Hello from Northern NSW Australia

Introductions
21

:clap: Welcome back! Nice to hear from you @Faroe. I’ve seen those subpods somewhere but can’t place where… :thinking:

And a word from the wise… You don’t need a big property to keep bees… Just understanding neighbours (and I’m sure Byron Bay has plenty; can’t promise they’re your neighbours though…).

Goodluck with the stingless native bees. I’d like to keep them in addition to the European Honeybees but, alas, they aren’t permitted over here in the southwest pocket of the country.

PS
If someone can prove that subpods work for 2 large dogs… Do let me know. We could get a composter working for only 1 dog (they fill up waaaay too fast :poop: ) and we don’t have space for a composter for each dog… :man_shrugging:

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22

Hi Faroe, it’s great to see you back. It’s also great to see you are involved with Subpod, composting etc.

Wilma & I both agree that Flow should send you a hive because you DID work hard for them.

We also love those little fellas/lasses. It’s hard not to love them when you see their little heads sticking out of the entrance on an 18deg day, waiting for the temp to hit 19 before they come out :slight_smile:

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23

Don’t know about the neighbours yet… I reckon one of them would cause a bit of a hooha.

As for dogs, here’s the article: https://growhub.subpod.com/posts/can-dog-cat-and-other-animal-faeces-be-composted-in-subpod

Basically, you can compost up to 30 litres/15 kilograms per week with 1 Subpod. It will be anaerobic and should not smell in the Subpod. You would keep this separate from your food compost/Subpod (and only use it to fertilise ornamentals/non-edible plants).

24

There’s been some natives living in a tree over at the Channon oval for years now. I love to stick my head in there without the fear of a swollen eye. You can hear the trunk of the tree humming with action :slight_smile:
That does sound very cute. Sounds a bit like the temperature I like before it gets too cold for me. But that’s about 24 I think.

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25

Hi Faroe, I’ve recently learned about Eduction of Native bees, whereby you attach a hive to an existing hive so that the bees have to pass through it in order to access their hive. In time, they start a new colony in the new hive which can be removed once it has a queen & a sizable population. It doesn’t do any harm to the original hive.

Apparently it gets done a fair bit these days with hives in walls & trees. As well as from existing hives, once the hive is strong enough. Something to keep in mind for your mother’s hive.

That’s something that can be done with that hive in the tree if the council would allow it & if you thought it would be safe from human robbers.

cheers

26

The tree is quite prominent and low, so I reckon some curious hands might accidentally disturb it.

Interesting thought though. Not sure how I’d attach it to the tree. Just rope a wee box around the side of the tree attached to the hive entrance?

27

You would have to have a pipe going from the tree into the back of the new hive, as long as the rest of the entrance is blocked. Then the bees would exit the tree via the new hive & the new hive’s entrance. You can put some brood into the new hive to speed the process up.

It sounds like that tree would be too exposed to the public to be worth taking the risk. However you could keep your eyes & ears open for one in a not so public location. You might hear of someone who needs a hive to be split.