Preparing for bees on the homestead is in full swing here. We are getting our first bees this spring. We’ve wanted to add bees to our homestead for years now and it is finally coming to fruition.
We have been busy getting ready for bees by gathering and preparing the equipment we need to keep them. I think we are mostly ready and have done as much reading, studying, and video watching as we can about them.
Preparing for Bees on the Homestead
Before doing anything, we read lots of books and articles about bees. We’ve also watched a ton of Youtube videos on beekeeping. I’m all about educating oneself as much as possible before diving into the actual thing.
There is also certain equipment you need to acquire when preparing for bees. This includes but is not limited to; Hives (that’s a no brainer), a bee smoker, and bee suits. We have all of these on hand. Our smoker was a clearance deal because it has a minor flaw. Derek can easily fix this and we will be in bee business. I love a good deal.
Our hives are Langstroth style hives with frames that have a plastic foundation. We purchased them as a pre assembled kit. Ideally, in the future, we will have frames without foundations so that we can harvest the comb as well.
Wooden bee hives need to be painted on the outside to help preserve them because they are constantly exposed to the elements. A good quality exterior paint will do the job.
We have reserved a nucleus of bees which consists of an newly established queen and a small bee colony. This is a split off of a larger bee colony. It will include 2 frames of brood and another 2-3 frames of honey. They’ll be in a plastic box and we will need to transfer them to our hives.
Getting some paint on these boxes.
We definitely aren’t bee experts as we have no real experience with bees. We did catch a small swarm one time but they didn’t have a queen and quickly abandoned the hive. Our good friend, Tonya of Clover Hill Farm has been keeping bees for years and is a great source of information for us.
Beekeeping is just another exciting adventure for us to embark on in our homesteading journey. We are very hopeful that we will do well and grow our apiary to much larger than 1 hive. We are so looking forward to producing our own honey on our property. We are also excited to have our own pollinators for our garden.
The bee population is in severe decline and distress. Without bees, the food supply will become very slim and we don’t want to see that happen. We want to do out part to help keep the bees alive and well.
Keeping our own bees is also another step towards full self sufficiency for our family. Our goal is to live as naturally as possible, raise everything that we can for ourselves as closely to how God intended it to be raised and to be as self sustaining as possible on our homestead.
Aside from all of that, bees are just incredible to watch. They have such purpose in their actions. To watch them go to and from from their hive to collect and deliver pollen is amazing. It’s also fun to sit in the garden and watch them travel from plant to plant pollinating along the way. It’s another miracle of creation that we can be in awe of.
For more great information about bees visit:
Timber Creek Farm: Best Tips for Keeping Honey Bees and Queen Bee and a New Hive
Schneiderpeeps- Beekeeping Resources
Homestead Honey: How to Harvest Honey and Installing a New Beehive
Better Hens and Gardens: Inspect a Hive with a New Queen, 7 Beekeeping Questions, 8 Hive Inspection Tips, and How to Hive Bees
Eight Acres: Where Should I Start with Bees?
Farm Fit Living: How to Capture a Swarm, How to Feed Packaged Bees, How to Make Bee Candy Boards, 23 Beekeeping Mistakes, and How to Start Beekeeping with Little Money
A Life of Heritage: Beekeeping for Beginners and many more posts on bees
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You’re right beekeeping sure is an adventure alright! Have you any updates? Did you manage to grow the hive and even expand the number of hives that you own, potentially as the hive separated? We’re really eager to know 🙂
No updates yet. The hive is very strong and active. 🙂
Do you need some kind of license to start beekeeping?
In some states you have to register your hives. You would need to check with your local extension agent.