BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > RAPID BEEYARD GROWTH

how many is too many?

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Mklangelo:
This is interesting.  I am just starting out with my first two hives in April in Southeastern Wisconsin.  I am placing them in one of the northern suburbs of a large metro area.  Near a very large park and lots of trees throughout.  If I'm wrong please correct me but can an urban area be good since people will water their flowers and provide good floral source?  And I'm pretty sure there are lots of Maple trees too which are good for a nice early start for foraging.  I will look into this further though.  In regard to Finsky's statement about hives in the immediate area, I'm not aware of any.  As a matter of fact, in almost 50 years in and around this city and it's surrounding areas, I have yet to see one beekeeper's hive...


:-)

Michael Bush:
>can an urban area be good since people will water their flowers and provide good floral source?

Yes.  I had some hives in town for 34 years and they almost always do well.  My biggest problems where when the city would fog for mosquitoes with Malthion at 2:00pm in the afternoon in the middle of summer.

Kirk-o:
I have hives up by Dodger stadium.And I have had them on Sunset Blvd by the Fire Station thats about as urban as you can get they did great
kirko

Finsky:

--- Quote from: Mklangelo on January 01, 2007, 07:06:03 pm --- If I'm wrong please correct me but can an urban area be good since people will water their flowers and provide good floral source? 
--- End quote ---

I had 15 years in small town and area was 100% full of home gardens. When apple trees, berry bushes, cherries, weeds and everything start to flower, nectar sources were tremendous. Then it was midd of summer, and gardens gived nothing. I took hives to forest.

But I did not know what I know now. To get early yield I must start brood raising with pollen patty 2 months earlier than nectar comes.

In my area when garden were in blossom, situation in hives was that all wintered bees had died and new bees were not in age of foraging. Still they get huge yield.

Last summer the result was that hives get early dandelion & garden yield, but all 2-deep winterd hives were 80 lbs ahead one box wintered hives.  2-box wintered has so enormous start that small hives cannot run after.

Our yield season is 2 months. If you have one box wintered hives, they are not able to harvest firts month yield. - This is not well known issue in FInland. Beekeepers just think that there are good hives and not so good hives.

Kathyp:
finsky, what are the temps like when you start feeding for brood rearing?  if i were to start feeding 2 months early, i'd have to start now because usually the fruit trees start blooming in march.  January and February are still really cold here most years.

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