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Beekeeping

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Robert_Brenchley:
Hi Moonbells.

It looks as though you need somewhere else to keep bees; the local Beekeepers' Association may be able to help. Don't worry too much about Varroa; it's not necessary to use persistent poisons, though many people do. I use thymol and oxalic acid, which are natural and non-persistent. It's been shown that bees can be bred for resistance, though we're not at that stage yet. My own bees are showing signs of resistance. You're obviously aware of it and that's the main thing. You can't do organic beekeeping in the UK anyway; you have to be six miles from anyone using pesticides, and how many places are there where you can claim that?

I can't help with oilseed rape; I've no experience of the stuff. I believe people cope with it by cutting out comb and melting it. Again, the BKA should be able to offer advice.

Is the restrictive covenant enforceable? Many houses in the part of Cornwall I used to live in had old restrictive covenants about things like a ban on putting washing or growing veg in the front garden, which weren't worth the paper that were written on.

moonbells:
Unfortunately the covenant is enforceable as the builders are still in existence after 40-odd years and keep tabs!

Mind you, garden's not really big enough to cope with hives.  I suspect that it's another thing (together with the observatory and greenhouse) that will come when I have a long south-facing garden and bigger house!

(Dream on...)

I do know that you can come to some agreement with local farmers to put hives in fields where the crops are bee-pollinated, so that's always an idea.  I guess if it progresses beyond an idea I'll be joining a local group and learning as much as I can first!

How do bees know the difference between the honeycombs and the brood ones for new bees? Is it just position?

moonbells

Robert_Brenchley:
You put broodcomb in a big box at the bottom, and supers for honey, which are shallower and lighter, at the top. The honey inhibits the queen from going up, but to be sure you need an excluder. It's a slotted sheet which lets workers through but not queens or drones. In theory at any rate; I have known queens get through. If you're no good at lifting heavy weights, you need to have a couple of spare boxes, and shift one frame at a time; it's OK if you only have a few hives.

Do join the local BKA.

moonbells:
Ah - so that's the trick. Simple when you know how! (Have to admit I did wonder what on earth a Queen excluder was for - sounded a bit like a draft excluder and I kept wondering why you'd want to keep a queen out of the hive!)

Trouble with joining the local group now is time - what with work, existing hobbies and allotment, I need a TARDIS to keep up!  ;D  Something would have to give big time if I decided to get bees at some point.  But my husband adores mead and honey, I like making candles in my copious spare time (!) and I am a lottie grower so it makes sense.  Never been stung (least not by a bee) so no idea if I'm allergic but the wasp ones weren't too bad.

I suppose asking how much time it takes up at the peak season is a piece-of-string daft question...

moonbells

Robert_Brenchley:
Not much time at all really. Honey extraction is the only labour intensive job once you've knocked up the hives, which is pretty straightforward. Don't try to keep just one, always have two at least. That way if you ever get queen problems you've got something to fall back on. During the season, all you really need to do is go through them once a week or ten days to check whether they're swarming; if you get a low-swarming strain this won't happen too often, but you do need to be ready for it. With a bit of practice you can go through a hive in a few minutes. Mostly they look after themselves.

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