So the super mild weather showing 13 degrees at the end of November has given me the opportunity to add a little extra winter feed. I have tried to set up my hives for winter so that even when cold I can check on the sugar remaining in the winter feeder box and add more, … Read more
So it is that time of year where the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. Time to wrap up the hives for winter. We have a mild winter here in the UK so I don’t plan to do much. The poly hives are great for this as they retain heat much … Read more
Had a good check of the hives this afternoon. They are all buzzing. Didn’t open any other than to add the supers. Loads of bee activity with pollen coming in from all angles. Lovely orange pollen. I added 2 flow supers to the Red and Green Poly hives in an experiment to see how they … Read more
As is always the case with my beekeeping I have one harvest a year. Like other years the harvest was end of August and beginning of September. It is a difficult job judging when to take the harvest. You want to have a period of good weather where the flow is in full stream. Too … Read more
This was a bit of a “Fluid” hive inspection. I wanted to have a look at all the bees and make sure things were OK as well as change the batteries in 4 of the hive hearts. These batteries that should last for a year have managed 6 months. I also gave the area a … Read more
The plan today was to put supers on all ready for spring. the bluebells are out and there are lots of flowers around. The colonies were looking strong last inspection so it is about time. I also like to get supers on early with the poly hives as they are easier to keep warm. There … Read more
The plan today was to add the scales and hearts to the final 4 hives to give me some hive data. The first experiment went well with the 2 hives set up and the new arrival of the 4 set-ups arrived this morning. The weather is about to turn cold so this is the best … Read more
Wooden Blue hive gets a super. Have added a flow super to the blue hive (PBH) it is more than half full and this will give them a chance to clean it out ready for filling. Nice for them to have some extra space. Blue Poly nuc was rammed full of bees The blue poly … Read more
4 good hives going strong. Last week there was tall grass all a round so I took out the strimmer. Strimming early evening when the bees had gone to bed and work as quickly as I could in a suit seemed to be the way. Cut back all the grass to prevent the ants from … Read more
