Winter Months Beekeeping
Here in the Midwest we have winter - sometimes more, sometimes less. Last year was a pretty warm winter, this year however..not so much. We had unusual cold the week of Christmas/New Years so we've been staying indoors most of the time and praying for our bees to successfully make it thru the winter.
So what do beekeepers do if they have "winter" where there are no checks being done on their bees. Dream about bees, plan for the new year, read....lots and lots of reading (at least for new beeks like us) and now is the time to build new hardware for the spring season. You can buy boxes, frames, etc already assembled, but usually for a bit higher price. Frames are cheap enough that we will probably continue to buy those assembled, but the boxes those my super handy husband can assemble. If he had the right tools he could make them also, but for now we ordered them. There are many different companies, we've ordered from Mann Lake and also Kelly Bees. Both seem to have good products.
Currently we are reading books like I mentioned in an earlier post - Beekeeping for Dummies. I have seriously learned so much from that book. I also received The Beekeeper's Bible for Christmas, a HUGE book, but full of information! There are so many options available - even super cute ones that you can get for your kids. L & M received several for Christmas also -
Magic School Bus Inside a Bee Hive
Honey In a Hive
The Amazing HoneyBee
The Life & Times of the Honeybee
If you are interested in bees, whether its to keep any or not - get your kids involved. We now have table conversations with our 9 & 6 year old about brood, pupae, etc. It has been super fun to watch them learn and get excited about nature.
Our 9 year old even drew a picture she saw on pinterest of great flowers to plant for bees! She is asking about what we can plant, start from seed and so on. For someone who loves her garden very much, its very exciting for me to have a child excited as well!
From this drawing, and other research I have already created my list flowers I want to grow in 2018. The only problem is I have way too many! So I will be narrowing it down in the coming weeks, but a few I know will be new to the Rustic Hive Homestead will be Borage, Calendula, Zinnias, Sunflowers and more!
Something else you get to do during Winter Months is clean up your equipment or build new. Since we are so new, for us this is building new. My sweetie is amazing and has already put together all our new boxes we've purchased for next year. Our darling little 6 year old was a super eager helper!!
This is what a medium full of frames look like!
So what do beekeepers do if they have "winter" where there are no checks being done on their bees. Dream about bees, plan for the new year, read....lots and lots of reading (at least for new beeks like us) and now is the time to build new hardware for the spring season. You can buy boxes, frames, etc already assembled, but usually for a bit higher price. Frames are cheap enough that we will probably continue to buy those assembled, but the boxes those my super handy husband can assemble. If he had the right tools he could make them also, but for now we ordered them. There are many different companies, we've ordered from Mann Lake and also Kelly Bees. Both seem to have good products.
Currently we are reading books like I mentioned in an earlier post - Beekeeping for Dummies. I have seriously learned so much from that book. I also received The Beekeeper's Bible for Christmas, a HUGE book, but full of information! There are so many options available - even super cute ones that you can get for your kids. L & M received several for Christmas also -
Magic School Bus Inside a Bee Hive
Honey In a Hive
The Amazing HoneyBee
The Life & Times of the Honeybee
If you are interested in bees, whether its to keep any or not - get your kids involved. We now have table conversations with our 9 & 6 year old about brood, pupae, etc. It has been super fun to watch them learn and get excited about nature.Our 9 year old even drew a picture she saw on pinterest of great flowers to plant for bees! She is asking about what we can plant, start from seed and so on. For someone who loves her garden very much, its very exciting for me to have a child excited as well!
From this drawing, and other research I have already created my list flowers I want to grow in 2018. The only problem is I have way too many! So I will be narrowing it down in the coming weeks, but a few I know will be new to the Rustic Hive Homestead will be Borage, Calendula, Zinnias, Sunflowers and more!
Something else you get to do during Winter Months is clean up your equipment or build new. Since we are so new, for us this is building new. My sweetie is amazing and has already put together all our new boxes we've purchased for next year. Our darling little 6 year old was a super eager helper!!
Medium boxes put together for spring!
This is what a medium full of frames look like!
Telescoping lid, 3 medium boxes and a bottom board! Now to paint and we'll be ready for spring!!!
Now we eagerly await spring! We can't do inspections or anything during the winter, however we did walk down to our hive and I put my ear to the box and HEARD BUZZING!!! I was so excited!!
We are finally having a break in the weather and expect a really warm day this week - we hope to crack the hive and add a bag of sugar to ensure they make it thru until spring. It is highly discouraged to open the hive when its less than 40 degrees, so we don't know when we'll have another warm day and want to take advantage!
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