Hello all. I have signed an agreement to purchase a new house. I am moving because of a new job. The property is on 8 acres and I figured I'd post an overhead view to help with selecting the location of my hives. There are a few things to keep in mind. Full sun would be nice, but there's not a lack of that with all that yard. The shed on the far right doesn't have power but the other two have power. Would be nice to be somewhat close to a power source for wintering nucs with some supplemental heat. I could always move nucs to a seperate wintering spot if needed I suppose. I would also like a large garden and I am not sure where I'll put it yet. Also there's a small garden shed to the left of the house and above the driveway. Could be a possibility for wintering hives inside. It'd need to be insulated, but that's not a huge problem.
So thoughts?
http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/af52/dpboll/c54decbe4b49506e81a887fca624280f_zps5513edf6.jpg (http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/af52/dpboll/c54decbe4b49506e81a887fca624280f_zps5513edf6.jpg)
I would dowse for a best location
If you build the nucs right, you won't need a power source. Make sure they have enough food in fall, wrap them and check them in spring.
As far as where to put the hives, next to anything that will act as a wind break during the winter and gets plenty of southern exposure to the sun.
I'm thinking just west of that small shed west of the house and north of the driveway. Put it just south of the tree line. Either that or on the far northeastern side of the property just south of the tree line. The benefit of the western spot is ease of access. It's not to far from the house but it's far enough. Easy enough to get to when snow still covers the ground.
I'm thinking the south side of that bottom barn would make a nice place to set up a row of nucs and electric heat (if desired). It would give them a wind break and give them a full day of cleansing flight opportunity during a winter warm spell. I know we didn't get any of those this year, but I assume in a normal year, even MN gets a couple of breaks in the winter.
The edge of the wooded area looks good for full sized hives. Adding some distance between full sized hives and nucs slows down robbing a little.
As for the garden, it looks like the surrounding fields have good organic content; should be good for a garden.
Wound south of that barn be to close to the fields for spraying? I was thinking by the wood line due to space between fields and bees. I know bees fly for miles, but I'd be more concerned about careless spraying covering my hives. If that's not a concern then I like that spot as well. I'm. to sure what they plant there or what they spray there but I'll be able to find out before I move.
Beautiful location. Congrats on the move. It sure looks like a water supply will no be a problem for your bees.
Quote from: Pam G on April 08, 2014, 09:57:24 AM
Beautiful location. Congrats on the move. It sure looks like a water supply will no be a problem for your bees.
I thought it was water at first, too, but i think it might be a plowed field.
Yup plowed fields. There are nearby ponds however.
Quote from: Bush_84 on April 08, 2014, 09:31:56 AM
Wound south of that barn be to close to the fields for spraying?
Good point.
My understanding is that most farmers around here only use Neonicotinoids as a seed treatment when planting corn or beans. However the planting machines do give off neonic dust which could be toxic to the bees.