Great timeline, as the freezing weather moves out its my plan to start some feeding and drawing foundations above a very strong colony in an Apimaye. My other colonies are just starting to increase brood rearing. Been experimenting with insulated hives and winter wraps, the downside is the cost. People keep asking how to overwinter a hive because my bees always pull through like a champ. I'm east of Bristol TN/VA.
I would love to see a video of how you move or cut out cells from a frame in a (breeder) hive after you pulled the queen. I always seem to cut the queen or smash them. I know this isn't your primary way of getting cells, but if you have tips or tricks they would be helpful.
Ya I think we all got a big surprise last year with everything being around two weeks early. It put us all in our toes . I popped a few tops today just to see if I had any dead outs from that cold snap an all looked great . Will check other yard tomorrow. Thanks
Great information here! Thank you. I think I’ll be rewatching this with a pen and notepad. Keep these videos coming for us northern beekeepers stuck inside. Take care!
I like the idea of a week by week plan to get through the spring. I’m in the Pacific Northwest so i’d need to adjust accordingly. We’re at least 2 weeks behind you, and our main honey flow up here is June, blackberries. I appreciate the content, and will be trying to adapt to our seasons and climate. Thanks!
Great description Ashby, love you are showing this inside your bee house. instead of in the yard. It allows me to focus better on the method. You are rapidly moving up my favorites list, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks for following along and watching. I know I was shooting from the hip, as many in the comments have said…. I know it’s hard to follow. But I tried to explain a complicated plan for 500 hives in a way to help smaller beeks make splits, stop swarming, and get a honey crop.
hey Ashby, met you at the Davidson County Bee club last week (John- Winston Salem area) and really enjoyed talking with you. Glad you did this video of the talk you gave as it is something I can now watch over again! Thanks again for the time and effort you are putting into educating folks in NC. Especially the newer beekeepers like myself who are trying to take in a lot of information and adjust to our area. Looking forward to picking up some bees in April!
John! It was great to meet you as well, and my pleasure to help educate. I hope I’m helping in some way! I figured making a video would allow people to review on their time and pace. If I can help let me know. If you want to order bees get on my list sooner than later. 336.693.4392! Thanks again for following along!
Thanks for this, I was going to revamp how I do my splits this year because of swarming being horrible. Now to watch about 10 more times, take notes and change dates and tweek it for Michigan. Keep up the great info!
I’m excited to split, hopefully, both of my hives this year! Still throwing around which way I want to go at this point. I’m going through winter with double deeps so I might split by pulling that top box and replacing it with foundation. Thanks for the videos!
Thank you for this excellent week-by-week breakdown. Clear and concise. We're almost exactly one month behind you as pollen hits our maples Mar 7th, and our main nectar flow typically peaks in June. Makes it super easy to follow your schedule...I'll keep the same "day", but just the month following. 🐝💛
Good talk brother! I do just about the same thing except I use double screens to but the queen in not a nuc. And I'm a week ahead of you here on the coast! Thanks, keep the videos coming!
What are your temperatures at in February when you start feeding. Im trying to set up a time line here in South East PA. Love the content keep up the good work.
Ashby, this is Bob Binnie (if not better) level of detail and practicality! Love it! I think it's your best video yet! I live in Charlotte with 14 hives coming out of winter. I'm set on following your schedule this season! It would be nice to have another video of summer/fall/Winter schedule, with same level of detail including treatment methods and products. I liked the idea of making cells by taking away parent queen. What is your experience on queen acceptance of rearing by taking parent queen away vs grafting? Also, approximately how many queen cells l can you get by taking away parent queen?
In my experience, where the cell comes from doesn’t affect queen acceptance. Usually you’ll get 10-15 cells from a strong colony. I hope my methods help you in being more successful. Best luck this season!
@@Ashby_Farms_NC I jumped the gun when my maples bloomed early and put small patties on, which they are inhaling. I'd like to start feeding in earnest 2/1. Thanks for your input.
Need some clarification. When you balance hives you want 5 frames of brood in the bottom. What about the top boxes? Do you move brood down from top boxes of you don't have enough in other hives to take from?
Swarm, swarming, swarmy, is what I heard. I never sell the comb needed to properly manage my own colonies. I only sell surplus comb. I don't draw comb out in the lower box for a number of reason, it is done in the honey supers. To maximize the honey flow for increased revenue $$$, a colony needs a certain amount of comb. Foundations in the broodness and no comb to store nectar cause swarming. This means that after I have the mandatory minimum of comb needed per colony making sure to not sell myself short, then I can sell the extra comb as nucs. So if last season all the colony's gave 1000 extra drawn frames above their minimum, I would have 1000 frames to sell from the brood nest as nucs. Hundreds of colonies don't allow time for checkerboarding foundation and chasing swarms. I can't tell you your minimum honey supers needed because it depends on how heavy your flow is, I need 3 supers minimum on a double deep colony, and that allows each colony to draw out 10 extract frames to sell next year. So to slightly modify your current routine, under super your foundation on the single that you said will have 8 brood, make it a double by placing the foundation ontop (put your feeder in with foundation) and place the excluder between the box of foundations and you honey. Pull your honey after the flow, then feed the colony heavy to finish drawing out the new foundation. This will simplify your life with less swarming, more honey to sell, and more comb for nuc sales next year. This runs your colonies at max revenue for your area. And forget that checkerboarding hobby beekeeping nonsense.
Good video. I'm over in snow camp not far from you. When do you last feed the Pollen Patties? Also when do you tend to first see hive beetles showing up? I didn't see them here last year until late July but I hadn't been feeding any pollen patties.
@ashbyfarmsnc6653 I thought you did a good job targeting the hobbyists you know lots of people think their way is the best way got to overlook some people
I don’t have any experience. We have Italians for many reasons…..my close second would be Bob Binnies Caucasian line. They’re very gentle and conservative with stores. They don’t build up as fast which would help with our long spring in stopping swarming.
@@Ashby_Farms_NC thanks, I had considered Bobs also but he doesn’t ship and it would be a long way for me to go just for several queens but probably worth it I’m sure. Thanks for your info! Good luck with your bees and God Bless!
This is great content. However I found it very difficult to follow. I would recommend writing all of this stuff down and then going off a script instead of jumping around so much. I shared this video with my father in law who has 2 years of keeping experience and he turned it off and said there was no way he could follow along. Either way, thanks for the video.
Great video! Definitely going to watch again, but with a pen and paper!
Awesome! Thank you!
Great timeline, as the freezing weather moves out its my plan to start some feeding and drawing foundations above a very strong colony in an Apimaye. My other colonies are just starting to increase brood rearing. Been experimenting with insulated hives and winter wraps, the downside is the cost. People keep asking how to overwinter a hive because my bees always pull through like a champ. I'm east of Bristol TN/VA.
Nice!
I would love to see a video of how you move or cut out cells from a frame in a (breeder) hive after you pulled the queen. I always seem to cut the queen or smash them. I know this isn't your primary way of getting cells, but if you have tips or tricks they would be helpful.
Thanks for the info. Man, your channel is getting out there now. Congratulations, keep it up
Thanks Gary!
Ya I think we all got a big surprise last year with everything being around two weeks early. It put us all in our toes . I popped a few tops today just to see if I had any dead outs from that cold snap an all looked great . Will check other yard tomorrow. Thanks
That’s always good news!
Great information here! Thank you. I think I’ll be rewatching this with a pen and notepad. Keep these videos coming for us northern beekeepers stuck inside. Take care!
I’m feelin stuck inside myself! Thanks for watching!
I like the idea of a week by week plan to get through the spring. I’m in the Pacific Northwest so i’d need to adjust accordingly. We’re at least 2 weeks behind you, and our main honey flow up here is June, blackberries. I appreciate the content, and will be trying to adapt to our seasons and climate. Thanks!
Hope it was helpful! It’s just an outline of how we get through spring. Hopefully it’ll help others be more successful.
Enjoyed the video but I’m gonna have to watch it a few more times…little confused. But I’ll get it thanks for teaching.
Yes. I knew making a video would allow people to
Learn the concepts at their pace on their time. Best luck. Hope it helps!
Great description Ashby, love you are showing this inside your bee house. instead of in the yard. It allows me to focus better on the method.
You are rapidly moving up my favorites list, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks for following along and watching. I know I was shooting from the hip, as many in the comments have said…. I know it’s hard to follow. But I tried to explain a complicated plan for 500 hives in a way to help smaller beeks make splits, stop swarming, and get a honey crop.
hey Ashby, met you at the Davidson County Bee club last week (John- Winston Salem area) and really enjoyed talking with you. Glad you did this video of the talk you gave as it is something I can now watch over again! Thanks again for the time and effort you are putting into educating folks in NC. Especially the newer beekeepers like myself who are trying to take in a lot of information and adjust to our area. Looking forward to picking up some bees in April!
John! It was great to meet you as well, and my pleasure to help educate. I hope I’m helping in some way! I figured making a video would allow people to review on their time and pace. If I can help let me know. If you want to order bees get on my list sooner than later. 336.693.4392! Thanks again for following along!
Hey Ashby, you got me on your list that evening at the meeting. Thanks!
Shooo! A lot of good information! Gonna have to watch it a few more times!
I knew it was. And I was shooting off the cuff. But either way it explains the concept
I'm familiar with the process but this is the first time i saw anyone take splits, will watch again and incorporate this in my planning this year.
Hope it helps ya! Thanks for watching
Thanks for this, I was going to revamp how I do my splits this year because of swarming being horrible. Now to watch about 10 more times, take notes and change dates and tweek it for Michigan. Keep up the great info!
I realize it was kinda scatterbrained in hindsight, but the message was there. Hope it helps ya!
Excluder for making splits is the way to go. Makes things so much more efficient the next day.
You aren’t kidding. I had to learn that the hard way
I live in Scotland so I go with the English just like the fly fishing method fly’s for March we get in April we’re always a month late or behind
Odd weather across the pond
I’m excited to split, hopefully, both of my hives this year! Still throwing around which way I want to go at this point. I’m going through winter with double deeps so I might split by pulling that top box and replacing it with foundation. Thanks for the videos!
Go for it and best luck!
Appreciate you sharing your timeline and strategy.
My pleasure!
Thank you for this excellent week-by-week breakdown. Clear and concise. We're almost exactly one month behind you as pollen hits our maples Mar 7th, and our main nectar flow typically peaks in June. Makes it super easy to follow your schedule...I'll keep the same "day", but just the month following. 🐝💛
Fantastic. Hope this helps you be more successful!
where R U located @highlanderhoneybee?
Great info, thanks for the week by week breakdown. I'll try this method on some of my colonies this year and see how it goes.
Hope it helps! It’s just how we do it. Best luck
Excellent refresher... Thanks for the Video
You’re welcome. Best luck this year!
thanks a lot for this Video
You are most welcome
Good talk brother! I do just about the same thing except I use double screens to but the queen in not a nuc. And I'm a week ahead of you here on the coast! Thanks, keep the videos coming!
I do love some double screen boards!
Very informative video. Even though some of my management practices are a little different, There's lots of great info/tips I can use!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Are you going to the NC Conference? Great explanation, I better get ready!
We went to NAHBE and aren’t planning to at this time
Not a beekeepers shop, how can you tell, there's still room to move around lol.
🤣🤣🤣love this comment. You should see behind the camera
Hey Ashley, miss you at nabe.Great video we just have tlearn when to start in our time zone. Thank you
You are so welcome!
What are your temperatures at in February when you start feeding. Im trying to set up a time line here in South East PA. Love the content keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching! Usually 25-30° nights and 45-55° during the day
Looking forward to your visit to Gaston BK next week!
Can you bring some sourwood with you?
Sure. Shoot me a text and let me know how much you’d like
Ashby, this is Bob Binnie (if not better) level of detail and practicality! Love it! I think it's your best video yet! I live in Charlotte with 14 hives coming out of winter. I'm set on following your schedule this season! It would be nice to have another video of summer/fall/Winter schedule, with same level of detail including treatment methods and products.
I liked the idea of making cells by taking away parent queen. What is your experience on queen acceptance of rearing by taking parent queen away vs grafting? Also, approximately how many queen cells l can you get by taking away parent queen?
In my experience, where the cell comes from doesn’t affect queen acceptance. Usually you’ll get 10-15 cells from a strong colony. I hope my methods help you in being more successful. Best luck this season!
look at this video, I think it may have went thru the summer time frame. ua-cam.com/video/T_mU6jjZQ6Q/v-deo.html
I've got dozens of capped syrup frames from fall feeding. What's the best way to use those up, and I do I prevent syrup from getting in my honey?
Use them as food frames in your splits. Make sure they end up next to the brood nest so it gets consumed during spring build up.
Thank Ashby. Great content! Being just south of Charlotte, do you think I could begin a week earlier?
That sounds about right. You’ll know once you get into the colonies.
@@Ashby_Farms_NC I jumped the gun when my maples bloomed early and put small patties on, which they are inhaling. I'd like to start feeding in earnest 2/1. Thanks for your input.
Need some clarification. When you balance hives you want 5 frames of brood in the bottom. What about the top boxes? Do you move brood down from top boxes of you don't have enough in other hives to take from?
Exactly, leaving 5 frames of brood in the bottom and 2 frames of eggs up top.
What growing Zone are you in please, what is your trigger that starts your first inspections. Thanks
he's in 8a since the zones changed this year.
We are right on the line of 7b/8a. I’m looking for Red Maple blooms as my kick off
@@Ashby_Farms_NC I am in the UK Zone 7, and my birthday is Feb 7.. We have had a very mild and wet winter here. Good omen me thinks.
Swarm, swarming, swarmy, is what I heard. I never sell the comb needed to properly manage my own colonies. I only sell surplus comb. I don't draw comb out in the lower box for a number of reason, it is done in the honey supers. To maximize the honey flow for increased revenue $$$, a colony needs a certain amount of comb. Foundations in the broodness and no comb to store nectar cause swarming. This means that after I have the mandatory minimum of comb needed per colony making sure to not sell myself short, then I can sell the extra comb as nucs. So if last season all the colony's gave 1000 extra drawn frames above their minimum, I would have 1000 frames to sell from the brood nest as nucs. Hundreds of colonies don't allow time for checkerboarding foundation and chasing swarms. I can't tell you your minimum honey supers needed because it depends on how heavy your flow is, I need 3 supers minimum on a double deep colony, and that allows each colony to draw out 10 extract frames to sell next year. So to slightly modify your current routine, under super your foundation on the single that you said will have 8 brood, make it a double by placing the foundation ontop (put your feeder in with foundation) and place the excluder between the box of foundations and you honey. Pull your honey after the flow, then feed the colony heavy to finish drawing out the new foundation. This will simplify your life with less swarming, more honey to sell, and more comb for nuc sales next year. This runs your colonies at max revenue for your area. And forget that checkerboarding hobby beekeeping nonsense.
Thanks!
@@Ashby_Farms_NC you will more than triple your honey crop with comb.
Good video. I'm over in snow camp not far from you. When do you last feed the Pollen Patties? Also when do you tend to first see hive beetles showing up? I didn't see them here last year until late July but I hadn't been feeding any pollen patties.
July is about right for shb. I feed pollen sun as long as I want them to grow. If they need to slow down I skip the patty
Perfect time great job plentiful critics 😅
I was shooting from the hip. I admit it is a bit scatterbrained but I got it all in there. Figured I’d share what we do, and hopefully help others.
@ashbyfarmsnc6653 I thought you did a good job targeting the hobbyists you know lots of people think their way is the best way got to overlook some people
What breed bees do you like the best ? I’m thinking on getting some carniolan to try what’s your thoughts on them?
I don’t have any experience. We have Italians for many reasons…..my close second would be Bob Binnies Caucasian line. They’re very gentle and conservative with stores. They don’t build up as fast which would help with our long spring in stopping swarming.
@@Ashby_Farms_NC thanks, I had considered Bobs also but he doesn’t ship and it would be a long way for me to go just for several queens but probably worth it I’m sure. Thanks for your info! Good luck with your bees and God Bless!
When do your first trees(maples) come into bloom. Trying to adjust your dates for my climate in Ohio
Maples come in around 2/7
Do u have natural pollen & nectar sources coming in on Feb 7 ?
Usually our Red Maples are popping right about then. It helps in conjunction with our supplemental feeding.
This is great content. However I found it very difficult to follow. I would recommend writing all of this stuff down and then going off a script instead of jumping around so much. I shared this video with my father in law who has 2 years of keeping experience and he turned it off and said there was no way he could follow along.
Either way, thanks for the video.
Noted!