Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

MEMBER BULLETIN BOARD => GREETINGS/TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF => Topic started by: Water Hunter on January 10, 2009, 08:56:02 am

Title: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: Water Hunter on January 10, 2009, 08:56:02 am
 I'm excited to get into this new hobby. I've read Beekeeping for Dummies. I try not to self reflect on the title of this book. I'm also starting to read "The Hive and The Honey Bee" revised by Dadant. Any more good reference books out there for recommendation.

I live in Ontario, California for now. My parents have about a 1/4 acre of sloping hillside that I plan on starting a couple of Hives. My backyard is kinda small. Maybe 40 feet wide and 80 feet long, with neighbors houses on two sides that I could touch with my broom handle. I know people have hives with neighbors this close. Is it a good idea to keep a hive at my house? Has anybody had a bad experience in this kind of situation. They love me by the way, for now.

                                                     Thanks for helping. Look forward to learning more,   Matt
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: buzzbee on January 10, 2009, 10:30:41 am
Ask away,members here are more than glad to help.We've all been beginners and today is always the first day of the rest of your life.
  Welcome aboard!!
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: MustbeeNuts on January 10, 2009, 10:42:28 am
Since your just starting , it might not hurt to toss it out to the neigbors before hand. They could be cool and like it , or they could also catch a bad case of not in my neigborhood. Better safe than sorry. You don't need a fight right off the starting line. The otherside is you could find and /or  check for a rural area thats out of the way and put your hives there. There are people that would want them on there land for lots of reasons. Again it depends on your neighbors see what there feedback is.
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: Melilem on January 10, 2009, 02:39:18 pm
Increase Essentials by  by Lawrence John Connor is also good, and I found Michael Bush's website very helpful also. ( http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm )
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: annette on January 10, 2009, 04:48:03 pm
Where is Ontario California??? I am up in Placerville, which is north of Sacramento. How far away are you from me???

Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't
Post by: Water Hunter on January 10, 2009, 05:37:24 pm
Ontario is about 45 minutes east of LA. Placerville is a nice area. I've been looking at buying some kind of farm. Your area comes up often. I'm sure you live in a nice area. Do you have a nice size piece of land or a small backyard like me.


                                                                                                                   Matt
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't
Post by: Water Hunter on January 10, 2009, 05:42:44 pm
Thanks for the support, I'm going to need it. It's nice to find friendly people to talk to about something so exciting.
 I'm looking for a start up kit at this moment. The biggest question on my mind is frames. Plastic or wood. I leaning toward the wood. Seems more natural for the bees, giving them a tree trunk feel. Any feedback would be appreciated.

                                         Thanks Matt
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: 1reb on January 10, 2009, 10:37:45 pm
Hello and Welcome Matt
There is alot of great information on the forum !!
The members here are willing help and answer your questions, all you need to do is to ask.

Beekeeping for Dummies is a good book I have it.
Johnny
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: BjornBee on January 11, 2009, 08:15:49 am
Welcome aboard Matt.

I'm sure any book you read will be helpful. Also look into local clubs and associations. Great way to meet a nearby contacts. There is a big beekeeping community out there to enjoy in so many ways.

Take care.
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: bugleman on January 11, 2009, 02:03:34 pm
Hey Waterhunter,

Since you have good pasture at you parents, I would first sweeten them up with some honey and show them in some way that you are accomplished at bee keeping.  That would let credibility. 

What I did was start with a nuk or 2 and see what the bees do.  Watch thier flight patterns.  Provide them with a consistent and ample water source to minimize conflicts etc.

Good luck
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: Cindi on January 11, 2009, 02:35:13 pm
Matt, Waterhunter.  Welcome to our forum, so nice that you have found us.  Interesting and intriguing name by the way.  You think that you are excited now about keeping bees, with all the learning that you are doing, you ain't seen nuthing' yet!!!  The world of the honeybee is one of the most fascinating of all, their secret little life that we delve into, how we help them and they help us, it is like a partnership of pure love.  You would do well, in my honest opinion, to keep a colony at your home or two and a couple at your Parent's home.  Find out for sure if your neighbours would mind, they probably wouldn't, but do make sure first, you don't want to raise arms against you, especially if they love you, as you say that they do, hee, hee, smiling.  It is nice to be on good terms with the neighbours.  Stick around, ask as many questions as you want to, we were all beginning beekeepers too, we all needed someone to mentor us, be is personal mentoring, books, cyberspace, welcome aboard.  Have that most wonderful and awesome life, day, health.  Cindi
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't
Post by: annette on January 12, 2009, 02:10:57 am
Ontario is about 45 minutes east of LA. Placerville is a nice area. I've been looking at buying some kind of farm. Your area comes up often. I'm sure you live in a nice area. Do you have a nice size piece of land or a small backyard like me.


                                                                                                                   Matt

I have 3 acres in a semi residential area. Placerville is like that. You can have one house zoned for just a few acres right next to someone with 10 or 20 acres.  But I do not even keep my bees on my property.  I could keep them here, but I keep them up the block from me on a friends property. He has 20 acres and large garden and orchard and the bees just love it there.
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't
Post by: annette on January 12, 2009, 02:19:16 am
Thanks for the support, I'm going to need it. It's nice to find friendly people to talk to about something so exciting.
 I'm looking for a start up kit at this moment. The biggest question on my mind is frames. Plastic or wood. I leaning toward the wood. Seems more natural for the bees, giving them a tree trunk feel. Any feedback would be appreciated.

                                         Thanks Matt

Matt I am a new beekeeper also having started April 2006. I have only 2 bee hives, but I have learned so much in this short period of time. I started out with plastic frames, but now I go with all wood and no foundation. Meaning all foundationless. This allows the bees to draw out the wax on the frames themselves and they make the cell size any way they want it to be. Be careful and read, read, read before purchasing any equipment or else you will find yourself changing everything around later. I started with all deep supers,but learned the hard way that they get very heavy. So I switched them all out to mediums only. Everything one size, even the honey supers are mediums.

Not sure about those starter kits either. I think the beekeepers here on the forum mostly say to purchase just what you need and sometimes those kits come with stuff you do not need at all. You should be hearing soon from some experts on this matter.

Keep us informed and keep asking questions before you buy anything.

Annette

Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: beemaster on January 12, 2009, 06:39:07 am
Just wanted to say hi and welcome:

That is my photo on the cover of Beekeeping for Dummies, so you already have a bit of the forum in your home :)

I'm writing to mention your yard. My old property was 50X100 with a big house and motorhome and two sheds. I kept the hive directly along a picket fence along my neighbors yard line nearest their driveway, through 3 sets of neighbors.

Each neighbor from age 10 to adults I have photos of them holding bare handed frames of bee - not always packed full, but enough to amaze and educated them. Knowledge is your best friend in beekeeping, sharing it with your neighbor, all the good and bad is essential stuff.

If they know bees fly out and up and the entrance faces away from them, then they learn the flight patterns are way over there heads, they lean of the polinatin that occirs and should even share in the excess honey for being good neighbore - the too could be good customers if you plant a seed on how good honey is for Gifts.

IT isn't hard to have a handful of hives on a small property. It is up to you to keep them from being a bother and proper hive positioning is everything. Stick around the forum here and you surely will learn a lot. I'll just leave by saying, people with much less land than eith of us have done miracles.

If you have neighbors who are objectionable, the surely check your zoning rules (do it any way) to see what rights you have, sometime a field down the road where a small farm needs pollination IS the better choice, but having them home MAKES you a better beekeeper I believe. Watching them grow and develop into prductive hives, swarming regularly, Wintering properly and making it to the following Spring are all wonderful things the build confindence to the new beekeeper - good luck.
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: Scadsobees on January 12, 2009, 09:55:08 am
Welcome! 
Remember too that if you feel like you are bugging people with questions  (you aren't really!) you can use the search,  I think every question I've ever asked was also asked in the past!

The nice thing about having 2 possible locations is that you can move them if the neighbors have a problem with them in your backyard.  If you aren't sure, keep them at your parents house, and then start out with a little one in your yard and see how it goes.

It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.  Most people know squat about bees, and if you ask them ahead of time if they would like a box full of nasty, stinging, mean, attacking (the common un-educated perspective!) insects in your back yard  the answer would be NO!.  If you can put them in the yard and the neighbors can see that they aren't a problem, then they may not mind so much.

Rick
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: Cindi on January 13, 2009, 01:39:54 pm
Annette, why don't you keep the bees at your place?  They WILL travel up the road to the neighbour's place where the bees are now living.  It would make your life so much easier if they were home with ya.  I am sure there is a good reason, but I need to know why?  Have a wonderful and most awesome day, life, health. Cindi
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: annette on January 14, 2009, 07:26:31 pm
Annette, why don't you keep the bees at your place?  They WILL travel up the road to the neighbour's place where the bees are now living.  It would make your life so much easier if they were home with ya.  I am sure there is a good reason, but I need to know why?  Have a wonderful and most awesome day, life, health. Cindi

I am down the road and in a sort of valley. It is about 5-7 degrees cooler at my house than my friends property which is up on a nice hill. There is a lot more moisture here at my place. I do not have anything for the bees to forage on here as all the deer that live here, eat everything I plant. We have someone who cuts the grass and does some landscaping for me all summer, but if I place the beehives here, no one will want to go anywhere near them.  Also I do have neighbors around and the bees might go to their water in the summer.

I may at some point place some hives here and see what happens, but for now the bees are really happy up the hill and everything is so close for them. Also my friend has given me access to a large barn to store everything and a very large freezer to store supers. I have a very small house and not much storage.



Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: Cindi on January 16, 2009, 12:32:47 am
Oh Annette, I see, I understand, that all makes good sense.  Your home sounds like it is in a very pretty place.  Do you have a camera?  Can you one day take some pictures to show us?  I would love to see your place.  I wish that more of our forum friends would show us where they live.  We all should be so proud of our little place on earth that we live on.  Have a wonderful and great day, life, health.  Cindi
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't
Post by: Water Hunter on January 16, 2009, 09:21:19 am
Thanks for giving me so much help. I should have taken up beekeeping earlier if i new there where so many cool beekeepers already out there. I know I'll learn  a lot from all of you. I go to my first beekeeping meeting this thursday. Can't wait!. Thanks again for the welcome. Oh and now I want to move to Placerville, All I need is an acre or two. :)

                                                         
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't bug
Post by: annette on January 16, 2009, 01:58:15 pm
Oh Annette, I see, I understand, that all makes good sense.  Your home sounds like it is in a very pretty place.  Do you have a camera?  Can you one day take some pictures to show us?  I would love to see your place.  I wish that more of our forum friends would show us where they live.  We all should be so proud of our little place on earth that we live on.  Have a wonderful and great day, life, health.  Cindi


OK I will get that camera out.
Title: Re: Getting my feet wet over here in California. I have lots of ?'s Hope I don't
Post by: annette on January 16, 2009, 01:59:23 pm
Thanks for giving me so much help. I should have taken up beekeeping earlier if i new there where so many cool beekeepers already out there. I know I'll learn  a lot from all of you. I go to my first beekeeping meeting this thursday. Can't wait!. Thanks again for the welcome. Oh and now I want to move to Placerville, All I need is an acre or two. :)

                                                         

Well now is the time to buy if you can. Yes Placerville is a very sweet place to live.