Gooday horsey,
Down under again , the average amateur hive produces from 20-100lbs of honey , I am sorry to have given you the best results so far as that was skiting a bit .not my average , down at around 110lbs Also we have withering droughts , Fire ravages , floods and tempest to contend with . Cold summers and rain during flowering times all contribute to poor years often in a row . So we get chuffed when the planets align ! If you only have a few hives , that gives you far greater control of available honey sources as you require far less flora and fauna . No doubt you have planted out a variety of hardy local bee friendly plants ." Commons "could be good as your direct input of plants could expand the seasonal varieties on offer . Bock Choy can be well eaten during the season ,leaving the heads to flower and go to seed ,my bees love it . Commercial greenhouses are the go for a whole bunch of vegetables and fruit trees over hear ,producing food all year long . Why not strike a relationship up with a commercial indoor seed grower , he may benefit from increased pollination and you the honey .
I have planted a community garden in my front nature strip and allow anyone to harvest that wants to . I make sure I remind people who might need free food however with a very few exceptions , I have to pick it ,bag it ,and put it down the opp- shop before it is taken - sometimes I eat it for them as well ! , However I make sure I plant bee friendly vegies and deliberately let a portion flower and go to seed . then I harvest the seed .
I usually have 6 x varieties of Tomatoes 2 x Capeskins broccoli and cauliflower have good flowers , I do not know there value but variety is good I think .
This year I am attempting a static apiary and hope to build from a low base up to 30 x hives . a 3 - 5 year plan . good luck with all your sizes , I think you complicate a simple logic but that is the KISS principle I use .
Cheers From The Captain .
Valli , it helps if you are crackers , even the nutters leave you alone ! Honey on the Wheaties ,Clever-well the judge is out . After all I have a permyculture business " Lost The Plot "
Try the Vacume , it is fun , get those pesky little bugger wasps mid air . I can send you a photo of the bee-hive vacume box if you like , just get your gadget guru to knock one up - it is great .
Cheers from The Captain
Translation for non Aussies - Skiting is showing off.
[quote=“David_Smith, post:21, topic:2764”]
opp- shop
[/quote] Charity Shops (Opportunity Shop)
G’day David - did try to email you but it bounced back - Any seeds would be most welcome
Ha ha…it sounds like you have plenty of energy!
I keep my hives at home…we live in a very rural area…there’s lots of hedgerows and woods for the bees to forage on and my daughter lives next door…she has planted all bee friendly plants too. It’s just the weather this year has been very poor. Many of us are feeding our bees already. Unless things pick up…we will bee feeding into the winter shut down!
It is a great hobby though…this year we will only have a little honey but there is always next year…
That would be the beekeepers’ epitaph!
New inspection…the double decker nuc is doing well. I saw the Queen…she had laid lots more brood and there were quite a lot of bees to look after them. Although it was a sunny day…it had been raining on and off…so a lot of foragers were hanging out on the frames. There were 7 frames of brood…some of the other frames had been started but there is still quite a lot of space for the colony to expand into. I added a feeder full of syrup as the forage has been poor and I want these bees to expand as much as possible before the autumn. Mostly, they are being left undisturbed to grow. I will take a look to see that the feeder is topped up…until they have increased the frames in use and start to store it. So …not as many inspections for this colony …although I can take a look through the clear cover board…which is useful without disturbing them.