Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Duck1968 on June 11, 2009, 06:45:19 pm

Title: Planning for next year?
Post by: Duck1968 on June 11, 2009, 06:45:19 pm
I am in the planning and research stage of starting bee keeping. I plan to start my hives in the spring of 2010 as I will be moving to the Aurora, Nebraska area the end of this year. I will be taking over farming 500 of the 700+ acres of the family farm (corn and soybeans).

I checked out and read “Beekeeping for dummies” and “Keeping Bees and Making Honey” from the library. And have done a lot of reading here and on other beekeeping sites. I have a few questions.

1-What other books or resources should I read or look into?

2-What cost do I need to plan for state permits and inspections?

3-I am going to build my own wooden ware (I have been a woodworker for 20+ years). I am thinking 10 frame Langstroths. And I am trying to decide whether to build a mix of deep, medium, and shallow hive bodies/supers  or just go with all mediums?
Many thanks,
Brian
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: GTX188 on June 11, 2009, 08:55:06 pm
As far as books go.. Id check out the online forums, I read a bunch of books and found the forums to be much more informative and interactive since a lot of your questions are going to be similar to the ones answered here, plus you'll find some information varies by location. A local beekeeping club may not be a bad resource either. I also made a bunch of my woodenware and bought plastic frames. I found deeps and mediums worked just fine, although I have never tried a shallow. There are a bunch of plans out there as well.
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: sparks on June 11, 2009, 09:56:47 pm
For plans check out BeeSource.com   Lots of good stuff.   I went with 8 frame all mediums and have been satisfied with my decision so far.  The only down side to staying away from the deeps is that most nucs come in deep and it is a royal pain to get those deep frames transferred to medium boxes.  Planning at this time is a great benefit.  I had about 3 weeks between developing the desire and acquiring my first bees.  Wow, what a hustle that causes.  This forum is a great source of info.  You will find that there are soo many ways to do the same thing that opinions are plentiful.  Above all, have fun. 

PS     there are some really nice people who keep bees.

Chuck
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: NasalSponge on June 11, 2009, 10:33:24 pm
ABC-XYZ of beekeeping, The how to do it book of beekeeping by Richard Taylor, Natural Beekeeping by Ross Conrad. I would also agree with staying active in the forums because no book can have all the answers. As far as permits and such you will have to get that answer from a fellow Nebraskan. And always remember what someone else said in here...."Never say never or always when it comes to bees" If you are anything like the rest of us then get ready to fall headfirst into the addiction that is beekeeping!! :evil:
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: bmacior on June 11, 2009, 10:55:02 pm
http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm is a great site for information.

The buzz about Bees by Jurgen Tautz has nothing to do with beekeeping, but is fascinating reading about honey beesand their behaviors.

Barb
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: windyridgeapiary on June 12, 2009, 12:35:02 am
Bee Culture magazine will give you a ton of information. The ssubscription price is well worth it. I have just started 3 hives of russian bees. The weather put my shipment a month behind. So far I like the russian line of bees.
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: indypartridge on June 12, 2009, 07:38:05 am
Michael Bush's site (a Nebraska beekeeper) has already been mentioned, but I'll second it.

Be sure to check out all the tutorials and info available at the main Beemaster page.

Also, begin making connections with Nebraska beekeepers:
http://nebraskabeekeepers.org/index.asp
Title: Re: Planning for next year?
Post by: Duck1968 on June 12, 2009, 08:13:24 pm
Thanks everyone for the advice. I just subscribed to Bee Culture magazine and our libary has "ABC-XYZ of beekeeping". So I will keep reading and am going to start making my wooden ware.

Brian