Thankz Dawn ! I was guessing you might dive in there with a lead or helpful info as always. I appreciate your input as always !
Lived in the Pacific NW all my life n wandered the forest where red cedar grew in abundance. We used cured cedar shakes, shingles, n posts. On my folks property large old cedar stumps n logs remained. We use to crosscut section off these to build n repair our house n out buildings as well as our fence lines.
Mostly we let cedar age naturally except the roof. We usually sprayed these with linseed oils for a preservative coating. But I will depend on BeeThings for that Tung Oil advice as you have pointed out.
Thank you for posting the links to the items you used. I was looking for something locally (in the US) as I see all the links are for Australian websites.
Iām new to Beekeeping and I was wondering how many applications of the citrus/tung mixture you applied? Also, how many bottles you purchased for your hive?
Iāve recently received my hive box sans frames and decided I should probably treat the wood while Iām waiting.
I used 2 coats. I have done it 2 ways, pure Tung Oil both times, and 1:1 Tung:citrus first with pure Tung second. Both work fine, but pure Tung both times is much more work - the coat is less even and dries slower. However, the citrus is much smellier - I would definitely do it outside, under cover if you can, but very well-ventilated.
Well, I would defer to your local beekeepers - practices vary by region, and usually for good reasons. I wouldnāt suggest fighting them. It would be a great idea to join a local beekeeping club and ask what they normally do (but donāt tell them you have a Flow hive to start with). Most of the US runs on double deeps, and some people use triple deeps (like @Anon) for 8-Frame Langstroths, which is what the Flow hive base represents.
Iām attending a local intro beekeeping course this weekend with a local beekeeping community. I guess after the course I will ask them if they know any closer to my area. But I think I may be stuck with traveling 25 miles (one-way) as opposed to 50+ miles (one way) for the other ālocalā group.
Iām not going to tell them I have a flow hive to start with. Some of the research Iāve done so far seem to be pretty mixed about how people treat you once you tell them you have a flow hive.
Very wise in my humble opinion. Some people are great and curious, others are total āyou-know-whatsā about it. In my own society, we have about 8 or 9 Flow hive owners, some of whom are commercial beekeepers. Despite that, there are members who sling insults when the Flow concept is mentioned. As the Flow hive is just a new way to harvest, and all the rest of the beekeeping is the same as it has always been, they donāt need to know what kind of hive you have. There will always be prejudiced bigots in the world, but we can still do our own thing and have fun, they donāt really matter unless we let them matter!
Just letting you know about my intro to beekeeping experience. I tool A LOT of notes. He does recommend having (2) deep boxes (brood boxes) with the super on top. He felt that having just (1) brood box with a super on top is a commercial beekeeping thing and that having (2) brood boxes would most likely give you more time for hands on learning experience before the bees swarm. So I will look into getting an additional 8 Frame brood box.
Someone did ask him how he felt about the Flow Hive and he didnāt really have anything nice to say about the Flow Hive. He felt that it was clever marketing and not what beekeeping is all about. I kind of wanted to raise my hand and tell him that āmaybe he should have read more further on the campaign page because it does say you have to inspect your hive and other things like regular beekeeping.ā
He also recommended having (2) hives because you are most likely going to kill your bees at least once.
What I really thought was funny was the fact that he would shake the bees off of the frames and I recall looking at different youtube videos and comments where people were saying not to shake and agitate the bees. It was a very eye-opening contrast.
But what I took away from the course is that bees do learn and they are only as irritated as you are. So if you are calm during your inspections and extraction (normal beekeeping), the bees will be calm as well (obviously still using a smoker).
Sounds like you learned a lot. With bees, you never really stop learning, but it looks like you have made a great start, congratulations, and thank you for the update.
Wow ! Hope you didnāt have to pay for that crappy session. It is sad to see such closed mindedness ! Just keep on with your beekeeping. There are some really savey mentors n experienced beekeepers out there.
This is where videos can fall short. There is a lot of rubbish on youtube.
If you are looking for queen cells,disease, or even eggs that seem elusive you HAVE to shake the bees off the frames. Itās no big deal, just jerk the frames into the box. Itās much much better than brushing them off, which they do hate.
I donāt get modern art. I took my son to the art gallery here and there was a table and chairs in the corner that he sat down at as he was bored. Guards came rushing out and told him off for sitting on an art pieceā¦ If it was antique I could (almost) understand but it was kit from the '70āsā¦ I still scratch my head.
You are right @Cowgirl 's work is real art to me.
Iām afraid I did still rolled my eyes thoughā¦
Yes a lot of stuff is incomprehensibly bad and self indulgent but occasionally you get real gems
One year they had the Turbine Hall filled with porcelain sunflower seeds.
It was breathtaking. I was lucky enough to visit it before they fenced it all off and I managed to half inch a few of the seeds (thatās probably why they fenced it off)
Each seed has been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Far from being industrially produced, they are the effort of hundreds of skilled hands. Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hallās vast industrial space, the 100 million seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape.
Another year there was a piano hanging upside down from the ceiling falling apart and reforming every few minutesā¦.a brilliant piece of technical wizardry
At your place? My hubby wants to ride your horses! He hasnāt been riding for over 60 years, but as a school boy, he used to ride military horses in British India (shows his age). One of the things he was really good at was a sport known as tent-pegging. Pretty dangerous stuff!
So how about it, @Cowgirl? We all come and hang out at your place!
)
He hasnāt been riding for over 60 years, but as a school boy, he used to ride military horses in British India (shows his age). One of the things he was really good at was a sport known as tent-pegging. Pretty dangerous stuff! 