Rams, I did it for 3 years. Lost 3 hives to weather and ignorance.
It's a great hobby, but can take a lot of your time and sometimes you have to work on the hive "right now".
Contact you're local county agriculture board as Mike suggested. Also tons of reading material available with conflicting advice. You gotta read through and decide what's best for you.
It can be costly to get all the equipment needed and actually you'll spend more than if you bought local honey for your own use. I built my own hive from scrap lumber I had and bought the frames and assembled them.
But it's very satisfying to sit at the hive and watch the girls work.
It's a commitment, but one that pays off in both great honey and personal achievement.
When I decide to slow down, I may start another hive.
Thanks for that insight. We really don't care about harvesting any honey, we are more interested in the pollination activities for our flowering plants and garden.
My next door neighbor did it. One day he called me over there to
look at this door-sized six or eight inch thick "thing" he had standing
over there. We opened the door and there were the bees and the honey,
behind plexiglass, you could see everything.
I don't know how long that lasted. He had regular hive boxes over
there for a few years before that, and he gave us a jar of honey
every now and then.
So... best to see if you can get your neighbor to do all the work
...
-Mike
Based on our goals, having a neighbor like that is exactly what would be preferable.
Rams
