Any other beekeepers here?

[pjzwtl]

pjzwtl, I have never seen a water jar on a hive. Is it dry in your area? Does it serve another purpose?

A friend of dh's has two hives out back. I have not been bothered at all by the bees. There are some gmo crops around but there are many in this area that are not. Hope it helps the bees.

Last year there was a swarm at sil's and she was pretty freaked. This same gentleman came and got it.

That’s gone it was just some sugar water for their new home.

 

[Saltwater60]

I totally wanted to keep bees. I even did a bee keeping apprenticeship and worked with bees for about 8-10 weeks over one season. Very cool. I had not been stung in years and turns out I developed an allergy. I stopped right there. My mom is also deathly allergic and I’m not allowed to have them in my city so the combination of all that I just said screw it. Sad though I really liked it.

 

[S&W Fan]

Anyone want to sell me local honey I am down. I am a big believer in local honey. I don't buy it from big box stores.

Unless it specifically says “raw honey” on the jar All big box store honey is pasteurized. This strips a Lot of the natural vitamins and nutrients from the honey. There is actually absolutely no reason to have to pasteurize honey.
You will be better served if you found somebody locally who sells at a local farmers market or farm stand.

 

[S&W Fan]

Bee keeping is on my next “ to do “ agenda. As soon as I get a couple more fruit trees in the ground. I’ll probably just do one maybe two boxes. It’s all I’ll really have room for. Once established there are a few good golden rod fields belonging to a couple of local farmers that I plan on asking if I can move one or both of the boxes to during the blossom.

 

[NirvanaFan]

How about some details on the electric fence set up? Will that small solar panel keep the battery charged?
What is the Battery, solar controller? and fence unit?
Thanks

Yup, the small solar panel is fine. There is a 12v battery inside the box. It will put out up to 3.1 joule and something like 11k volts.

The battery came with the fencer unit and solar panel/controller. I'ts a Parmak solar mag 12.
http://www.parmakusa.com/product_details.php?PId=4

The fencing is 14g steel wire. Pretty standard to keep out bears. Every couple weeks I take a shovel and scrape/kill all the weeds below the wires. I plan on putting something below them (maybe indoor/outdoor carpeting) eventually. That way I don't have to worry about a stray weed draining the battery.

 

[Different Drummer]

Yup, the small solar panel is fine. There is a 12v battery inside the box. It will put out up to 3.1 joule and something like 11k volts.

The battery came with the fencer unit and solar panel/controller. I'ts a Parmak solar mag 12.
http://www.parmakusa.com/product_details.php?PId=4

The fencing is 14g steel wire. Pretty standard to keep out bears. Every couple weeks I take a shovel and scrape/kill all the weeds below the wires. I plan on putting something below them (maybe indoor/outdoor carpeting) eventually. That way I don't have to worry about a stray weed draining the battery.

Thanks for the Ifo and the link.
I did not realize that a stray weed touching the fence could drain it. I do know someone on a farm that diverts some of their large
area horse fencing to a small garden fence. They hang Christmas tree tinsel over the bottom wire to zap woodchucks trying to invade.
Wonder what happens if any tinsel makes contact with the ground?
Thanks again.