Any beekeepers in the house?

[bluecollar2]

I'm going to put some hives in my tropical fruit grove this year. I have joined a local beekeepers association and have arranged with a local comercial beekeeper to put in some hives in a couple of months .

We've decided on a suitable location and he's agreed to let me "train on the job" when he comes to inspect/monitor the hives.

Basically, he's getting out of the business and looking for good homes for his bees.

I think it will be beneficial to have the pollinators on site.

I still have to figure out what to plant to help keep them fed when the trees aren't flowering.

I cross posted this in the farm/ rural life

[Dale Neiburg]

1. Where I am, the deciduous trees are one of the first things to flower.

I expect to see the first of it in about a month, or a little over. If you're growing tropical fruit it sounds as though you're farther south, so you might have food sources (wild if not domesticated) available year-round. Your local pro and local association should be your best resources.

[bluecollar2]

6. Generally we have food sources

Year round.

When the trees aren't blooming there are plenty of nurseries in the area.

The county extension and local beekeepers association are very helpful.

[Major Nikon]

2. My dad was an amateur beekeeper

We had 14 hives at one time, all in the same spot. Fruit trees typically don't flow for that long, so the bees are always going to need other sources of nutrition. In most areas in the US this predominately comes from clover. I wouldn't worry too much about planting anything for the bees. They are very good at finding and using whatever is available and assuming you're tending your hives regularly, you'll know how much they are finding based on how much honey is produced and how fast the hive is expanding. If the hive expands faster than you can expand their space, they will swarm which is a sure fire way to piss off your neighbors.

[bluecollar2]

7. No close neighbors

We're in an agricultural area with other groves and nurseries nearby.

Keeping an eye on hive balance is obviously going to be the key.

[marble falls]

3. My son has a bee keeping business in the mid west with distributors out in the west and south west..

pm me if you'd like his website address, he is a featured speaker at bee keeping conventions about bee die-off issues.

[bluecollar2]

10. Pm sent

[TlalocW]

4. Bees will travel several miles to get pollen

So if they don't like what you're giving them, they'll find what they need.

[bluecollar2]

9. Shouldn't be too far..

Multiple nurseries and orchards in the area.

[Nitram]

5. If you have the space, plant a wildflower and native grasses meadow.

I replaced 10,000 square feet of lawn with a meadow and it attracts countless pollinators and seed-eating birds. Choose flowering species that bloom at different times of year so there will usually be a source of pollen.

[bluecollar2]

8. The plan is to do just that in sections

Of the grove not dedicated to production.

I'm hoping to "crowd out" nuisance grasses that have to be mowed in favour of native plants and grasses that are polinator friendly.

[hibbing]

11. That sounds awesome

I'm looking to get rid of most of my urban lawn and do a mini prairie with native grasses and wildflowers.


Peace