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Mistakes of Splitting Winter Bees Too Early
A fresh article about splitting winter bees and the mistakes of doing it too early One of the best ways to increase your apiary/number of hives is to make splits in the spring when the bees are naturally making increase and preparing to swarm. In other words, take advantage of their natural inclination to swarm and channel that energy… Read More -
DIY Spring Planning 101
To Do List for Each Month: Planning Ahead At this time of year there are a lot of questions about what the beekeeper should be doing. We have been busy teaching the annual Bee School with our beekeeping club. As part of our efforts to prepare these new beekeepers we have prepared this month by month summary of what… Read More -
Oops A Common Spring Mistake - I Left On My Winter Rim!
There are many things that are important to do early in the spring. In an earlier article Preparing For Winter 101 we discussed activities and changes we make to our hives to help them survive the winter. One of those activities is to add a winter rim and that article included a reminder not to leave on your winter… Read More -
Investigating a deadout - Why did my colony die?
This is a common question that is very hard to answer. We recently found a deadout and filmed our investigation. Read More
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Week by week guideline for managing your new package of bees
Getting your first package this spring? Here is a week by week guideline for managing your new package of bees through their first 8 weeks.
How To Light My Bee Smoker 101
So many people ask us how we light our beekeeping smokers and keep them lit. This video will tell you how to light it, what fuel to use and how to keep it smoking all day long.
Are you using the right size box on your hive?
I often get questions that go something like this: Is it alright to add a brood box above a super? Or, I only have supers, can I use those as brood boxes? People are worried about whether they are using the "right" size of box.
This is a concern for people, not bees. The bees don't care what size the boxes are. They don't get their little tape measures out and measure the box height and say "Well, this is a deep box, so we must use it for brood". Or, "this is a western style medium box, so we must only store honey it it". They perceive a space, not a box size.
March Journal
March is one of the hardest months for bees. More beehives starve in March than they do in January and February. Why? Because they are not doing much in Jan. and Feb. so they are not eating much. Just trying to stay warm. How-ever, in late February or early March, they start rearing brood to prepare for the spring harvest of nectar and pollen.
Our Philosophy
Beekeepers Monthy Activity Calendar
Confused on what you should be doing each month?