Started last year and thoroughly enjoying it. Going from 2 to ten hives this year. Don’t really know what I’m doing but learning is a lot of fun! If I’m successful then I’ll get some honey.
Thank you for sharing your journey! It’s inspiring to see others dive into beekeeping and enjoy the learning process. Wishing you all the best with your hives this year! And I first started keeping bees with my dad as a boy, and I have days that I don't really feel like I know what I am doing too! Hope you get hone this spring!
I think you will regret going from two hives to ten in your second year. I recommend growing by one hive a year so you have time to learn. I have been keeping bees for thirty years and I have a dozen hives. It is a lot of work to take care of that may hives. In September of this past year I was so busy with taking care of my bees that is was a full time job (I'm retired). The more hives you have, the more beekeeping will seem like work and the less it will be fun. Concentrate on learning how to get the most honey from your hives, how to control swarming, how to deal with disease and parasites, how to harvest a honey crop, how to process beeswax, how to market products of the hive, how to make use of bait hives, etc. It takes years to get good at all the different aspects of beekeeping.
Thank you for sharing your extensive experience with beekeeping! Your advice on taking a gradual approach to expanding hive numbers is invaluable, and I appreciate the insight into the challenges that come with managing multiple hives. I usually recommend tripling as the MOST in a year, ie 1 hive to 3, or 3 hives to 9.... only problem with my advice is when the numbers get bigger!
I’d say go up to 6 max. Bob Bonnie says it best. Tripling your hives each year is the max. Growth most can probably handle. Your numbers will go up and down but I recommend the first few years starting with a couple then go with about 5 the next year, then 10-12. Burn out and inexperience can cause people to crash and burn and a steady increase definitely reduces stress
I've been doing beekeeping most of my life (I'm 68) on and off. What I've seen the most with beginners they gets a couple of hives, split the hives, do more splits, then they blow their backs out moving them, and they quit.
I really appreciate you sharing your perspective! It’s always great to hear from someone with so much experience. Your advice will definitely help newcomers avoid some common pitfalls.
That's an interesting coincidence! Beekeeping can be a rewarding adventure, but it's good to weigh the pros and cons first. Glad you found the video helpful!
I've kept bees for 25 years. It's now time to look at getting out. The insecticides in our area are just brutal. Killing hives is a regular issue and it's frustrating
Thank you for sharing your experience! Your dedication to beekeeping for so long is inspiring. You raise a real issue we are all facing. That and mites are making this harder.
I started 2 years ago. At the time i thought a good hive would produce around 5 pounds of honey. I got 2 hives because that's all i was going to need. I mean 10 pounds of honey is plenty. Somehow i now have 12 hives and hundreds od pounds of honey that i don't know what im going to do with i have no interest in setting up a stand or something. Lol. Ill figure it out i guess
@@richardrbrynerjr.7912 That's one bee related product I've never made. Wish I could point you in the right direction ... I know there's a lot of UA-cam videos on making mead.
I could offer a sixth reason not to start beekeeping in 2025. It requires lots of space. You need space for the apiary, for the extracting equipment that you only use a few weeks a year, for the extra supers when they are not on the hives, for the smoker and its fuel, for the medications, for the empty containers you will fill with honey someday, for the extra frames and foundation, for your solar wax melter, for the deadout hives, for the queen excluders, for the quilt boxes, for the robbing screens, feeding jars, for the hive top feeders, for the 50 pound bags of sugar, for your regular beesuit, for your hot weather beesuit, for your tool box, for the wax you will melt down someday, for the warming box to decrystallize honey, for the chest freezer to protect combs, etc.
You make a valid point! Beekeeping definitely requires a lot of space and organization. It’s essential to consider all the equipment and supplies needed before diving in.
Hard work and low profit. A farmers dream. Thanks to everyone with the courage to keep bees. I am seeing much better quality in the wild bees and I believe this is due to many new types of bees being kept by hobbyists. I love the Russian genetics but they aren't for beginners. The hybrids flight mated for a couple of generations are awesome. Genetic diversity is something that was lacking in the 80s and 90s
Thank you for sharing your insights! It's great to hear about the improvements in wild bee quality and the positive impact of hobbyists on genetic diversity. Your passion for bees shines through!
Bee addict here too. Wanted couple hives as my dad had bees when i was young. Caught swarms was given used equipment from guys that were downsizing finished my 3rd year had 30 hives last summer went into winter with 25 and all are still alive. NEED TO DOWNSIZE for time reasons maybe get down to 12 😁
Its hard to not add 'just one more' isnt it? I'm in the similar boat ... If my hives makes it through winter ok, next year I am going to try to control my urge.
Beekeeping is getting bloody expensive, when you compare pre Covid prices to post Covid prices of bee keeping hardware it is enough to discourage you. Was lucky to buy my own lumber and make my own frames, bottom board and hives. But if you are going into in now with lots of arsenal sheessh gonna cost ya.
Sorry..I keep top bar hives..they’re inexpensive to build they are a natural fit for bees. I’ve kept bees in top bars in Montana in great falls with severe weather. . So I find your presentation sort of one sided. Oh… I’ve kept langstroth hives also. And since you’re a supplier..of course you don’t promote alternative hives. But I want to say thanks for your presentation..newbie Ned to know
Good point! I actually keep one top bar hive in my yard, and love it. Harder to extract quantities of honey, but fun to manage. ( I actually don't sell bee equipment). Thanks for mentioning this option. Top Bars are an option to save some money!
I love your comment! Knowledge is the real honey in beekeeping! So true everything is expensive. I teach beginners classes and I mentioned cost b/c I want people to know up front its not like keeping a goldfish when it comes to costs. :)
Started last year and thoroughly enjoying it. Going from 2 to ten hives this year. Don’t really know what I’m doing but learning is a lot of fun! If I’m successful then I’ll get some honey.
Thank you for sharing your journey! It’s inspiring to see others dive into beekeeping and enjoy the learning process. Wishing you all the best with your hives this year! And I first started keeping bees with my dad as a boy, and I have days that I don't really feel like I know what I am doing too! Hope you get hone this spring!
I think you will regret going from two hives to ten in your second year. I recommend growing by one hive a year so you have time to learn. I have been keeping bees for thirty years and I have a dozen hives. It is a lot of work to take care of that may hives. In September of this past year I was so busy with taking care of my bees that is was a full time job (I'm retired). The more hives you have, the more beekeeping will seem like work and the less it will be fun. Concentrate on learning how to get the most honey from your hives, how to control swarming, how to deal with disease and parasites, how to harvest a honey crop, how to process beeswax, how to market products of the hive, how to make use of bait hives, etc. It takes years to get good at all the different aspects of beekeeping.
Thank you for sharing your extensive experience with beekeeping! Your advice on taking a gradual approach to expanding hive numbers is invaluable, and I appreciate the insight into the challenges that come with managing multiple hives. I usually recommend tripling as the MOST in a year, ie 1 hive to 3, or 3 hives to 9.... only problem with my advice is when the numbers get bigger!
Bees will out run you if you're not careful.
I’d say go up to 6 max. Bob Bonnie says it best. Tripling your hives each year is the max. Growth most can probably handle. Your numbers will go up and down but I recommend the first few years starting with a couple then go with about 5 the next year, then 10-12. Burn out and inexperience can cause people to crash and burn and a steady increase definitely reduces stress
I've been doing beekeeping most of my life (I'm 68) on and off. What I've seen the most with beginners they gets a couple of hives, split the hives, do more splits, then they blow their backs out moving them, and they quit.
I really appreciate you sharing your perspective! It’s always great to hear from someone with so much experience. Your advice will definitely help newcomers avoid some common pitfalls.
Such a coincedent. I would like to start beekeeping in 2025. Thank you for the video.
That's an interesting coincidence! Beekeeping can be a rewarding adventure, but it's good to weigh the pros and cons first. Glad you found the video helpful!
@@HoneyTopBees Thank you.
I've kept bees for 25 years. It's now time to look at getting out. The insecticides in our area are just brutal. Killing hives is a regular issue and it's frustrating
Thank you for sharing your experience! Your dedication to beekeeping for so long is inspiring. You raise a real issue we are all facing. That and mites are making this harder.
I started 2 years ago. At the time i thought a good hive would produce around 5 pounds of honey. I got 2 hives because that's all i was going to need. I mean 10 pounds of honey is plenty. Somehow i now have 12 hives and hundreds od pounds of honey that i don't know what im going to do with i have no interest in setting up a stand or something. Lol. Ill figure it out i guess
@@richardvogel1195 it's kind of addicting isn't it?
Honey wanted here! I make a lot of mead$$
@@richardrbrynerjr.7912 That's one bee related product I've never made. Wish I could point you in the right direction ... I know there's a lot of UA-cam videos on making mead.
Christmas, weddings, birthdays,Valentines day, (not new Born's, wait a year) my wife had a great times building packages!
I could offer a sixth reason not to start beekeeping in 2025. It requires lots of space. You need space for the apiary, for the extracting equipment that you only use a few weeks a year, for the extra supers when they are not on the hives, for the smoker and its fuel, for the medications, for the empty containers you will fill with honey someday, for the extra frames and foundation, for your solar wax melter, for the deadout hives, for the queen excluders, for the quilt boxes, for the robbing screens, feeding jars, for the hive top feeders, for the 50 pound bags of sugar, for your regular beesuit, for your hot weather beesuit, for your tool box, for the wax you will melt down someday, for the warming box to decrystallize honey, for the chest freezer to protect combs, etc.
You make a valid point! Beekeeping definitely requires a lot of space and organization. It’s essential to consider all the equipment and supplies needed before diving in.
Hard work and low profit. A farmers dream. Thanks to everyone with the courage to keep bees. I am seeing much better quality in the wild bees and I believe this is due to many new types of bees being kept by hobbyists. I love the Russian genetics but they aren't for beginners. The hybrids flight mated for a couple of generations are awesome. Genetic diversity is something that was lacking in the 80s and 90s
Thank you for sharing your insights! It's great to hear about the improvements in wild bee quality and the positive impact of hobbyists on genetic diversity. Your passion for bees shines through!
You’re too late getting nucleus hives on the 15 of march
Bee addict here too. Wanted couple hives as my dad had bees when i was young. Caught swarms was given used equipment from guys that were downsizing finished my 3rd year had 30 hives last summer went into winter with 25 and all are still alive. NEED TO DOWNSIZE for time reasons maybe get down to 12
😁
Its hard to not add 'just one more' isnt it? I'm in the similar boat ... If my hives makes it through winter ok, next year I am going to try to control my urge.
Beekeeping is getting bloody expensive, when you compare pre Covid prices to post Covid prices of bee keeping hardware it is enough to discourage you. Was lucky to buy my own lumber and make my own frames, bottom board and hives. But if you are going into in now with lots of arsenal sheessh gonna cost ya.
True, it’s like bees have become the new gold! But hey, if you can build your own hives, that’s a sweet way to save some honey on costs!
I really liked the video. The camera zooming/etc was really obnoxious, please don't do it again. Thanks for the video!
thanks for the feedback.
Sorry..I keep top bar hives..they’re inexpensive to build they are a natural fit for bees. I’ve kept bees in top bars in Montana in great falls with severe weather. . So I find your presentation sort of one sided. Oh… I’ve kept langstroth hives also. And since you’re a supplier..of course you don’t promote alternative hives.
But I want to say thanks for your presentation..newbie Ned to know
Good point! I actually keep one top bar hive in my yard, and love it. Harder to extract quantities of honey, but fun to manage. ( I actually don't sell bee equipment). Thanks for mentioning this option. Top Bars are an option to save some money!
Not wasted time with the knowledge I've gained in 8 months.
Expensive..yes a bit, but compared to what?
I love your comment! Knowledge is the real honey in beekeeping! So true everything is expensive. I teach beginners classes and I mentioned cost b/c I want people to know up front its not like keeping a goldfish when it comes to costs. :)