I'm looking to get started Beekeeping with a couple colonies in the spring but I am torn between top bar hives and the other box style hives... Can I get some opinions for both??? I am not looking to keep my bees on my 5 acres and I am surrounded by farmland and we do a small amount of gardening and have many flowering plants both domestic and wild.
Thanks in advance!!!
D
Sorry... I have a typo in that post... I AM going to keep my bees at home... I do not plan to farm them out.
Thanks
Hi David,
At our BeeManiacs yard, we have experimented with many kinds of hive setups.
For the beginning beekeeper, we recommend standard (Langstroth) equipment.
We only recommend different setups for experienced beekeepers, since it's harder to keep bees on hives with the other configurations (top bar, Warre, etc.).
There is more versatility, documentation, availability of mentors, etc. on traditional Langstroth hardware.
You still have options on Langstroth, as to how many frames per box or box sizes you would want to use.
We have more information in this educational module:
https://www.beemaniacs.com/education/beekeeping-equipment/
So I've gone through all your beginner courses and they are GREAT!!! Tons of good info! I was wondering if uall do any hands on training???
Let me know please!
Thanks!
Hi David,
We are glad that you liked the material currently available! We are planning on adding more before the beekeeping season starts.
Every year we do hands on training on our bee yard, in coordination with the Backyard Beekeepers Association.
But since COVID, all in person and hands-on activities have been suspended (since 2020).
Based on current COVID infection rates, vaccination speed, and WA State restrictions, we are not going to be able to host any hands-on training in 2021 season.
We are pretty sure will be able to resume hands on training in 2022.
We encourage all beekeepers to post any questions in this forum si we can provide as much support as possible.