In Finland we have a lot of space. I have summer cottage 150 km from Helsinki, 50 km from Russian border. There is mainly woodland from our cottage to border. Cottage is in the rural village, but fields are good cultivated and there are only turnip rape and dandelion for bees.
To choose ouside pastures is most valuable to honey yied. If I let them be in the yard I will get honey 30% from that I have from outside pastures.
I put 4-5 hives in one point. I put bees together so I have 5-6 langtroth box per hive. I can put 3 hive togethet to make 2 hives, or I put two week just together. AND WITHOUT NEWSPAPER.
Just now turnip rape starts blooming. Other field are planted later and blooming will last 4 weeks. Moreover I must have other blooming with turnip rape because it is not good honey alone.
Fire flower (Chamaenérium angustifólium) is the best yield plant in Finland. When forest is cutted down the fire flower will conquer those areas. Tens and hundreds of hectars woodland.
http://www.teuva.fi/maisema/ark/horsma_s.jpghttp://images.google.fi/imgres?imgurl=www.luontoliitto.fi/metsa/kuvat/tipasjarvi.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.luontoliitto.fi/metsa/perhemetsatalous.html&h=150&w=227&sz=13&tbnid=mrghut5grIYJ:&tbnh=68&tbnw=102&start=8&prev=/images%3Fq%3Davohakkuu%26hl%3Dfi%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DGI have foud that it is very difficult to see out what is good pasture. Mistakes will be done. If bees must fly over 1 km, the half of honey yield will be gone for flying. That is why hives must be just near to blooming.
Bees take honey from distance of 2-3 km. That is why I put 4-5 hives in one point, so they can "carve cream from milk".
This year I found a good fire blower area, and I take there only one hive. I want to see, how much 6-box hive it can gather alone from cutted woodland.