I recently took over some old organic gardens that were abandoned for an entire season (year?). I used to work there, so I have some knowledge of what's growing, etc.

The woman who left was a beekeeper. There are still two hives there, and the bees appear to be there too. I am slowly starting to read up on honey production and I want them to stay to pollinate my gardens, etc. and maybe so I can add honey to my CSA shares next year. But I had only a couple forays to help take care of the bees when I worked for her, and I'm not sure where to start the cleaning/caretaking process.

Any suggestions?

I know nothing about bees, but just wanted to say hi, welcome and good luck with the honey endeavor!

Thank you!

I have been here before as Dragonfly Farms and Flying Tomato, but I can never remember my dang password. I'm killing some office hours in the most productive way possible...

I need some more info here. What do you mean by abandoned hives? Did the bees or the prior owner of the property abandon them? ?:|

If bees are still present and the hive boxes still have all of their frames intact then the bees should take care of any cleaning.

As for the equipment and literiture you would need, I believe that one of the best places to look would be www.betterbee.com. But you should be sure the owner has fully abandoned the hives before you take them over. They may have been forgotten.

ya gotta write it down, and make it simple! but not too simple...

Mine is obscene! ]

Whenever I am asked for a password, I curse trying to remember--then realize, OH YEAH! I just said it! Makes it real easy.


Had to talk to somebody in the customer service department of the company thru' which I have my credit card recently. They've instituted passwords lately, that you have to have to access info on the account. When the customer service rep abruptly started laughing I knew he'd been about to ask for the password and had seen it on the screen! Didn't even have to give the password, just told the man, Yup, that's my password all right!

I am glad this post popped up. I have been thinking of bees lately. It seems like we don't have as many bees as we used to have. I was even thinking a trying to find a bee keeper to put some hives on my property so the bees will help do some pollinating around here. Where have all the bees gone?
owl

contact your co-operative county extension agent and tell them you want to contact the Bee inspector. They will give you the inspector's contact info. than call and tell that person you are a new beekeeper who has inherited old hives. The inspector will likely set up an appointment to inspect your hives ($5 in Ohio and required by law in all states). He/she will come out and look at the frames and give yopu pointers on bee keeping.

A subscription to Bee Culture Magazine is also a good information source though they are heavy on the chemicals for prevention of insects and diseases.

There are some good bee keeping group on the web. I know gardenweb.com has at least one bee forum. yahoogroups probably has 10+ bee groups.

Congrats on the inheritance! That is WAY cool! Bees are really easy to tend and need very little upkeep. The most work comes when you extract the honey and that is usually no more than two times per summer.

I am starting my first hive this year and my father has been a hobby beekeeper for about 7 years now. It is a very exciting process and the honey is priceless to have. It makes wonderful bartering currency and great for gifts. If you have enough hives you can easily sell it at a local farmer's market. You will have beeswax to make candles, salves, and soap - it is really easy to filter to prepare for use.

I have a great book called The New Complete Guide to Beekeeping by Roger A. Morse. It has enough information but not too much if you are just a hobby beekeeper. Of course you can delve in as deeply as you want. I am going to try and be as organic as possible, but know that will be a challenge.

Honey bees are rarely present in the wild anymore because of diseases. Beekeepers use antibiotics and other treatments to prevent their colonies from being decimated and maintain the bee population as we know it. It is essential that we support this practice since it appears, for now, that this is the only way to help the honey bee survive.

Honey bees have been decimated by a bee mite for about 5 years. We lost our honey bees to it. That's why you don't see many honey bees around anymore. Most of the pollination in my garden has been done by bumble bees. Until the wild bees develop an immunity or the government develops a treatment for it we will have a shortage of honey bees. :0(

I'd like to have my own apiary, but I only have about an acre of land. Its in the city so its kept mowed. I don't think there would be enough for the bees to live on and feed me at the same time.

One acre of land is more than enough to keep bees. You would be surprised at the amount of pollen and nectar that the bees would be able to gather in the city, trees are a major source. If you really want bees, give it a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Well, I have to admit, there are alot of low-growing dandylions in my yards and the ones around it. I've never been one to try and get rid of everything but grass in my yards. As long as its trimmed, I've always just let whatever wants to grow just spread out. I'll look into it. I'm not sure if I can afford it this year, but we'll see.

We have bees on our farm and are in the process of helping them "wake up" after the winter. It's only our second season with them, so we're still quite "green" at it but we're learning fast. Here's what's on our agenda, and some equipment that we'll need. Maybe this will help you figure out what you'll need/need to do.

Equipment:
- smoker
- beesuit (ours are white coveralls, keep them as clean as you can and free of stinky sweat smell / BO ... it aggravates the bees)
- hat and veil
- hive tool - it looks like a short, flat crow-bar. Absolutely necessary for prying apart supers, frames etc. without jarring them and making the bees mad.
- gloves (mostly for when we start harvesting the honey)
- extra supers (the boxes that make up the hive) and frames with foundation in them. We'll start adding supers once the hives start making/storing up a bunch of honey

Plans for the next month or so:
- monitor the sugar syrup we're feeding them. It's getting warm out but things aren't blooming much yet. This is often the time when hives die (from what I understand) because they've used up their honey stores and can't make any new honey yet.
- remove the tar-paper winter wrappings once the temps are above 50F (which is happening this week!!) and they've stopped "balling up" to keep warm.
- take out the entrance reducers (made the entrance to the hive smaller to keep it warmer in winter).
- remove any mice that have made their homes in the hives over the winter (or just let the bees sting them to death while you watch... weird).
- watch for egg-laying activity... a sign the queen is present and active and an indication that the bees are going to be gathering/needing nectar or syrup until the honey flows.
- medicate for mites (we're using formic acid... don't know what you can use where you are).

As for cleaning, the bees do a good job of that on their own. They're quite meticulous about it. You'll just need to remove any overwintering things (straw, tar-paper etc.) so they don't over heat in the summer.

In Ontario we have a provincial beekeepers association that offers help and advice and with whom we have to register. I'm sure your state would have the same type of thing for you.

Hope that helps! Have a wonderful beekeeping season and enjoy the honey!