can you expand on this thought a bit more please
This sounds more like someone doing it commercially.
Being a single hive owner and likely growing to 2 hives. I do not believe I have the opportunity to move things around much. Good knowledge to know, though
If you really want to spend the money, I would put the second package in a second hive. Sometime in the future you could combine them if you really want to, or notā¦ there is no need to add a second package to the first.
If you should want to combine the 2 hives, as my understanding is
Put a layer of a newspaper between the 2 boxes and set them on top of each other. The pheromones from the old queen will eventually be understood by the new hive box, they would eat through slowly and get introduced otherwise they potentially will leave and or fight
1 Like
Hi Marty,
Really nice video. I think you did a great job, and your bees are so calm and gentle! My only thought is the smoker. I like to have mine smoking more vigorously than yours was, then when I smoke the bees, I use long slow puffs rather than short fast ones. The advantage of that is that the bees get cool smoke, rather than hot air, plus you arenāt annoying them by blowing them around with your puffs.
Great job, and thank you for sharing. I agree, they are about ready for another brood box. Are you still feeding them? I would consider stopping the feed when you add the second box. If they are slow to draw the comb out, you can always start feeding again, but it would be nice to encourage them to forage for nectar and minimize the syrup stored in the hive.
Congratulations!
Dawn
Absolutely thank you so much for the review.
Yes still having trouble getting my smoker to work as well as Iāve seen others and my mentor.
I just learned this past visit with my mentor and looking at my hive how to see eggs. Able to see larvae each time, but eggs always was missed. If you notice me tilting my head over the hive box looking at the frame I found a technique that worked for me. Iām able to see eggs that way.
I will start practicing more on my smoker in the evenings, just practicing not getting into my box so that when I do need to, hopefully it will work better 
1 Like
My first year starting with two packages I had two supers of honey off each hive. I know thatās not the norm, but if I was spending money on packages Iād take the chance. Youāll learn more the first year by taking it slow and letting the bees do what they do.
Good luck,
Mark
1 Like
I may end up doing 3 hives and do some both ways and see how they end up and if I get honey from them or not this year. Either 1 hive using 2 packages and 2 single hives or 2 hives using 2 packages each and a swarm for my 3rd. Will be interesting either way I think.
1 Like
Great idea, I love it! 
Trying to get a honey harvest in the same season as you start the hive is generally a recipe for disaster. Get your hive big and strong, then worry about the honey supers. Running a flow hive is no different to running a normal hive its just a different type of honey super the same rules apply.
Cheers
Rob.
2 Likes
That is certainly true in San Diego, California at the moment. Many experienced beekeepers are even having trouble holding onto their established hives for a year. Local (San Diego) honey was very rare last year. Our problem is the long-standing drought, of course combined with varroa infestation and insecticide use. I am not going to hesitate to feed my new hives with sugar syrup etc as needed, even though it isnāt ideal food. I have also decided not to harvest honey from the new hives this year - just making that decision takes the pressure off the bees. The organic community garden where we keep a hive has a āsharingā requirement, and I have already warned them that I wonāt have a honey crop for them this year. The bees need all that they can gather.
1 Like
Make sure to keep a close eye on any swarming red flags. Give them plenty of room for fast expansion so they donāt look for bigger pastures:)
1 Like
I will be using 2 deep brood boxes. Will the 2 brood boxes give them enough honey reserves for winter generally speaking?
Generally if that is what your local beekeepers use, it should be good for you. However, I know that @Anon uses three 8-Frame deeps for his hives. However, his winters may be slightly more harsh than yours. I think you should aim for a minimum of two 8-Frame deeps per hive for overwintering.
Everything Iāve been told and read says 90lbs or 40.8kg for a strong colony. Hereās an article speaking on it:
https://beesource.com/resources/usda/overwintering-of-honey-bee-colonies/