Hi everyone! I’m brand new to beekeeping and haven’t started yet — just doing my research before taking the plunge.
I have a few questions I’d love some input on:
Is this climate suitable for keeping bees? I want to make sure they can thrive here before committing.
Are Flow Hives worth the investment for a first-time beekeeper? I’m drawn to them because they seem easier for harvesting honey and require fewer tools. The observation windows are also a big plus — I have two daughters who would love this part!
I’m located in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, just west of Denver. Our winters are generally mild but we do get a few cold snaps with single digit temps, typically dropping to lows around 5–15°F in January. The rest of the year is fairly moderate, ranging from the mid-20s in winter to the upper 90s in summer.
Thanks in advance — excited to learn from everyone here!
what’s your criteria for ‘worth’? To me that is the start point.
I am just now starting my fourth season of bees and we now have 4 hives…we chose FH solely because less invasive for harvesting. To us it is worth it. My spousal unit is allergic (she wanted the bees and went thru immunotherapy until was given all clear).
To me i think it really depends on you goals and I don’t think a wrong answer, it matters to the individual.
We started with one as we weren’t sure we would enjoy or want to do long term, so we started with just one hive. We should’ve started with two and we should have gotten a nuc (we started with mail order) from a local IMO.
if I was not sure I wanted to make the investment, we would look for a friend or neighbor that has bees and lets you come help. If not take a class about beekeeping and see how that goes. Still interested, find a mentor from the class or ask about some bee clubs in your area and go shadow / help. If it’s not your thing, You have your answer. If not sure buy all the PPE and help someone for a season and then decide. If not your thing only out thePPE after a season.
If collecting most expensive jar of honey was Olympic sport, I suspect we are on the podium. I can’t imagine there is any middle ground…either you’re hooked or you’re not IMO.
Depending on your goals though at some point one has to decide between a traditional hive vs FH. To me the value(significant expense) is in the flow frames. If that matters or you plan to get a whole bunch of hives, that’s maybe something to consider if you want common equipment. iMO it’s hard to imagine how many hives you might want until you have had some, lost some, split some and saw some swarm…if i were doing again i would want two hives to start with so you can compare to each other. JMHO
are you wanting honey for self or to sell? If plan to go to production scale, if worried about ROI, there are cheaper (investment) alternatives…but that comes with extra time and process. I think go hep a neighbor extract honey and help clean up equipment and then consider the flow to a why you want one when at a glance looks expensive, but there is a lot less process on the harvest side. On a small scale I think they make the most sense. Taking care of the bees is the same.
I’d really recommend spend sometime helping someone that has bees and see if it’s your thing or not. If not it’s way cheaper to buy some honey from someone that has a hive IMO.
Hi! Glad to hear you are doing research before taking the plunge! I agree with GrumpyFarmer. I am new to beekeeping - one year in - and hope my experience is a bit helpful for you. I am in Northern California, so I cannot help with your first question much. I recommend that you look up University of Guelph beekeeping for good info and videos on beekeeping in cold climates. Regarding #2 - I started beekeeping a year ago with a flow hive. Last year I was able to harvest a bunch of gorgeous/delicious honey from my flow. I also got involved with my local beekeeping guild and have helped out at a local zoo with harvesting honey from 20+ langstroth hives with the traditional centrifuge extracting methods. I then experimented with harvesting honey from traditional frames at home, without an extractor, using the crush and strain method. So I now have some limited experience with the flow hive and the typical langstroth hives, and have harvested three ways (flow, centrifuge, crush and strain). The beekeeping is the same - you have to take care of your bees. I think the pest management system of the flow hive makes pest management a bit easier than the other hives (the legs that deter ants, the pest tray) but you can do similar things with the other hives too. Feeding/inspecting/swarm management/varroa management (and everything else that goes into beekeeping), isn’t different. The harvesting is where the big difference lies. It is SO MUCH easier with a flow. The other methods are time consuming and very messy. There is a lot of prep with laying/taping paper down everywhere, or a lot of clean up with warm soapy water, or both. To just strain and crush a few frames, I took over our laundry room for 2+ days before the stick was gone. If that is not a bother for you, get the regular hives. They are cheaper and you can rent harvesting equipment from a local beeguild. Or you can crush and strain with minimal equipment. But if you only want a small number of hives, and time and convenience are valuable to you, go with the FLOW!! I can’t say enough wonderful things about it. And my bees - I love them so much
