New Beekeeper from Western Colorado

1502 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by SeanHebein, Apr 16, 2021

SeanHebein

Discussion Starter · Feb 18, 2021

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking for a while but decided to make an account as the Spring is fast approaching. My name is Sean and I live in Southern California. I am from Western Colorado (Montrose) and my parents and I decided to get into beekeeping.

My parents recently inherited my grandparents farm after my grandmother passed away this last Winter. About 2 months before she passed I was hit by bee fever and consumed as much beekeeping information as I could get my hands on. I was hooked! When I was in CO for my grandma's funeral, my mom mentioned that my grandma wanted to start beekeeping on her farm in the spring. I took it as a sign and my parents and I decided that we would carry her wishes forward.

She has about 13 acres with 5 acres dedicated to a fruit orchard and 1 acre as a garden. Her property is surrounded by farmland.

I purchased 2 Flow Hive 2s and 18, 10 frame deep langstroth hives. Each hive will have the capacity for 2 brood boxes and 1 honey super.

I also just purchased 20 packages of Carniolian bees with mated queens.

I'll be headed to Colorado in a few weeks to help my Dad finish up the bee yard. The bee yard is gravel with concrete pads that the hive stands will bolt onto. The yard is also surrounded by vegetation to act as a natural wind break. The yard is also surrounded by an electric fence to keep the bears and other pests out.

I am sure that we will make plenty of rookie mistakes along the way but looking forward to working with these fascinating and awesome insects! Also looking forward to continuing my education in beekeeping here on this forum!

More to follow I am sure!

Sean

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massbee

· #2 · Feb 18, 2021

Hi Sean

welcome! Read everything you can get tour hands on and make some friends with local beekeepers as they can give you the best advice.
Good luck with the new venture!

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SeanHebein

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 18, 2021

massbee said:
Hi Sean

welcome! Read everything you can get tour hands on and make some friends with local beekeepers as they can give you the best advice.
Good luck with the new venture!

No doubt! Already got a few beekeepers local to the area that we are working with. The local experience is invaluable! Trying to avoid some expensive mistakes as much as possible haha!

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joebeewhisperer

· #4 · Feb 18, 2021

Good deal Sean, lots of good advice here.

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mtnmyke

· #5 · Feb 18, 2021

Welcome to the addition...I mean hobby!

You'll definitely make mistakes, but even us experienced guys do, they're just different and usually higher risk mistakes. As long as you're learning and moving forward you'll be just fine.

My top pointers for new beekeepers:

Focus on keeping the hive healthy. So many new keepers get so honey hungry they stress their bees out. Focus on healthy hives and you'll have more honey than you know what to do with.

TREAT FOR MITES! You won't see them, but they are there. Have a good plan for killing those 'destructors' and your success rates will skyrocket.

Find someone local who has had good success who can offer advice.

Have fun and we look forward to your journey!

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SeanHebein

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 18, 2021

mtnmyke said:
TREAT FOR MITES! You won't see them, but they are there. Have a good plan for killing those 'destructors' and your success rates will skyrocket.

Excellent advice and already got the equipment to do the vapor treatments.

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Vance G

· #7 · Feb 20, 2021

God loves people who take big bites! I was a total fool and started with 12 colonies and if I would have known better would have really been frightened! Find a mentor in your zip code for best results. I repeat that mentor should always have honey for sale and does not need to buy replacement bees! Hopefully that person won't see you as competition! Short advice list: Paint your equipment outside only as soon as you can and let it air out! Buy nucleus colonies rather than package bees. Get them as locally as possible. Get an oxalic acid vaporizer and treat for mites as soon as you get your bees. Learn how to do a sugar roll and check for mites and every few months monitor for varroa mites. They will cause you to fail. When you get your bees, feed your bees! When your bees are working on eight of your frames, put on another box if flowers are blooming or going to bloom. Good luck.

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joebeewhisperer

· #8 · Feb 20, 2021

Vance G said:
God loves people who take big bites! ...

This made me smile first thing this morning. Whole post was really good, really concise counsel.

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Litsinger

· #9 · Feb 24, 2021

Welcome to Beesource, Sean.

It sounds like you have an ambitious and well-thought-out plan, so I applaud you for that.

I also enjoyed reading how this effort will be an extension of your grandmother's legacy- beyond the intrinsic value of this memory, I imagine that this mandate might help you push past the hurdles and setbacks you will run into along the way (we all do- it's part of beekeeping).

Best of success to you in your efforts!

Russ

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SeanHebein

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 15, 2021

Hey everyone,

I created an Imgur gallery that shows the evolution of the bee yard. Feel free to take a look and let me know your thoughts!

http://imgur.com/a/4TVLZXi

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Rader Sidetrack

· #11 · Apr 16, 2021

SeanHebein said:
I created an Imgur gallery that shows the evolution of the bee yard. Feel free to take a look and let me know your thoughts!

Boy, those dogs are sure working hard!

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SeanHebein

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 16, 2021

Rader Sidetrack said:
Boy, those dogs are sure working hard!

The hardest workers!

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