,

Thank you for letting me know. Around where I live I do not think many consumers care. Besides it could be difficult to pin point what flower made what honey with the exception of a strickly apples only apple orchard, orange only orange grove, almond only almond farm etc.

I find it interesting that the government allows commercial companies to import honey when it should be domestic only and they also allow natural or artificial honey flavored corn syrup to pass as honey.

Thank you,

Chris

During Spring and Summer is it ok to take comb honey from the brood boxes for honey and wax as long as there is no brood living in the combs?

I wouldn’t do that. Even if there is no brood in it, it is in a place near the brood, where the bees need it to feed their babies. The other thing is that if there has ever been brood in it, the wax will be very hard (for eating) because of the cocoons. Larvae poop outside the cocoon just before they seal it, so you would also be eating larval poop.

I only willing eat honey that has come from above the queen excluder. :blush:

US Federal honey labeling regulations don’t let you claim a particular source, unless your hive was in a large monoculture area, such as an almond or orange orchard. All honey should be labeled as Wildflower Honey unless your hive was in such an area. I also put “Point Loma Coastal” on my honey, which is allowed, and it is acceptable to call it ultra-local. People with allergies often want to eat local honey, as they believe it is more helpful for their symptoms.

I am sure that you will find your own way of doing all of these things, it just takes a bit of time to find out what works best for you. :wink:

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I was thinking of it more for the wax to use not to eat. How many brood boxes are necessary for beekeeping?

As far as a local club or association near me most are against Flow hives/Flow frames. One local beekeeper was willing to teach me for free if I purchased bees from him but after I told him my relatives were gifting me he said nevermind and don’t ever call me again. :pensive:

You can melt it from brood comb, but you will get surprisingly little. Traditional honey supers yield a lot more.

Didn’t we discuss that above? For your climate, 2 deep brood boxes per hive.

Very common attitude, as the Flow concept initially encouraged lazy beekeepers who didn’t want to take proper care of their bees. You could just say that you have changed your mind, and you now want to set up a traditional Langstroth hive. That is absolutely true, as Flow hives are traditional Langstroth brood boxes with a Flow super on top. The only different thing in managing them is the extraction method. Everything else should be done in exactly the same way as a traditional Langstroth. It is very helpful and important to get local advice and knowledge. Things such as when the nectar is flowing and what diseases are very problematic in your area. This information is only available from local beekeepers.

We can help you with managing the Flow super, but the brood boxes are managed just like any Langstroth hive. :wink:

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As for the brood boxes I remember our conversation but I meant as far as expansion but also how many deep honey supers are needed?

OK, well 2 deeps for brood is plenty. More than that and you may find inspection becomes incredibly onerous because of the number of frames, and the number of bees. A busy hive will have about 2,000 bees per frame. If you have double deep brood boxes, that means around 40,000 bees. When they get upset, that is an awful lot of bees to deal with, and you really don’t want more brood boxes for that reason.

For the Flow super, only one is needed, unless you are going to be away for more than a week or two during a strong nectar flow. The reason is that once a frame is full and capped, you can empty it and the bees can re-use it.

For traditional supers, I like to use mediums or shallows. The reason is that a full Langstroth deep can easily weigh well over 50lb, and I find that very challenging to lift smoothly and gently. I would start with 2 mediums, but be aware that you may need a 3rd at short notice.

The most supers I have ever had on a hive was 5. We had a habit of doing our traditional honey extraction at the end of the season, because it meant we only had to deal with the mess once. If you are willing to extract repeatedly during the season, you can get away with just 2 supers.

Sorry for the long answer, but like all things beekeeping, there are many ways of doing the job. :blush:

Thank you, my Father in Law will be getting back into beekeeping so I will learn from him how to top bar hive beekeeping most likely as that is popular where he lives. I do wonder what the best hive is to maximize wax for different things. Also is a traditional or horizontal longstroth hive better?

Definitely not a Flow hive. Traditional Langstroth would be good for wax from the supers. Vertical or horizontal doesn’t matter. Top bar is hard for beginners, but lots of people like them. Your choice. :smile:

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I agree with what @Dawn_SD has advised to you. Most of us bee keepers know the ‘ins and outs’ of a Langstroth hive and I guess that is why the guys at Flow adapted their design and sizing around that type of hive.
What wax you will get from a Flow Hive is hardly worth collecting, to get usable quantities of wax you have to go for a traditional Langstroth Super. You need to do what works for you but a bit of experimenting is good. In fact that is how I ended up with my set-up. It is all about finding what works and fine tuning it as you go.
Double brood boxes sounds right for your climate, I run single supers, both in Flow hives and traditional hives, I extract the traditional frames at home and as stickies return them to fill in gaps when I take frames for extracting, so hive hygiene is extremely important that I don’t spread a disease or problem.
I cycle out brood frames after two seasons and recover the wax and add to the capping wax to make blocks that I trade against new foundation. I only use wooden frames with wire and wax foundation, that has proven to be my best way to get good frames for extracting and it is best for the bees to.
Cheers :wink: :grinning:

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I’ve got a loooong way to go before I can give the kind of advice you’re getting from Peter and Dawn, but as a beek entering her 4th season I can recall the feeling of excitement about the potential gains from beekeeping that was not yet tempered by challenge and loss. It’s a steep learning curve, with hard-won success in countries like the US because of Varroa mites and rampant use of herbicides & pesticides.

It’s too bad your local source of guidance shut you down - but I suppose that’s a sign of a prickly person not well suited to be such a great mentor anyway :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
But, now that you’ve been filled in on so many possibilities, it’s really important to get a firmer grip on the day to day activities of the kind of beekeeper you aspire to be - so I do hope you’ll find another opportunity for in-person & hands-on learning as you get ready for your bees to arrive! :rainbow::honeybee::cherry_blossom::raised_hands:

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Thank you, I am grateful for everyone’s advice. Sadly that was the most local beekeeper and to top it off there really is not a nearby club or association and I am too new and green to ask the State association if I can create a local association.

Also that was the only local beekeeper to actually call me back and talk with me so I may just have to get general advice from here and through trial go it my own so to speak.

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Well I will have lonstroth but will help my father in law with his top bar hives while visiting him so we can spend quality time together and learn more together.

As far as honey supers I realize that I can swap out flow supers with traditional honey supers if I want the wax.

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Sounds like you have a mentor in your father in law anyway. :wink:
I have no real mentor or am a member in any bee club but I read bee books and have a world of help on this and other forums and gain knowledge through others. Probably not ideal but I hold my own.
It’s the willingness and want to learn that moves you forward.

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Thank you Skeggley,

I have books too.

You are correct, the laws may be different where he lives however I am sure that many things are universal.

I will just do the best I can with books and advice from everyone possible.

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You might have seen this great resource already, but just in case -

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Thank you for letting me know.

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