Does anyone raise bees?

[sarahbethk]

I am interested in bee keeping but don't know much about it. Anyone have any experience with an apiary?

 

[me&thegals]

A bunch of us are beekeepers, and a fair amount of threads have been started on it. Did you try to search for beekeeping? Otherwise, I really enjoy Beemaster's online forum. Good luck!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

yep we got beez.. there are some good threads here. we had an excellent honey harvest this year.

give a search and look around.

 

[journey11]

I'm a beek too. I get a lot of useful info off of http://www.beesource.com

And blogs too...especially if you are wanting to take a more natural approach. Here's a couple of my favorites:

http://beehuman.blogspot.com
http://beenatural.wordpress.com/
http://mudsongs.org

And YouTube is an awesome source of information on beekeeping. I could watch bee videos on there for HOURS!

ETA: and !

 

[bjmstahl]

Hi sarahbethk,

I've been a beekeeper since 1999. Check with your county extension office. They should have a list of beekeeping groups in your area. Even if you live in a very populated area, you'd be surprised at the amount of people that have bees. I live near Cincinnati, Ohio and they have the Southwestern Beekeepers Association. A very large group. One of the board members has beehives in the heart of the city. We are everywhere. Try it you'll like it.

 

[kimlove2]

I am new here, and I am new to beekeeping. I have placed my order and the bees should be here the first week of April. I have my hive ready, I think... I've read everything I could find, and talked to the county agent. Is there anything else I should do?

 

[me&thegals]

Welcome, Kim. If there's not much blooming by the beginning of April, you should be prepared to feed the bees. I start with sugar syrup until more is blooming...

 

[kimlove2]

what is the ratio of sugar to water? is it like hummingbird nectar? also how do you get the bees to eat it? will they drown if you just put it in a bowl or something? I've seen those little feeder jars, but i don't have one yet, maybe I should get one?

 

[Ohioann]

I am new here, and I am new to beekeeping. I have placed my order and the bees should be here the first week of April. I have my hive ready, I think... I've read everything I could find, and talked to the county agent. Is there anything else I should do?

Join a local bee club. I've learned so much from talking to other beeks. Just remember that if you ask 3 beeks for an opinion you will get 5 answers!! LOL. Read as much as you can and do what is best for your situation. I am changing to 8 frame hives because I have found that the standard 10 frames are much too heavy at the end of the season. I have problems lifting a full honey super of an 8 frame but can work around it much easier than the 10 frames.