How Minimal is Too Minimal?

[Hoss]

Well, in spite of all the "why are you going top bar?" questions (and there were quite a few as I tried to locate bees); I'm nearly ready to pickup the bees and get started down this path. I have 3 hives completed (thanks, Mr. Bush, for the design and your helpful site), ordered a veil, hive bar, gloves and a smoker and have located some Russian hybrid bees to pick up around the end of the month.
My question is this: As far as equipment, etc., is this all I need? Just place the bees in the empty hives and let them do their thing? I prefer not to use chemicals if possible, even to the point of being organic if that is feasible.
After reading post after post and visiting site after site (Bee people are very helpful, it seems), my plan is to-

Install the bees in the evening
Use a partition board to reduce the size of the hive by half
Direct release the queen
Feed with a baggie of syrup
Reduce the opening size for a couple days
Leave them alone for a week? Then check to see if brood is being produced?
Meanwhile, realize a long, steep learning curve lies ahead

Please let me know if you see an issue with my plan and many thanks in advance for the advice...Just seems like there would/should be more to it. I was way overwhelmed initially by the traditional methods, not to mention the cash outlay. The TBH's seem perfect for the backyard hobbyist.
Hoss

[Shapleigh's Bees]

Yes, that's about it. Bees, Hive, a few tools.

You will need to think about honey at some point, but maybe not at all this season. You won't need an extractor, just some mesh, or use cut comb.

You might want to look at bwrangler's sugar blaster.

[Shapleigh's Bees]

I was way overwhelmed initially by the traditional methods, not to mention the cash outlay. The TBH's seem perfect for the backyard hobbyist.
Hoss

Don't tell anyone, everyone will want to do it.:)

[trapperbob]

You might consider not harvesting any honey this year and then only take a few bars of honey at a time the following year until you get the hang of how much they need for winter then you can take more and your bees will not starve. Something else might happen to them but at least it won't be to bad honey harvesting practises.:)

[stangardener]

in my area #4 (feed with a bag of syrup) would not be sufficient.
in my area i figure on a 50# bag of sugar per package install.
early gains are rapid gains. for me i don't feel the bees draw out comb as well late in the season. don't scrimp on their first growing season. let winter be their first test of strong bees.

[pennstatepitt]

I've never done top bar hives, but it sounds like you're set. After you get used to working with them, you'll probably not even want the gloves anymore. It's so much easier to work without them. And I've put a 'modified' hive tool(i.e. flathead screwdriver) to good use. Good luck!

PS: The learning curve is fun! I'll never forget when me and my dad were putting two hives back together after a bear had tore them apart, it was dark and my mom was holding the flashlight. Well, she found out she was standing in a pile of bees that were crawling up her legs, she tore of her pants(totally forgetting that we were working with the bees and forgot all about the light, so we were left in the dark). There was much yelling by me and much laughing on my dad's part, but it's a good memory that'll stick around for awhile. You're in for some fun.

[Hoss]

in my area i figure on a 50# bag of sugar per package install.
early gains are rapid gains. for me i don't feel the bees draw out comb as well late in the season. don't scrimp on their first growing season. let winter be their first test of strong bees.

I'm assuming that the 50# is spread out over a period of time, right? Do the bees ignore the food at some point? Or is it like room service and they'll keep eating as long as it is provided? I'm in Georgia, north of Atlanta, so I may have a longer season here than you, just depends on how far up you are in the mtns.

I'm excited, my kids are excited...my wife, maybe not so much, but she is supportive. We homeschool so the kids will have some involvement as a part of class. Plus, dad's modeling continuing education for them...Thanks, Shapleigh, for the bwrangler heads up. Found a lot of practical information there.

[Shapleigh's Bees]

Hoss, the wife and kids will become addicted. Once they don't get stung, being the master of your bee's universe is very exciting. My nephew is doing reports and his public "How To" speech is all about beekeeping. You'll be able to turn bees into lessons in every field, from math, to sociology, to science, to business. Oh, don't forget wood shop and home-economics.

Bees prefer flowers to sugar.

[stangardener]

the sugar is deffinately spread out through the season. for tbh's i use a follower board with a one inch hole drilled in it. behind the follower board is a jar feeder up on little risers, used wooden queen cages work good. i believe in free feeding any baby livestock until they're up, running and established.
beekeeping is very location oriented so a person without your flow experiance can't tell you what to expect. the worst thing that will happen with proper feeding of your new hive is it will have lots of wax and ample stores for winter and the following spring.
be careful not to spill syrup and keep entrances reduced to what the bees can guard to avoid robbing.

[NativeCraft]

in my area i figure on a 50# bag of sugar per package install.


Is that 5 lbs. or 50 lbs.! ?
If it's 50 lbs. that's not a minor expense. Is keeping bees THAT expensive?

[buckbee]

Is that 5 lbs. or 50 lbs.! ?
If it's 50 lbs. that's not a minor expense. Is keeping bees THAT expensive?

50lb? I have never heard of anyone feeding that much sugar to one hive. If it was done thoughout the season, it would end up in the honey.

[stangardener]

Is that 5 lbs. or 50 lbs.! ?
If it's 50 lbs. that's not a minor expense. Is keeping bees THAT expensive?

a 50# bag of sugar costs $17.50. i consider that an initial expence for starting from scratch in my area.

[stangardener]

50lb? I have never heard of anyone feeding that much sugar to one hive. If it was done thoughout the season, it would end up in the honey.

in my area there is no honey the first year from a typical package. hence no sugar in the honey. hopefully just happy bees the following late winter early spring.
in my area there is no flow after june. there is no rain after april. if you hive a package in the middle of april or first of may the bees hardly have a chance to make a round of new bees before they are in a dearth, much less winter bees and twenty combs.
i tried starting packages like people from other areas and had dismal results.
i am a minimalist. being a successful minimalist is differant in differant places. my goal is to minimalize my way to efficiency, not out of existance.
for me this has been much less about telling someone they need to be prepared to feed their bees #50 of sugar than that you need to find out what your location demands. don't follow what the least is for bees in east jabroo when the weather is fine and your an experianced beekeeper.

[buckbee]

Got it. I didn't realize you lived in a desert! Is beekeeping even viable there - meaning, is that an area that supports feral bees without human support?

[stangardener]

Got it. I didn't realize you lived in a desert! Is beekeeping even viable there - meaning, is that an area that supports feral bees without human support?

you bet there are feral bees. remember that song "it never rains in california but man it pours." there is little to no rain between may and november but then we get forty inches between november and april.
we have good flows too, manzanita in febuary, march. ceanothus in march, april. may vetch
and clover then june blackberry. then it's very slim pickens. but some good news is the bees can get by on around forty pounds of honey to over winter on.
as you can see if you where to follow management practices that included a summer and fall flow you would be in trouble. it's the same with horticulture. growing up alot of books seemed to be written on the east coast (or england:)). they would suggest spring plantings of alium as an example and here on the left coast you should make fall plantings. we in california also spend alot of time irrigating.
while many people around here are interested in bees for almond pollination i'm working on having shut down in a dearth, frugal, small winter cluster type bees.

[NativeCraft]

Stan,
I didn't realize a 50# bag of sugar only costs $17.50...I was just thinking in terms of smaller bags, I guess...even so, I don't guess it would be that big of an expense...50# just sounded like a lot to me.

I understand exactly what you mean about the climate. Well, at least I shoule - I work my real job as a meteorologist:o