bees

[Beeherder]

Local Beekeeper Cooperative - progress report

Secured a first meeting place, with open dates evenings & weekends from 9/15 -10/21.
Sent the above outline including the following abstract paragraph inserted after premise #4, to the "core group". This group is the 30 year beekeeper, 30 year cabinet maker, professional writer, CSA Owner/Operators where the 30 year beekeeper keeps bees, and the instigator.
Some of the core are on vacation so now my patience will be required waiting for replies to my invitation. Everyone has had a heads up notification and has at least indicated a strong interest. Now we find out who wants to play the game.

Abstract


An association of self selected individuals and families can cooperate to own the means of production in their hive equipment and bees,  even if they don't all choose to participate in management or harvest of honey. Such an association can design a new approach to beekeeping intended to inform the beekeeper as much as to produce any matierial harvest and through such an association could develop all the necessary components to produce an agricultural product right in their own neighborhoods and even more self selection within this group can yield many different pieces of the puzzle for all to choose a place to participate.

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Your comments and suggestions are solicited.

[Beeherder]

 
Time for a few beekeeper questions here in the open. If there are any beekeepers who are reading this and do not wish to post in the open but have something to say to me please us the PM feature. So, ... here goes:

In the next 10 days i will take all the honey that will be taken this year. I will remove the capped honey and take it to the honey house for extraction during these same 10 days. As the 7 frame honey supers are being harvested i will break down each hive to the screened bottom board. Each hive will be "cleaned up" removing any debris that may have collected since the last time they were at minimal configuration last spring when i reversed the brood box from its top super, winter configuration to brood nest at the bottom and open brood space in the two 8 frame medium supers above the single 8 frame deep super that has been my standard hive configuration. As the hive is reassembled i will dust each frame in each super with a mix of 2 oz garlic powder to 16 oz powdered sugar. (if you want to know why just ask). Then a few days later as the weather cools i will monitor each hive for varroa mites by smearing a white grided piece of "plastic cardboard" with crisco solid vegetable oil then sliding that into the slot in the screened bottom board designed for this purpose. I will leave that in place for 24 hours, no more no less. When it is removed i count the varroa mites that have fallen or been knocked off the bees by their hygenic behavior removing that powdered sugar mix. The mites will be stuck in that not too thin coating of grease unable to climb back up into the hive to reinfest the bees. If the mite count exceeds some minimum count i will open them up again and repeat the dusting proceedure and the monitoring proceedure until the count is less than that minimum. When i am satisfied that they are hygenicly ready for winter i will clean that plastic cardboard and then reinsert it into the bottom board for heat retention during the winter months. When the weather turns cold the hives will be sealed with duct tape or tarpaper wraps as i guess which will be best for this winter.

Any questions? or guidance?