The Basics of Basic Beekeeping

Location, Location, LocationApiary Selection and DevelopmentEffingham 2Grant F. C. Gillard gillard5 @ charter.netwww . grantgillard.weebly.comwww . slideshare.net

Your First Bee Hive Where?ConvenienceBack yard or close to gardenStore equipment in garage or shedMulch around hive stand, neat and orderlyWhat about neighbors, curious children?Fencing or privacy screen? Locked gate?How many hives is too many?Liability coverage, homeowners insurance

Location FactorsLP tanks, mail boxes, on-farm storesFences and gates in a pastureLocal ordinances, city codesHome owners association, CCRsTest cases--Set up two empty bee hives in front yard--Sting incident, moved hives, repeat incident

Finding a Suitable LocationFull sunOffers floral diversity, water source nearbySheltered from prevailing windsAway from direct pesticide applicationsFar away from people traffic, human activitiesRespectful of neighbors (swimming pools)Accessible in all kinds of weather (mud)Floods, flood plains, bottom ground, intermittent gully washes

Some sun, sheltered from wind

Leveled on hive stands

Usually relegated to the side of a field, out of the way, but with access

Seasonal Flooding

Expansion where to find?AdvertiseScout out locations by watching bloomsPollination opportunitiesApproach homeowner or landlord?Questions to ask if solicited or invited?Opportunities conducive to management

Remote YardsTheft and vandalism, visibility, remote locations unattended, locking gatesAccessibility by truck or wheel barrowProximity to your home baseLivestockHow do you get notified if things go wrong?

Legal StuffWritten leaseRental agreementLandlord relationships communicationDamage to landlords propertyDamage to your bee hivesLegal structure, LLC individuals acting on behalf of a company arepersonallyliable for their tortious conduct, even if they did so on behalf of the company.Business Insurance

Criteria for Developing OutyardsSufficient number of hives to justify my trip to that location.Distance between outyards, comp vs convenienceDoes this location have sufficient forage, or a specialty crop that produces a varietal honey?Related issue: water

The greatest benefit of multiple outyards isthat you spread out your bees.

The greatest hardship of multiple outyards isthat you spread out yourself.

Criteria for Developing OutyardsDistance from homeNeighbors and adjacent property ownersRelated issue: swarmingStorage and equipment haulingRelated issue: tools I need every time Social Rent

Grow Slowly Grow InternallyOption 1: Buy a bunch of hives, spend $Option 2: Start slow, split your own hivesYear 1: Double from 4 to 8 hives (12 hives*)Year 2: Learn how to manage 8 hivesYear 3: Double from 8 to 16 hives (24 hives*)Year 4: Learn how to manage 16 hivesYear 5: Double from 16 to 32 hives (48 hives*)

Sustainable Growth*Attrition Factors

Keeping Good Records

The biggest lie I tell myself is,

I dont need to write it down; Ill remember it.

What info do you want to track?What information is important? Whats not?What details are vital? Whats the minimum?What do you need to make good decisions?What do you need to remember?What stuff is just stuff? T.M.I.?What information helps you make things happen, makes you a better beekeeper?After you write it down, is it accessible?

There are three kinds of beekeepers:Those who make things happen;Those who watch things happen;Those who wonder what happened.

The Purpose of Record Keeping:

Its not what I have to do, its what I want to make happen.Nothing important merely happens.

Low-Tech Record KeepingJust remember stuffsure.Bricksbut what do they mean?Writing on the lid (Sharpie, permanent marker, pencil)Writing on the side of the brood boxNote card in between the inner/outer coversPocket calendarsSpiral notebooks

On-line, digital optionswww.hivetracks.com [hive tracks review]www.beetight.com [bee tight review] Can you access Internet from apiary? Cell phone coverage? WiFi? Coverage voids?Can you enter data (gloves)?What kind of protection from propolis, honey?Alternative: hand written paper records in apiary, transfer to computer at home. Redundant!

On-line records, in the cloudNSA and Big BrotherDo not enter:

Im going to kill off the queen!

Paper/Manual optionsCreate Your Own: Excel Spread SheetGoogle: printable hive inspection sheets

Four parts to my recordsClip board with a spread sheet of all my yardsSo I dont miss any or forget when I visited lastField Notebook temporary notes of each yardYard Notebook - back in the officeFile holding my notebooks

When I want to go out, I consult my notebooks and load my truck accordingly.

My System - simplifiedI tend to treat apiaries as a whole not a bunch of individual hivesI take a generic, field notebook into the bee yard and crudely write down three things:*What I saw*What I did on this trip to this yard*What needs to happen next time, and what equipment I need to make that happen

End of the dayEach bee yard has its own Yard notebookEnd of the day, transfer field notes to my yard notebooksI transfer my thoughts, interpret my ideals, order my list of things to-do into the notebook, so when I go out the next time, I know what to bring.Notes and records = efficient management

Are Records Necessary?No, but what are you missing?ELAP loansUSDA assistanceCrop (Precipitation) InsuranceKevin Gummels (402) 360-2626

Why keep records?Be better organized (dont forget stuff, CRS)Better time management (self management)Stay on schedule, anticipate equipment needs Be more efficient (Time is money)Get things done, a to-do list (procrastination)Remembering to get things done, on timeGet the most potential from the bees (honey)Wintertime, sabbatical planning time*