This weekend Carl and Gabriel went and picked up some bees. We have a friend who is a beekeeper and has let Gabriel help with extracting honey and most recenly re-queening some of his hives. He has a few too many and so he so very graciously gave Gabriel a hive to start him out.
Gabriel’s been wanting bees for over a year. He’s been reading books such as Beekeeping For Dummies and The Back Yard Bee Keeper.
We have so much to learn but are super excited. I don’t think we’ll have any honey this year but we should next year.
If you have bees, are there any special tips you can give us?
This post is linked to Barn Hop.
arealfoodlover
Saturday 7th of April 2012
I have always wanted to do this. I am so excited for you. Imagine the fresh, raw honey coming your way. And beeswax for candles and making homemade lotions....Great luck. I'm glad you guys are trying it first! :)
SchneiderPeeps
Sunday 8th of April 2012
Thanks. Even though this is Gabriel's project, we are all very excited. A while back he and I made some lip balm with coconut oil and bees wax - it was the best balm ever.
Tanya
Friday 6th of April 2012
I've taken a beekeeping class at my university. I could offer some help if you have a specific question, although I'm not a professional. Send me an email, it's my name at the url provided.
SchneiderPeeps
Friday 6th of April 2012
Thank you, Tanya! I'll let you know if we have any questions. I'm so excited about the support we've received so far!
Tanya
Friday 6th of April 2012
oh, I just realized the site redirects so you might not see it, the url is thekillions.com
Anita
Tuesday 3rd of April 2012
Welcome to the beekeeping world! I'm so excited for you.
You have already started off right by getting a beekeeping mentor and friend. Having an experienced beekeeper to help you is the key to becoming a successful beekeeper. Don't be afraid to call your friend even with the silliest of questions, because that's how you learn.
Be sure to go into your hive as much as you need the first year so you can become comfortable handling the bees. The first year is as much about you learning how to be a beekeeper as it is about the bees.
Feed as much as you need too (especially if they need to draw out wax comb) but if they already have drawn comb and enough stores don't over feed and make them honey bound. Make sure you leave them enough honey for the winter and feed as needed.
Always remember no matter what you do bees sometimes have their own ideas what they want to do. Good luck with your bees and I hope they make lots of honey!
SchneiderPeeps
Wednesday 4th of April 2012
Anita, thanks so much for the tips! I checked out your site and it is amazing. I can't wait to have more time to really dig into it.
SchneiderPeeps
Tuesday 3rd of April 2012
That will be the hard part!
Brenda
Tuesday 3rd of April 2012
Be patient, observe and learn, and feed, feed, feed this first year!