Get ready for winter?

[GLOCK]

OK i got 3 nucs in June from BJORN APIARIES and i must say the bee's are very nice to work with much better then the package bees i got last year. It's been like 5 weeks since i put them in there hives and i have two brood box's  for each hive.
The top brood box's on two hives are drawing out the comb slowly but there is some  caped brood my third hive has like 4 and half  frames of brood  and two frames of honey. My questions are 1- we are in a drought and the only things I'm seeing are goldenrod and white clover and some garden  flowers .Should i be feeding them ?{maybe that's why there slow to start drawing comb in the top box}
2- i have not got in to the bottom box since i put on the top box but i have not relay been messing with them much .All three hives have pollien coming in regularly all day so that was good en ought for me plus theres worker brood in all three hives top brood box. Any way should i look in the bottom box's ?I have SB B's and can look up under and the bottom is packed with bees.
3- mites what should i be doing for mites ? I have drone frames in the top brood box's{one each} I just put them in 10 days ago and the the bees are on them but not doing much with them.
I'd like to keep it natural .
4-What should i be doing to get ready for winter?
When should i put up a wind break and wrap my hives for winter things get cold here around the end of NOV.
THANK YOU.

[indypartridge]

For new colonies, I feed until they have drawn comb on two deeps (or whatever you're planning to overwinter them in).

For new beekeepers, I encourage thorough (all boxes), regular inspections just so you learn what's going on in the hive. Beyond that, once I see some frames with all stages of brood - eggs, larva, capped - I don't dig any deeper.

Heading into winter, you'd like to have the broodnest in the bottom deep, with the upper deep filled with honey.

Yes, you should be checking for mites. If you have the slide-in boards with your SBB, you can do a 24-hour drop. Or you can do a powdered-sugar roll. Generally, new colonies don't have mite issues requiring treatment the first year, but you need to know what your mite counts are.

[applebwoi]

Here in the Texas Panhandle we get periodic cold spells but none last very long so hive wrapping isn't necessary.  I even leave the SBB open.  However, I do try and put up some sort of shield, a bale of hay,plastic or styrofoam, to block the north winds and I shove leaves up under the hive stand to prevent drafts coming though the bottom.  The bees can handle very cold weather so you don't have to have everything done before the first cold snap.  However, it is certainly nice to have everything done early and when the temps are comfortable for you to be out there doing the winterizing.