Home Beekeeping Guidelines
Beekeeping at home is a fun and rewarding hobby. Honey bees can produce a lot of honey plus bee wax and even beginner beekeepers will enjoy the fruits of their label in just one season.
To be successful in beekeeping, you have to be familiar with beekeeping seasons and what is to be expected during each one. We’ll touch on all basic seasons in this guide.
Springtime
In the springtime the bees are waking up from their winter nap. This time is when you, as the beekeeper, to inspect the hive and be sure that there is no disease in it and that the queen is present and producing eggs. At this time of year you will also add an extra section to the hive called a super for the bees to get extra room if needed. Lastly, on spring you need to dose the bee hive with medications.
Summer
In summer you will be adding more frames (also called a super) to your hive to hold the extra honey that your bees will be start producing. You will also be harvesting honey during this season. The rule of thumb for harvesting honey is that it is wise to do when all the frames in a super are filled with honey and one-half of the cells are capped with wax.
Fall
Make sure you get your bees prepared for winter. During the fall months you need to feed your bee’s sugar water so they make it through winter. Be sure to inspect your bee hive to make sure the queen is free of diseases and healthy. It can be necessary to cover your hive in winter.
Winter
Bees are actually very self sufficient. They winter over by themselves very well provided you did your fall activities correctly. At this time of year, you can take a break and begin to prepare your hive for spring.
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