It can be time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. I would allow one hour per week per hive in spring and summer. In autumn and winter, one hour per month is probably plenty. You will probably need double that time for the first few months, while you get confidence in what to look for when inspecting a hive. However, once you have some experience, it gets faster.
Extracting honey can be messy and time-consuming when you start out, if you don’t have a Flow hive. For me, I would say it about an extra 4-8 hours per hive per season. There are plenty of members of this forum who are much faster than me, but I like to take my time and do it the way I think is best for my hives and my honey. For a Flow hive, your “active” time extracting (when you are actually doing something physical) is probably around 30 minutes per hive per season. Much quicker and cleaner.
Hope that gives you an idea. We have a lot of UK members, so maybe some of them will add to what I have written.
@Dawn_SD: Thank you so much for the detailed explanation and all the tips. It is really helpful and gives me a great deal of motivation to give it a try. After all it doesn’t seem to be as impossible to tackle the job, as I initially imagined. Thank you once again for help. Much appreciated!
Hello, may I ask some dumb questions? After taking honey from the Flow Frames do they need maintenance or do the bees naturally refill? How often? What about the “Turn Key Wax?” Yes, I am very new to beekeeping…
There aren’t any dumb questions here. If you don’t know the answer, it would be dumb not to ask!
I do a few things with them when I take them off for winter (rinse the drainage channel and freeze to kill wax moths for 48 hours), but otherwise the bees do everything needed.
How often what?
How often do they fill them again? That will depend on the nectar flow. Some people have seen them refill in less than 2 weeks. We have seen them sit on the hive for a whole season and not completely fill, but California had a terrible nectar dearth this year.
How often do they need maintenance? I do it once per year. Some people only do it if something has happened (honey crystallized, mold in the frames, slime out from SHB etc).
I have never heard of such a thing. You will not get wax from a Flow super. For that, you will need a traditional super.
To DAWN_SD, Thank you for your prompt and informative(educational) explanation. I am putting together the second of two hives just purchased, so I do not yet have bees. In the process of assembling these hives it’s clear to me how “advanced” the flow chamber has become. I only want to do the right thing to ensure the health and welfare of our future colonies. Again, Thank you.
No question is a dumb question if you don’t already know the answer, in which case why ask
Bee keeping can take up some of your available spare time, that is for sure, It depend on the number of hives you have and to a large extent how addicted you become to your new interest. Your first season requires a lot of thinking and question and that is where the forum comes in. Bee keeping requires a dose of confidence, an average of 1 hour/month/per hive minimum and sometimes a bit extra, but when you are enjoying it who counts.
Joining a local bee group and having a mentor is a good help, even a new beginner to compare notes with and lend a hand to each other.
To Peter 48, Thank You for your guidance and advise. I will follow that by searching out and joining with experienced beekeepers here in North Florida. This Forum has already helped me to understand that I’m beginning an adventure and there is a lot to learn. I look forward to any teachings you offer, Thank You, sincerely, David.
If you don’t know the answer, it would be dumb not to ask!