Iowa Honey Start Up

[Gardening Bee]

Just joined the forum. I am extremely interested in bee keeping. I live in central SE Iowa and want to do a few hives this summer. I called my city and there are no rules against bee keeping. I want one hive to start with this summer.
I am a gardener first and fore most and a farm boy so growing things is my passion. I am ripping up my whole lawn this year and turning it in to a garden. It's going to be pretty epic imo and I am not sure how the city is going to like a wrap around garden. Front lawn and all is getting tilled lol

I plan on doing a chunk for bee's and all things natural to Iowa. A 10x15 corner chunk. It will be the "elbow" between my two veggie gardens. I want to pack it with things just for bees in general. That with all the other garden plants should be enough to keep them happy and I have a guy across the street that also does a huge garden.

A couple of questions.
1. Should I tell my neighbors I am getting bee's? I know it is prob the neighborly thing to do but..I don't feel they are a harm and I have a feeling someone would complain before i am even setup. Once I am setup and going good luck. I will take the matter to city council if need be. I will obviously be conscious neighbor. Safety first  etc...

2.Pollinator packs of plants? Were can I get a complete pack from? I will google this and find out but if anyone knows off hand to a website feel free to chime in. Seed are fine too. I can always grow them myself.

3. Were do I get bee's? Good ones for my region Zone 5A

4. Building a box. I can do this relatively cheap I think with some common sense and hand tools. Is there anything I "need to know" a side from what  I can find on the forums and youtube that I should consider and maybe missed?

5. Thanks to whoever started this forum and thanks in advance for the knowledge I am going to glean in the next month by just hanging out here.

[OldMech]

A couple of questions.
1. Should I tell my neighbors I am getting bee's? I know it is prob the neighborly thing to do but..I don't feel they are a harm and I have a feeling someone would complain before i am even setup. Once I am setup and going good luck. I will take the matter to city council if need be. I will obviously be conscious neighbor. Safety first  etc...

   
   Do you have fences around the property? How close are the neighbors? A jar of honey hand delivered is a great way to say "I have bees" As well as "You didnt even know it did you?"
   A fence will keep the bees flight path over your neighbors heads, and they will likely never know they are there. Being well informed will be helpful when you talk to your neighbors.

2.Pollinator packs of plants? Were can I get a complete pack from? I will google this and find out but if anyone knows off hand to a website feel free to chime in. Seed are fine too. I can always grow them myself.

   You can find these many places, even Wal-Mart.  I quite often buy them in passing, and toss them along the ditches near my house.  It is amazing what a few years of doing that will produce!

3. Were do I get bee's? Good ones for my region Zone 5A
 

   PM me if your serious. I will set you up with someone that can get you packages for early spring OR get you nuc's a little later in May. I am not far from you.

4. Building a box. I can do this relatively cheap I think with some common sense and hand tools. Is there anything I "need to know" a side from what  I can find on the forums and youtube that I should consider and maybe missed?
   

  Pay attention to bee space and you should do fine.  If you want to schedule a day to run down I will go through the process of building a hive with you in my wood shop.
   My EMail is on my site or you can PM me here!

   http://outyard.weebly.com/

[Gardening Bee]

Thanks for the quick response !!!

That all sounds great. Right now I am researching all I can. I don't really know where to start. Probably building a hive box huh?

I do not have a fenced in yard but I do live on a corner lot with an empty house next to me. Its been for sale the whole time I lived here.
It's funny that you say being well informed when talking to people about this is a good first impression. Bee's aren't the terrors people typically think of. "Sounding" like I know what I am talking about will go a long ways lol

Good to know on the packs. Are they labeled like that? I guess I have never really looked closely. Never thought I would be considering raising bees lol I like how you "toss packs out" We have a little preserve set aside for native prairie on the outskirts of my town. About 6-8 blocks away it is just full of all things bee ;) Also I plan on putting in some type of water source for them here at their home base. I am going to do some outdoor hydroponic tomatoes and peppers this year so i plan on rigging up something for the bees to drink out of. I will have the water...

Someone told me i need to order bee's before Valentines day. Is that correct? And what is a nuc? Sorry don't know the lingo yet. I assume a little break away hive?

Big thanks btw...this is great talking to a like minded individual and local. My girlfriend thinks I have lost my brain. She just doesn't get it, the itch to raise bees ;)

[Michael Bush]

>Someone told me i need to order bee's before Valentines day. Is that correct?

You probably needed to order bees by a month ago...

[Gardening Bee]

>Someone told me i need to order bee's before Valentines day. Is that correct?

You probably needed to order bees by a month ago...

Really?

I am day late and a dollar short huh?

[OldMech]

We'll make sure you get bees. I'll PM you.
   Plans to build a hive can be found if you do a bit of searching.   I dont have plans on my site because there are plenty to be found, but there are some details in the do it yourself section.  I can assist you in constructing what ever you want. From that point on you will have the skill and ability to do it yourself, provided you have some basic tools.
   You will need the hives, bottom board, boxes of your choice, inner cover, tele cover, and an entrance reducer. Frames to put in your boxes as well.   I make everything but the foundation in my shop... actually I make that too but dont have the rollers yet.

   Nucleus Hive or Nuc for short, is basically a small colony of bees. it has everything a larger colony has/needs except the numbers of bees and drawn comb.   Many beekeepers sell Nuc's in the spring. I can hook you up with about three different fellows that do so, a nuc is more expensive than a package.
   A friend of mine has an "in" with a package bee supplier so if you prefer you can go that route as well.     I'll go PM you the info so you can call him. I think his first triup to get packages is the end of April..  He usually makes two or three trips.

[thewhiterhino]

Gardening Bee, welcome to the forum from southern Colorado.

[GSF]

Welcome, you've stumbled across a great site for learning and asking questions. When I first got my bees I found this forum and started reading from the most current post backwards. You learn a lot especially during the summer month posts. Ask all the questions you'd like.

[BeeMaster2]

Welcome to Beemaster. I recommend you get with Old Mech and get 2 nuc's from a local beek. If you get a package it will probably actually come from a commercial company down south and they will not be synchronized with your cold climate and may not make it through the winter. Much better chance with local bees. I also recommend that you ask what they treat their bees with. You will probably need to use the same treatments. Best if you can find someone who does not treat their bees.
Jim

[Gardening Bee]

HEY EVERYONE !!!

Thanks for the overwhelming welcome and good advice. Glad to see some more nuts like myself out there ;) Sorry for the late response to this thread but life has been hectic recently. Trimming trees, taking out lilac bushes etc...getting ready for the garden. Spring is only 2 months away ;)

Lets get right down to brass tacks then shall we fellas....

I am going to build 2 top bar hives. Pretty much dead set on it. I have the tools and the know how...I think I do on the latter lol
I like them, Its as simple as that. Since they are going to be sitting in my garden I want something both pretty to look at and functionable.
What are the draw backs?
I am doing this more for more garden pollination than to actually get honey.


I was talking to the people @ Eberts about bee packs etc.
So you guys think I should get Nucs huh? Are they going to be able to set-up a top bar hive?

Italians or Carlinion bees?

I plan on building a test hive this week. Just seeing how it all goes together.
This is what i am going to try and copy...

[OldMech]

I didnt think Adam had Top bar hives?
   I am not a top bar guy, so cannot advise ..    To me, TBH seemed to go against what bees do, and thats moving UP when its cold.. the warmth of the cluster cannot warm the frame above them.. but I know a few folks that have TBH and they seem to work.. I can only wish you luck!!

[Gardening Bee]

Well let me ask you this...

Do I need specific kind of bees for top bars?

[OldMech]

Not really.. I do recommend local or northern, but I recommend those to everyone.   
   To be perfectly Honest.. I would get the package and get your bees started. Then Contact Ron Wehr or ME about getting a local queen. I have spoken to Adam Ebert in the past, but neglected to ask him where he gets his stock. If he is close to you, he could be an excellent source for a queen or two.  I'll have to ask him in more detail about his bees next time we meet.
   Re queen that hive in the summer, and by winter you will have localized bees that should be capable of wintering in the event we have another BAD winter.. 
   It is never fun to open your hives on that 50 degree day in February to find they starved an inch from honey.

[Michael Bush]

>1. Should I tell my neighbors I am getting bee's? I know it is prob the neighborly thing to do but..I don't feel they are a harm and I have a feeling someone would complain before i am even setup. Once I am setup and going good luck. I will take the matter to city council if need be. I will obviously be conscious neighbor. Safety first  etc...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beestencommandments.htm#originaltwo

>2.Pollinator packs of plants? Were can I get a complete pack from? I will google this and find out but if anyone knows off hand to a website feel free to chime in. Seed are fine too. I can always grow them myself.

I buy seed:  dutch clover, white and yellow sweet clover, hubam clover, goldenrod, asters, birdsfoot trefoil, chicory, ironweed, joe pye weed and some assortments of wildflowers.

>3. Were do I get bee's? Good ones for my region Zone 5A

From someone in Zone 5A...

>4. Building a box. I can do this relatively cheap I think with some common sense and hand tools. Is there anything I "need to know" a side from what  I can find on the forums and youtube that I should consider and maybe missed?

Consider that it depends on the price of lumber if you come out ahead building your own boxes.  I never can come out ahead.  I build what I can't buy or what I need today because I don't want to wait.  I order boxes 99% of the time rather than make them.  I seldom make frames.

[Gardening Bee]

On temporary lay off till March....

Time to get busy on this project !!!!


http://youtu.be/jvBr-qPAGwI

[GSF]

It's a little strange but I love the video, creative, I'm gonna send it out to my friends.