Hey there
Has anyone successfully used a FlowHive in Bathurst NSW Australia?
Thanks
Hi Paul, I generally keep my ear to the ground when it comes to the Flow hives in and around the Sydney region, haven’t heard or seen anyone from Bathurst as yet, but they may just be lurking in the background. There are a few people in the blue mountains with flow hives and I know a guy out at Orange.
Awesome - do you know how the Orange guy has gone with his FlowHive?
His name is Dougal and is a farmer and commercial apiarist, he has done OK with his flow hive, but Orange is fertile farming country with plenty of orchards and fields for bees to forage on. The key is to understand the floral sources around you, know when they are going flower and produce nectar so you can gauge how much honey to harvest and how to much to leave in the hive for your longer winters. Blayney to the south is one of the largest bee rearing sites in the country and Goldfields Honey to your west is another large operation. I have a friend in the NSW Apiarist Association who has hives (not Flow) in Bathurst and he does OK with them too.
Hi guys,
I’m a newbie beekeeper in Orange, Its still cold here, and the bees are still very quiet. I’d love to know how you’ve got on with your flow hive.
cheers
Lovely place out where you are, though I figure your winters are long and summers dry and short. I looked into setting up some beekeeping out there but it is just too good here in Sydney. Are you close to the orchards? Lots of pollination and some nectar however the natural bushland areas will probably yield the most honey.
Yes it is beautiful here, although I am in the city itself, but it is green and quiet here. I have a “backyard” hive, and the girls are getting very busy now with the warmer weather. I didn’t think there would be enough open space in Sydney, although you see some people have rooftop hives. It sounds like you have a fairly big operation if you were thinking of setting up some extra hives in my area, how many of them have flow frames and have they been successful?
Hi Catherine, I work in the city and have a small operation as a side business and sell at a local farmers markets, 20 hives scattered throughout the suburb 10km north of Sydney. Lots of eucalypts and gardens for the bees to forage on all year round with different flavoured honey every few months. I have one Flow hive with 7 Flow frames in a 10 frame box, it produces a consistently clean tasting honey regularly through the year. I use it to top up my stock for the farmers market if I am getting low for that month. I would be very keen to hear how you go with bees in Orange and the flavours from the orchards or forests where you are.