| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| StrawHouseRanch |
Posted - Oct 10 2011 : 07:11:50 AM
We pulled our first batch of honey from our Warre Top Bar Hive this weekend. We started the hive this Spring. Our first hive was a Horizontal Top Bar Hive, which is a great habitat for the bees, but doesn't lend itself well to producing honey. We got about 1 gallon from the top box on the Warre Hive. There is one more box we can remove and then I'll leave the rest to the girls to have for winter.
I made up these little jars for our in-laws that we met for dinner last night.
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Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
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| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| doll58maker |
Posted - Oct 12 2011 : 6:54:08 PM
Paula, thanks so much for the info--Glenda
"I am afoot with my vision....I tramp a perpetual journey" Walt Whitman |
| StrawHouseRanch |
Posted - Oct 12 2011 : 09:33:31 AM
Hi Kimberly,
I'm a newbee too when it comes to keeping bees, but I certainly like the Warre hive over the Horizontal Top Bar Hive. But that is totally a personal opinion. You will find debates all over about the pros and cons of both. Then there are traditional hives, but that takes a lot of equipment and expense for the small-time hobbyist. I like the aspect of the bees being able to build their own comb, which is why I chose a top bar hive over a frame hive. The Biobees.com forum is a great place to start learning. The discussion forum is well organized, and the folks out there are so full of information. They even do discuss frame style beekeeping, if you want to look into that. Just as an indicator to how much there is to learn, I've decided to continue to study books and forums more before making plans to expand to two or more hives. I want to also monitor how well they overwinter in this type of hive in our part of the country, and I want to get very comfortable managing one hive before I have several to take care of. We made mistakes, did some clunky things, and still have questions about what we did this year. So I think that it is my responsibility to the bees to be more educated and practiced before expanding. Just be aware that many of the folks on the Biobees forum are purists and keep bees purely for the sake of protecting the pollinators. So when a new person comes in asking about harvesting honey, they sometimes respond a little sharply.
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
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| Lieberkim |
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 10:30:35 PM
Paula!
Oooooh I want to talk to you. I've been interested in raising bees but seeing as how I know absolutely nothing about it I've been really hesitant. I read a little bit about the Warre hives and thought it rather fascinating. I would so love to hear your experience and your advice. I've never had bees and don't know the first thing about any of it. I do know that I love honey and would really love to have my own honey.
Excuse the mess & the noise, my children are making happy memories |
| StrawHouseRanch |
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 11:32:29 AM
Glenda,
Also try reading the forums on biobees.com I know of one female beekeeper in Arizona who has mentioned the difficulties with Africanized bees. You should be able to do a search on their forums and pull up some info. Here is a specific thread I found about those dreaded angry bees:
http://www.biobees.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5350
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
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| doll58maker |
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 09:02:59 AM
Michelle, is the beesource forum one of the topics on this website? There are hundreds of pages under some of the main titles and I have not been able to go through all of them yet. Do you happen to know is it under one of the general chat titles? You can see I am relatively new here.
Paula, a gallon of honey sounds like a successful year to me. The jar looks so pretty.
thanks, glenda
"I am afoot with my vision....I tramp a perpetual journey" Walt Whitman |
| StrawHouseRanch |
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 07:04:54 AM
I was nervous the whole time wanting to do everything right and not wanting to disturb them. We ended up taking only one box and leaving everything else for them, but still harvested a total of 10 pounds or the equivalent of 1 gallon, which is plenty for our use. We added a spacer box to place pollen patties in during the winter, and a syrup feeder box over that. Gotta take care of the girls!!
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
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| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 04:43:43 AM
Paula, that container is so cute! I went to some beekeeping classes awhile back, but I just don't have the time/money to invest in it right now. It's so rewarding. Good on ya! I hope your bees stay around and your hives stay healthy!
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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| windypines |
Posted - Oct 11 2011 : 04:25:28 AM
Sorry I can't answer your question Glenda. Go on beesource forum and see what they say. There are alot of southern people that keep bees, on there.
Michele |
| doll58maker |
Posted - Oct 10 2011 : 10:57:03 AM
I would really like to raise bees but was told by the county extension agent here that most all our bees in this part of the country have crossed with the African killer bees so beekeeping is no longer a good idea in central Texas. Anybody know about that?
"I am afoot with my vision....I tramp a perpetual journey" Walt Whitman |
| windypines |
Posted - Oct 10 2011 : 10:52:04 AM
there is nothing like honey from your own bees. It is out of this world.
congrats
Michele |
| Sweet_Tea |
Posted - Oct 10 2011 : 07:55:18 AM
That's really awesome.
I don't think I would be able to pull honey out of a hive.
Farmgirl Sister #2974
~ http://notsosweettea.blogspot.com/
"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears"
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