I have a 7 frame Flowhive 2 brood box. My question is, will I need 2 Brood boxes before putting my flow super on in order to leave enough honey for the bees over winter. We have pretty cold winters here.
PS. I’m not asking for this winter. I’m making preparations for my hive next summer.
I would do that, yes. However, I think that @chau06 (also in Ohio) manages his Flow hive with just one brood box. The downside to that is that you have to monitor closely over winter, and be prepared to feed if the bees are running low on stores. For newer beekeepers, it is simpler to just run double brood boxes year round, so that you don’t have to worry about gauging food stores in the hive all of the time.
I would also make sure that both brood boxes are at least 80% full of brood or food, with a strong population of bees, before you put the super on next year. 
I do use single brood boxes for ease of inspection. We had a pretty dry September so it is looking like the goldenrod flow is going to be weak. Will have to buy my white sugar and get ready to feed before it gets cool out.
A few of my hives I started out as singles over winter but add a second brood box early spring when the colony was really ramping up. Then I shook all the bees down and inserted the queen excluder (above the bottom box) when I need to add another super or flow super. Those colonies seemed to be really strong so I might do this across all my hive next year.
Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it. I think the best option for me is to plan to have 2 brood boxes. Am I correct in thinking that for the first summer (2024) I likely won’t harvest much honey with that approach?
Also, I want to make sure I prepare properly to give my colony maximum chance of success. What is the best time to actually go and buy bees for this Ohio climate? Early spring?
Yes - depending on when you get your bees they might just be getting going by the time the mid summer dearth sets in and you likely will need to feed them for them to have both brood boxes drawn and filled with honey by the time winter sets in.
You should get your bees as early as you can - you can probably get your hands on a overwintered nuc (with a 2023 queen) pretty early otherwise it may be close to Memorial Day before you get a nuc with a spring queen. Check into some local bee folks and see if you can get one reserved.
Are you still monitoring this? How is it going for 2024 so far? I just got my first flow hive and intend for 2025 to be my first summer. I’ll probably obtain another box between now and spring and start with 2.
I am writing from the NE of the US. I have a hive from a swarm that I rescued at the beginning of June. It is very robust, and the queen is still lying, so I am afraid that it will swarm. Is it too late to split a hive? Would I have to require it, or is there time for the split to make a new queen? All advice is welcomed.
Don’t split it at this time of year. Just get your varroa mite counts done and then prepare to winterize and feed if needed.
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