Post harvest - 3rd year BEEK here (NC, triad)
How much space is needed now? I pulled supers at Harvest, and most hives (3 of my 5) had some very empty frames. Last year I left a whole extra super on each hive (was only 2 hives), which was driven by my new fear of "them being bound up" - but I'm more comfortable now heading into Sept letting them have those few boards should they fill them (I'll start feeding a smidgen here now) if they want, but not putting a whole extra super on....
Am I crazy?
I've found as a new keeper that lots of things drive me to '"make the hive bigger" - but there arent good teachings on when to leave them be!
Thanks all - your advice/input as always is appreciated!
How much space is needed now? I pulled supers at Harvest, and most hives (3 of my 5) had some very empty frames. Last year I left a whole extra super on each hive (was only 2 hives), which was driven by my new fear of "them being bound up" - but I'm more comfortable now heading into Sept letting them have those few boards should they fill them (I'll start feeding a smidgen here now) if they want, but not putting a whole extra super on....
Am I crazy?
I've found as a new keeper that lots of things drive me to '"make the hive bigger" - but there arent good teachings on when to leave them be!
Thanks all - your advice/input as always is appreciated!