10 days in…
As a new beekeeper, I have about a million questions about what to expect with our new hives. We are now 10 days in, and there has been so much to learn already. So far, so good… I think.
We got very lucky and the land that we purchased is already full of clover, vetch and several other things that bees apparently love this time of year. There is a natural source of water on the property as well. Our bees are progressing much faster than we expected at this point.
Beekeeping Expressions
Beekeepers in the area are saying that the “honey flow is on”. I think that’s one of those expressions like “the fish are swimming”. There is a lot of nectar and the bees are quite busy – so maybe that’s why our ladies are doing so well. There’s another weird expression. Beekeepers seem to always refer to their bees as “their ladies” even though there are some dudes in there too.
One Brood Box or Two?
There seems to be a rampant debate online whether to use one brood box or two. We decided to sit on the fence on that one, and see how things progressed.
But after checking in on them today, we noticed that it’s only 10 days in, and both hives were 70%+ full… So we decided to add a medium brood box on each. That way, they have room to expand, but not so much that it’s too big to heat in the winter. We are new. Who knows if that’s the right approach? Time will tell…
Flow Hive 2 Super
So as of today, our stack goes 1 deep, then 1 medium, then the queen excluder (which prevents her from going any higher up in the stack), and then our Flow Hive 2 super (more on the flow hive later). We wanted to give them lots of space as we aren’t able to check in on them for about 8 days!
One comment I will make on the Flow Hive 2 at this point is that we had thought it would line up perfectly to any Langstroth hive, but we purchased 2 medium boxes from Valley Beekeeping and they are just slightly bigger than the Flow Hive 2. We were a bit worried about water getting in, but took a good look, and think it’s ok given the roof. Valley Beekeeping has been super helpful so far!
Boathouse Hive
Are those queen cells bottom right?
Looking good. Should be plenty of honey to keep your family and their family for the winter.
Fantastic pictures and it looks like these bees will keep you busy.
I did not know that you have to add these stacks. It makes them look like apartments. So interesting for me.
Keep up the great blog and bee on.
Thanks Lynda!
Yes, they are very much like apartments. Some people end up stacking the boxes 6 or even 7 high. Hopefully it won’t come to that for us as we have them up on a stand (for a little lift from the snow in the winter), and our apartments may get too high to reach!!
We hope the next time you visit, you’ll put on a suit and come out to the bee yard with us to check them out in person (if you want). It’s really neat.