[Marc]

Maybe someone can help me. I remember having seen pictures on here about Mike Palmer's nuc set-up for overwintering his nucs. Of course, now I can't find them anymore.

I found the pictures of his wrapped hives with the nucs on top, but I am looking for the pictures that show what it looks like before being wrapped. The pics i remember seeing on here illustrated how he uses the inner covers to separate the nucs from his production hives. He explains the set-up in several threads, but that one with the pictures I remember seeing shows the whole inner cover right side up next to inner cover upside down thinggy quite nicely. Does anybody else remember seeing it. I am trying to explain it to a few fellow beekeepers and a pic will make the whole procedure MUCH easier...

Thanks in advance for you help.
Marc

 

[Aspera]

I recently reread MP's posts on making nucs and creating cell starters and it convinced me that I need to find more of Kirk Webster's and Brother Adam's writings. Of course, I am using all mediums in southeastern PA, with varroa, which changes things a bit

 

[deknow]

http://picasaweb.google.com/Dean.Ramona/ConferenceAndAfter#
...the double nucs don't have separate inner covers (both mike and kirk use feed bag inner covers for this), but mike also has 4 frame boxes that essentially are "supers" for each half of the double nuc, which is where you saw the inner covers.

in any case, there are a number of photos of both kirk and mike's setups in the above posted gallery, and both are speaking (and doing a hands on "how to make up overwintering nucs" workshop[) at the Northeast Treatment Free Beekeeping Conference at the end of the month.

deknow

 

[Marc]

Thanks deknow. I remember seeing those pictures, they are unfortunately not what I was looking for. The pictures I remember seeing show Mike Palmer's setup of stacking one deep hives on top of production colonies in the fall with essentially two inner covers between them. The bottom inner cover is right-side up as the inner cover of the bottom production hive, while the second inner cover is upside down as the "bottom-board" so to speak of the single deep hive above. I am pretty sure I have it down how he does it, but try to explain that to someone else with just two hands, arms and no pictures...

 

[Michael Palmer]

Thanks deknow. I remember seeing those pictures, they are unfortunately not what I was looking for. The pictures I remember seeing show Mike Palmer's setup of stacking one deep hives on top of production colonies in the fall with essentially two inner covers between them. The bottom inner cover is right-side up as the inner cover of the bottom production hive, while the second inner cover is upside down as the "bottom-board" so to speak of the single deep hive above. I am pretty sure I have it down how he does it, but try to explain that to someone else with just two hands, arms and no pictures...

Marc, you have it right. The first photo is from the rear of the production colony. It's inner cover is rim down with an entrance notch for winter. The second inner is rim up and notch to the rear of the hive. That's the single's bottom board and bottom entrance. In both, the escape hole is taped closed so there is no communication between production colony and single story colony. Another inner is on top of the single. That provides the single with an upper entrance and allows for good air flow and escape of excess moisture in winter.

The second photo is after wrapping. Production colony has one wrapper and single another so the entire stack doesn't have to be unwrapped to check for feed in spring.

 

[Marc]

Mike, those are the pictures I remember seeing! Thanks a lot!!