Topic: Hives on Allotments

[urchin]

Ay up :D

I am looking into the idea of siting hives on our allotment. My idea is to team up with a local bee keeping society to find someone who would be interested in siting their hives on our nature garden bit - I'm not looking to take up bee keeping myself.

I floated the idea at the AGM today (to mixed response) and have agreed to come away and find out about allotments who have already made such arrangements.
Does anybody know of any and could you put me in touch with someone who has had a hand in arranging this?

Thanks

[goodlife]

we have hive in our allotment...took some getting idea through AGM ::)
Anyway...our rules are; beekeeping is for members only, before siting any hives contact member in commitee have to be informed (that's me) and together we look for best site within that members allotment to minimize possible problems...
any beekeeper have to be insured either through local association or other means, and we limit the amount of  hives individual can have.. 3-4 depending size of plot
Out of 80 odd allotments we have only 3 beekeepers but thats ok...it is easier to keep touch and we do some beekeeping together ... ;D

Idea of having bees is that it is not the main reason for running plot...just as a bonus....

[goodlife]

uups...bad typing..."we have hives"...

[Tee Gee]

They are not allowed on our plots.

The subject made the local press for a few weeks last year.

The end result was ...........they are livestock so this is not allowed.

A bit tenuous I thought.

The lad in question was going to make a living out of it but this had to be kicked into touch.

The silly thing is; I can't have a hive/s on my plot  but the council house tenant on the other side of the fence can if he wants to.  ::) :o

[Robert_Brenchley]

They've been banned for years on Birmingham allotments, but I gather the new rules (which I haven't seen) don't mention them. That being said, bees are kept here and there, and there's no reason why they should ever be a problem. The main things are, don't open them while your neighbour's on the plot, keep good tempered bees, and control swarming because it frightens people. Be a good neighbour and deal with any problems people have with wasps etc so you've got the goodwill behind you.

[goodlife]

In last couple AGM's I have given members a "bee talk".. informed them how "our" bees are doing and having a "question hour" and last summer I provided some honey for sale through shop.
Everybody are interested and  complains are almost non-existing..more people understand bees less problems...

[saddad]

We have hives here too with no problems...  :)

Oh, and welcome to A4A Urchin  ;D

[tonybloke]

as long as you make sure that the beekeeper is a member of your local beekeeping association ( only way for him / her to obtain public liability insurance) and that he / she is an experienced beekeeper, with 24 hr 'phone contact, and another beekeeper is willing to be an  emergency contact if he / she not available (possible vandalism issues, swarming) then you should have no problems. have a look at the BBKA website, http://www.britishbee.org.uk/  there is advice about bees on allotments as a downloadable document

Oh, and,     Welcome to a4a forums!! ;)

[Vortex]

Next year I want to attempt to site one hive on my plot but will most likely fall foul of the "No Livestock" rule.
I believe there was an attempt several years ago to get a hive sited but it was vetoed by the plot holders due to the "increased risk of getting stung".
The problem here is lack of understanding - honey bees, unless they have a large pool of Italian genetics, won't sting or attack unless anoyed - using any form of two-stroke machinary within 50ft of a hive counts, especially a strimmer. Both the scent and vibration attract them in this instance.
Other things to note when siting a hive are flight path and access - you need at least 6ft clear space in front of a hive but you can force the bees to fly high by placing a obstacle, like a 6ft fence panel (or similar - bean frame, fruit cage) at this distance.
You also need side or preferably rear access to the hive, and really need to be able to approach it from this direction, and enough space adjacent to it to be able to unstack it during inspections.
At these times having at least 15ft radius of space clear of other allotment users is advisable, especially if the hive has got stroppy. Having 1,000-10,000 bees in the air can be quite daunting if you're not used to it.
You might find somebody in the local association willing to site a single hive on the plot but they will need free access at least every 5-7 days, including in the evening, between April and late August, with reduced access at other times of the year.
Hope this aids your thought process..

[irnhed]

I keep bees, but not on the allotment.

I floated the idea at the AGM last year (my first meeting) and got a mixed response.

I pulled together a brief summary document on a suggested approach, and sent it to the secretary to share with the committee.  Haven't heard anything back yet.

We have this year's AGM in a couple of weeks, so it'll be interesting to see whether it comes up.

I'm happy with the bees where that are, and therefore aren't that bothered about putting them on the allotment.

Bit of a shame though, as some plot holders were very enthusiastic about it all.  One or two people were worried about the possibility of being stung.

The advice above about the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) is the best tip.  Get in touch with your local association.  They are generally a friendly lot (well, mine are) and may well be willing to attend a meeting to give a talk.

As already mentioned, it's recommended that a 6 ft / 2 m barrier be raised around the hives.  This encourages the bees to fly up, over 'human height' on the way in & out - which reduces the risk of accidental stings.

A good material for this is Scaffolding Netting.  Its (relatively) cheap, light and very strong (as it's intended to stop debris from building sites being dropped on to people).

If you register on the BBKA Forum, you can get a lot of specific advice there.

[shirlton]

Hi Urchin.We have an allotment in Birmingham. When I started reading your post I thought you were talking about our AGM that took place yesterday. I knew it wasn't when you mentioned that the plot holders gave a mixed response.
We also had our AGM yesterday and we were all in favour of having bees in our nature garden. We already have 3 people on the site who have or have had bees so the experience is already there.
There are a few matters to sort out before we can go ahead with the venture.
Its given us all a buzz(sorry couldn't resist it)

[tonybloke]

Its given us all a buzz(sorry couldn't resist it)

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[urchin]

thanks for the replies everyone - we have a nature area on our site too, so it shouldn't be difficult to place a hive with a goodly amount of clearance ....... Shirlton, would it be possible to PM me which allotment site you're on? There were experienced bee people at our AGM also ..... it was after the meeting that I got feedback that some people were not very keen, so it's possible we were in the same shed on a Sunday morning!

I've been set the mission of gathering information about other sites in Birmingham that allow hives. I know of one other that does (but I think those hives belong to plot holders) and one that is looking into the idea of inviting a local bee keeper to site a hive (which is what I want to do)

I'm really not looking at keeping bees myself - but I do think if we could make such a thing happen it would benefit all of us.

This idea might come to nothing, but I would like to explore it further

Thanks for the advice - all is very welcome......speaking of which, thanks for the welcome to A4A :D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm not 'allowed', and I'm not about to ask anyone. But my hives have been there for ten years. PM me if you want any info.

[goodlife]

 ;D ;)....I had a hive ..and bees on allotment couple of years before it was officially allowed....nobody never knew...
I just smiled when I started hear comments like..."I've never had  better crop"... "my trees were in braking point..."

[shirlton]

Hi Urchin. We are on Court Lane allotments in Erdington. Our Comittee have approached those in power and although they were against people having hives willy nilly and not knowing enough about beekeeping they were a little bit more in favour of having just the one hive in a protected area. If it goes ahead then it is going to be fenced in by a willow structure for their protection more than peoples. Apparently the bees will fly straight up and make their way to wherever they want to go. I am sp pleased about the venture because they will be right opposite our plot.

[elvis2003]

we are soon to have two hives onsite. i was approached by a plot holder who wanted to keep bees,and after doing a lot of research (including here,thanks!) we have agreed its a good idea all round which will  benefit everyone. we do stipulate however,that the hive owners attend the appropriate training course and belong to the local society. he also has an assistant lined up for when he is on hols etc. and,we are also erecting a structure as others have mentioned,to send the bees up instead of out.the hives will be situated away from plots. good luck!

[urchin]

Thankyou much Shirlton - I'll pass that info on to the committee - anything that shows that other sites in Birmingham are finding ways to do it is a big help :D

good tips there elvis - this is a very good place for research!

[Geoff H]

I would like add a few things. Member ship of the local association does not provide insurance for the beekeeper. Membership of the British Bee Keepers Association will provide 3rd party liability and i know that most associations are affiliated but i  there are quite a few beekeepers who disagree with BBKA policy and who are not members of the national association. If so they must have alternative insurance arrangements.
I would disagree with the person who said they should be prepared to deal with problems such as wasps. Where I rent some land I was approached by someone who had a wasp nest and he knew that i was a bee keeper. I told him that i was a bee keeper and that I was not qualified to deal with wasps, neither was i insured to do so. I advised him ,as a gardener, that I would have obtained a wasp nest  powder from a farm supplierif I was in his position. Dealing with wasps is very different from bees. A bee keeper dealing with a  swarm of bees is dealing with bees that are happy and unlikely to sting and is providing exactly what they need, a new home. Dealing with a wasp nest you are attacking their whole reason for existence and it is a much more dangerous undertaking. A bee suit is not impervious. Stings can penetrate and determined insects can sometimes find their way in.
When siting a hive it is important that the guard bees at the entrance cannot see other plot holders. If they see movement their inclination is to fly out and check it out. That frightens people, they lash out at the bee which then stings.
I think the temperment of the bee is very important. I have two hives of bee that are probably mongrel based on British black bee. They are not too bad but i dont have then in the garden, they are at the back of a farm. This because if they were in the garden then I would have to suit up if i did any work near those hives and members of my family would have to keep away from that area of garden. Instead at home I have Carniolan or grey bees. They are very docile and I can work round the hive without suiting up and use my petrol lawnmower  right up to and around the hive. I can also weed immediately in front of the entrance with no hassle. When I have hives at my vegetable  growing area it will be either Carniolans or Italians. I did think of pointing them towards a fence but have decided that the best place for a hive in terms of aspect  would be pointing into the growing area and so I want bees that wont mind me working in front.
I would agree with the barrier idea. You force the bees up and they cruise at about 15 feet to wherever they are going. Last year I was at the farm in a bean field and my bees were flying in at about 4 feet like mini cruise missiles.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Carnies are fine till they supersede, as long as you can control the swarming that is. Once they raise a new generation of queens, they're highly likely to mate with local hybrids, with a lot of native bee in their makeup. Carnie/Amm hybrids are notorious for bad temper.