Hi from leicestershire uk

Introductions
1

hi all,
just starting in the world of beekeeping. bought a hybrid flow and have a nuc of bees on order.
due to covid im having to do it a bit blind as no courses available but have been reading lots etc.
any one on here near me?
kev

2

Hello and welcome to the Flow forum! :wink:

Not sure what you mean by “near”, but @HappyHibee and @Paras are both in the UK. We do have several other Flow hive owners on the forum, but many of them seem to use the UK Flow Facebook page more than this forum.

Having said that, beekeeping principles are more or less the same all over the world, so you will get good advice from the friendly people here, if you ask a question. There is also a good series of online videos teaching all aspects of beekeeping. The videos are made by well-respected international beekeepers, and are Flow hive friendly (not all bee clubs are). If you are interested you can find it here:

3

I’m Tamworth Kev, where ate you?

1 Like
4

Hi Kev, if you lucky you would get some beekeeping courses this year.

5

hi
im in leicestershire. mid way between leicester and coventry. so just down the A5 from you i think :smiley:

6

hi there,
im hoping ill manage to get on some as restrictions relax. however ive got a nuc of bees on order which ill be getting in march/april so doubt ill be on a course before then.
hopefully i wont make too many mistakes!
trouble with reading and watching videos is everyone has slightly differing opinions…so much info!

7

Hi Kev

You will find that in the actual training as well, many ways of doing things. You need to understand the basics which is important.

The stuff I normally search for inspecting my colony and it?s health.

  1. brood of all ages would demonstrate that queen have been laying for some time.
  2. egg suggest the queen has laid within the last 3 days. Don?t need to look for queen ??.
  3. does the colony have sufficient stores
  4. no signs of diseases in the colony, check pictures of diseases for guidance.
  5. space for the colony check if they don?t need more space.
  6. signs of queen cells, when I see them, I prepare to split the colony to ensure I don?t have a swarm.

A good book I use for reference is Haynes Bee Manual.

Paras

1 Like
8

hi paras,
yeah ive got the haynes manual and the beekeeping for dummies and a couple more. to be honest i think once i actually get started things will be easier

1 Like
9

Flows youtube channel has everything you need to know for starting up and more Kev.

Norfolk honey company YouTube channel is brilliant. As is Fred Dunns “the way to be” I also use Kaymon Reynolds and Bob Binnies chanels.

The basics are very straight forward.

I’ll send you my mobile, your not too far away from me and nothing that cant be chatted about over video call.

:+1:

1 Like
10

Hi Kev,

Once you start you will pick alot up, I would suggest you also join your local beekeeping club, the BBKA membership you get give you insurance for your hive and 3rd party liability which is valuable. I have made few friends within my club.

Don’t follow one person blindly, make sense of what the person is telling you and then apply it, because what works for one beekeeper might not be what you are looking for.

Paras

1 Like