Bee Keeping

[KathleenCG]

As a means of promoting urban agriculture, our city recently passed an ordinance which permits bee keeping. One can have up to 2 hives. Do you keep bees? How many hives do you have? Do you have any general comments about bee keeping?

[ml2620]

Hi Kathleen,

DH and I have been keeping bees for about a year now, two hives, approximately 60,000 bees. We love every second of it and belong to the local Beekeeping club, and went to "bee school" last winter, a 6 week course.

We live on 4 acres, next to woods. Our only concern was upsetting the neighbors, but they have not been bothered and they are actually very interested in our bees (and our honey). Make sure to share the wealth when you finally get honey (our first year we only kept 6 lbs. and left the rest for the bees).

let us know what you plan to do!

[KathleenCG]

Thanks for sharing! You sound like you're having a great time! I'm glad to hear that! I, too, have been taking a course. It is through the university here. I am hoping to start with 1 hive. The only reservations I have are that 1)I am afraid of getting stung and 2) am also wondering what kind of time commitment is involved. I like to travel (sometimes for 1-2 months at a time), and I don't know if the bees can be ignored for such a long period of time. Have you been stung a lot? One thing they did tell us in class was to share with your neighbors!

[monkeywrangler71]

What time of year do you like to travel? My father gave up the bees because they did require a fair bit of attention in the spring, and he wanted to spend his springs in warmer places. They have a long, wet winter, and the bees had to be fed and medicated near the end if there was any hope of them surviving.

We had bees in our backyard (1/4 acre lot) for years when I was growing up and I was never stung. My father was stung a few times on the hand. They are normally very docile, we had some hybrid africanized bees a few years though and they are much more aggressive.

[KathleenCG]

Thanks, Monkey for responding. I could work my travel schedule around the bees, just as long as I could have a month or two off.
Do you know what months those might be? Thanks!

The stinging doesn't sound too bad. Did your Dad wear a protective suit?

[monkeywrangler71]

Dad has a suit, but he probably didn't wear gloves.

I'm really not certain how often they need to be checked in the summer since I was just a kid and only tagged along when I felt like it. Once they were bundled up for the winter though they weren't touched until it started to warm up. Then when the hive was opened in the spring they had to be fed every day. I'm sure that probably depends on your climate though, our springs would drag on forever some years, rain and rain and rain, so they couldn't get out and find food.

My grandparents used to spend the whole winter in Florida and come home at the end of April, so I'm not sure what my grandfather did with his bees. Probably just got new ones every year, they used to be a lot cheaper and easier to get.