Beginner beekeeper, that’s me. We have our first official farm “animal”; BEES! Our first box of bees arrived and have been set up. This will be my first year raising bees.
Bees are so cute, aren’t they? They just do their busy little bee thing. Full disclosure, I haven’t had any scary experiences with bees yet. All the bees I have “seen to” have been happy and very calm. I feel pretty comfortable around them. I love the quiet buzzing sound of the girls just going about their day to day business.
Brood Box Setup
When the bees arrived, my sister and I found a quiet spot, in mostly full sun, to place the bees. The brood box, the box with the bees nest, was set up on concrete blocks. The brood box came with 4 full frames of baby bees, so to help the hive get a good strong start we put a feeder on top of the brood box. You can make your own bee feed it is nothing more than a 1:1 organic sugar to filtered water mixture.
I don’t want to disturb and bother the bees but I can’t help hiking out there and taking a peek to make sure they are still happy and foraging. I let them get familiar with their new stomping grounds for two weeks before opening everything up and checking on their progress. You should check your bees every few weeks to get familiar with them.
Beginner Beekeeper Equipment
Getting into beekeeping can be quite an upfront expense. You can get started with just a few items. I bought the bare essentials to get started because the price can add up quickly! I bought a beekeeping jacket and kid gloves, a smoker, and a hive tool. This equipment was enough to get you through your fist hive inspection. I need to add a bee brush and a second beekeeping jacket so one of my kids or my husband can help me.
First Solo Hive Inspection
My first solo inspection was a success, I didn’t get stung. The girls remained calm, like they didn’t even realize I was there. I removed the feeder because I have seven and a half frames of bees working. We have had an incredible spring this year with lots of rain and lots of flowers. I’m going to try my luck and put a honey super box on top of the brood box. A honey super is a smaller box that the bees will store honey in. If things stay green around here we may get a little honey….yummy!
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