Bees on the brain - Now what?

[Elsa]

Hello All,

I'm Elsa. My son, Zack, and I live on our 5 acres in NW Oregon and are working toward a nearly self sustaining plan for the future. We have dairy goats, an orchard & several varieties of other fruits, a good size vegetable garden, several flower and herb gardens, lovely compost (thanks to our does), natural vermiculture (I have a nice worm bin, but it didn't fare as well as our wild worms out in the compost heaps) and are excitedly planning on starting our Apiary this year. I've spent many hours on line, reading everything I can find, bought my "Beekeeping for Dummies" early last year and ordered every supply catalog I could (trying not to order twice because of CRS, you know)...

So... Where to start? I have decided upon 8 frame hives because neither Zack nor I are able to lift as much as we'd like, and I think the English Cottage hive tops are cool. Other than that, I'm not sure where to begin. I have lots of catalogs I've already highlighted and dog eared, and I'd really like to order good quality stuff, even if that means ordering from several different companies. I find this works out well when I order seeds. If I order $50 worth of seeds from 7 different places I don't feel guilty about spending "too much". Hey, it works for my "can't do math" brain. :D

I would really like to find a mentor (or mentors) in the Pacific Northwest but appreciate assistance from anyone who's into bees. Where would you go to set up your first two hives? I'm a disabled Veteran, so I certainly don't have unlimited funds, but feel compared to some of my other passions (hobbies), beekeeping will be much more rewarding and economical over all. :) Where would you recommend getting Nucs? They're the best way to start, right?

So far the only bee shopping I've done is an inquiry to Old Sol. Which breed(s) do you recommend for our area? We enjoy natural irrigation (by way of rain) for much of the year, rarely get snow and don't get too many below freezing days. Thankfully I didn't already have my hives because one of my favorite apple trees in the orchard fell victim to that horrendous storm we had on Dec 2nd and landed in the exact spot I'd chosen for the hives!

I'm sorry for this long rambling post. It has taken me a long time of lurking on various sites - only finding this one more recently - and when I finally work up the courage to post I tend to have cascading thoughts pour out and ramble.

Thank you in advance for advice and encouragement!

Elsa & Zack

[Michael Bush]

Advice for newbees:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm
Races of bees:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesraces.htm
Lazy Managment:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm
General info:
http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

[Jon McFadden]

Hi Elsa,
I would recommend getting involved with a local bee association. These beekeepers can advise you on what bees do well in your area.
Here are two I found by googling:
www.southernoregonbeekeepers.org
www.orsba.org
There is also your state bee inspector.
Good Luck,
Jon

[shawnwri]

Welcome and best wishes. Lots of great information on this site. Beekeeping can become an addiction :)

[tecumseh]

elsa writes:
So far the only bee shopping I've done is an inquiry to Old Sol.

tecumseh replies:
well I do believe old sol should provides some pretty good information on the proper 'race' of bees for your area and also possible a mentor if one is near.

are you on the dry or wet side of the mountains?

[tecumseh]

elsa writes:
So far the only bee shopping I've done is an inquiry to Old Sol.

tecumseh replies:
well I do believe old sol should provides some pretty good information on the proper 'race' of bees for your area and also possible a mentor if one is near. I don't think you have or will go wrong there....

try to locate a copy of abc-xyz of bee culture... since the book is into it's 12 zillionth edition you may even find a copy in a used book store if you are lucky. my copy (also obtained used) dates back to 1970 and although the language is a bit stilted the information is still quite useful.

are you on the dry or wet side of the mountains?

[riverrat]

welcome aboard Elsa. You have found the best bee reference guide modern man can find right here. Its the many experts here on Beesource. When I say experts I am refering to all members. Bee it someone like yourself just starting out or the commercial keeper with several thousand hives. Everyone has something to contribute here. New keeps often think outside the box since they have never been stuck in the old paradim. They are just has able to teach an old keep a new trick has you are top learn from us. With that said good luck with getting into bees your in for a treat. Another option for getting bees is picking up swarms. Get in touch with the local extension agency, fire station, exterminator, police station, or anyone else you might think someone would call if they come home one day to find a swarm of bees hanging in a tree. :)

[Elsa]

Thanks for your great responses!

Michael, your site is awesome! I've bookmarked it and e-mailed myself with the notation "Important Bee Stuff!". That way I don't lose it in my favorites folders - which are as scattered as my brain. :rolleyes:

I did get in contact with the OSBA representative in my county and he told me that there was a group in our area but it disbanded about a year ago. Darn! No biggie, actually. I tend to join all sorts of local groups and then lose track of time or get overwhelmed and flake out on the group. I don't do that to projects (with the exception of my worm bin), just people. :eek:

My son is so excited about the bees! He loves to pet them when he sees them in the yard or gardens and they don't seem to mind. He just strokes them gently with one finger and then giggles his head off. I've explained to him that, although bees are really cute, he shouldn't hang out at the hive and try to pet them all because it could make them grumpy.

Thank you so much for your warm welcome!

~ Elsa