Wanna-Bee From Western NC

[shinjak]

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!

[iddee]

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.

[G3farms]

Welcome to the forum!

[Barbarian]

Welcome to the forum.     

[BoilerJim]

It's really great to have ya Shinjak. 

[apisbees]

Welcome to the forum Shinjak,

[kebee]

Welcome Shinjak to the forum, I think you will like it here.

Ken

[Perry]

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.

[Riverrat]

welcome aboard

[blueblood]

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.

[Dunkel]

Welcome to the forum.  Good luck with the traps.

[shinjak]

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.  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.

[riverbee]

greetings and welcome shinjak!  thanks for being here and looking forward to your posts. 

[tbonekel]

Welcome to the forum!

[Marbees]

Welcome shinjak 

[Bsweet]

Welcome to the site. Jim

[Papakeith]

welcome!

[shinjak]

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.

[tbonekel]

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!