I mentioned to Enrique that I wanted to build my own bee hives. He didn’t exactly discourage me, but pointed out that I have a number of projects awaiting my attention in the basement. Where am I going to build my hives? See, there is this fabulous old Westinghouse turquoise stove. It works, but I’m (he’s) going to have to remove a cabinet or two before we can install it, but we really need to replace the kitchen floors, and also there is the matter of a vent hood.
Don’t look at the chandelier beside the stove, I’m going to take it apart and spray paint it white to hang in the Midget’s room.
That buffet and sink are going to be re-purposed for my bathroom as soon as I order the fabulous faucet and tile for the floor.
The saw marks on that reclaimed barn wood make my heart go pitter patter, and it’s going to make an amazing door for my bathroom. Have you noticed the beautiful colors of the reclaimed bead board? It’s going to look amazing behind the antique claw foot tub I’ve been scouring Craigslist for. These are works in progress. You have to grab these great deals when you see them. I hate when he douses my dreams and ambitions with cold, hard facts!
Naturally, when I decided I was going to build my own hives, I did my research. This is when I realized that no two bee keepers have the same opinion about a single thing. Here are the hives that I considered:
Warre Hive (supposed to me the most natural)
Langstroth Hive (the standard one that you see on most farms)
Top Bar Hive (great for people with back problems, but I’m not sure how exactly you keep the bees from swarming)
Flow Hive (a crazy hive with artificial comb and you turn the tap and the honey flows out into jars!).
I decided to build a Warre Hive. I went and got the wood ($25) and got started when I realized I needed wood chisels ($14.99). Here’s the progress I made:
I got busy and this has sat on the shelf in the basement. Folks who know me well (and have stumbled around trying to find something in my basement) know that I am heavy on ideas and low on time & cash! So when this spring started getting closer, I remembered my hive sitting in the basement. I saw an advertisement for nucs and packages on Craigslist and located a company. Flippin Bee Company happened to be offering a bee workshop the following Saturday. Speedy quick, I paypaled my $100 and prepared to drive the 2.5hrs to the class.
The class was awesome! I met so many beekeeping weirdos! When I got there the other students were buzzing about one of the instructors, The Fat Beeman from Dixie Bee Supply was the key speaker. Apparently, he's quite a celebrity in Georgia. He talked about ways to set up a hive, whether or not to use a queen excluder, how to feed the bees, and when to make splits. Exactly what I understood: blah, blah, blah. Fortunately, I sat next to a very nice police officer/aspiring farmer who translated for me. By the end of the day, I decided I was going to use Langstroth hives because the supplies are found in my local nursery. Finally, one decision was made!
Total to date: $139.99