Worldwide Beekeeping
Announcements => Welcome => Topic started by: shinjak on March 17, 2014, 11:33:16 am
-
Hello, shinjak here from Taylorsville, NC. I have been interested in bees since I was a wee lad catching the poor things in jars and watching them wiggle. However, beekeeping always seemed way too complicated and expensive for me. Things changed this past fall when I discovered people were keeping bees in plastic barrels!
While I didn't use that idea, I did find others building hives that didn't require an engineering degree in woodworking to make. So I began tirelessly researching hive materials and types and finally took on building a couple of hives with a budget of practically zero. I first built a top bar hive from a reclaimed pallet using the basic dimensions from Michael Bush's website. The more research I did, the more I liked the idea of a large vertical hive. So I built a Perone hive out of some rough cut lumber I had at the house. Ripping 2x6 air dried white pine into 1x4's was no small task for a table saw beginner, but I finally got that done and got it together. I've since built two swarm traps and a D. Coates five frame nuc.
Thanks for having me and happy beekeeping!
-
Glad to have you, shinjak. With Brushy Mountain, Miller, Orr, and Reel bee suppliers all in your area, you're in a great place for bees. Catch a few swarms, sell a few nucs, and you can reinvest in equip. Just don't try to work them without smoke, nor in bad weather.
-
Welcome to the forum!
-
Welcome to the forum. :welcome:
-
It's really great to have ya Shinjak. :welcome:
-
Welcome to the forum Shinjak,
-
Welcome Shinjak to the forum, I think you will like it here.
Ken
-
Welcome from the frozen North.
Beekeeping doesn't have to be expensive, but it usually requires some interesting skills and ideas to get around spending big bucks. :)
Hope you find this place informative and fun to hang around in.
-
welcome aboard
-
Welcome to the forum! I built a few tbh last season and all survived. You can find some of my threads here on them. I would like to see some photos of your hives. It's great use used what you had on hand.
-
Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the traps.
-
Thanks for the warm welcome everybody. iddee, I agree that western NC is a booming place for bees. I've been to a couple of meetings of our local beekeeping club and was amazed at how many people are involved in beekeeping here. I also like your plan of reinvestment, and after watching Micahel Palmer's video on sustainable beekeeping, I have a new perspective on how to manage even two or three hives.
blueblood, I will post some pictures of what I have built, warts and all. ;D I'm thinking about re-purposing my perone hive into more of a large warre type franken-hive. This is more due to my poor wood working skills than anything.
I've seen a few bees buzzing around some of the early blooming flowers, so I'm hoping that is a good sign that catching a swarm is at least a possibility. I've also placed some sugar water feeders around the place as a lure, but so far they've only attracted ants. Thanks again everyone.
-
greetings and welcome shinjak! thanks for being here and looking forward to your posts. ;)
-
Welcome to the forum!
-
Welcome shinjak :welcome:
-
Welcome to the site. Jim
-
welcome!
-
The local bee club is having it's "hands on" class tomorrow, the final part of a three part class I've been attending. I'm excited to get see the inside of a hive up close and personal. I think some of the best bee advice I have read in the last several months is to contact your local bee club and meet some local experienced beekeepers.
-
Yep, local, experienced keeps really know what works for your area! The only drawback with forums is you have to filter out some advise because of climate/vegetation differences. But I think, on the other hand, that increases our knowledge as a whole about beekeeping and gives you many options about your own bees. And one thing for sure about this forum, there is a lot of knowledge and experience! 8)