Patience, Grasshopper

[TwoHoneys]

Today I inspected my 3 hives, and I have to admit that I have no idea what I'm doing.

Once I get into those boxes, I get confused. I'm not sure what I'm seeing nor do I know what whatever I see means in either the short or the long run. And, you know, I'm reading a lot and thinking a lot...it's just that there's only one year of experience to hang all this new information on.

I'm eager for the day when I can open the hives and knowledgeably swap frames around or move queen cells from one hive to another and have some idea that whatever I do may make a stronger, more productive colony. Usually, I simply close it all up and hope for the best.

So, how long do you think it takes to become sort of good at this? Would having more hives help speed the learning curve (or would it speed the failure rate)? What suggestions might you have for getting smarter faster?

Liz

[Bighead]

My first year was a total failure American foul brood. The best resource I found was my local bee club. The President gave me the info for the state inspector and they helped me get back on the road to bee keeping, and our inspectors are great teachers.

[greenbtree]

I do think that having more hives helps out - but too many would be overwhelming.  So far, I am up to four, two from a split of one of the two hives we got this Spring, and two from swarm calls.  If you are scratching your head trying to figure that math, it is because one of the two original hives died off.  It is really nice to have the luxury to take frames from other hives whether it is honey, pollen, or brood.  Learning curve IS steep, I am still feeling my way (see "First Swarm Update post).  Read all you can, observe all you can, and keep on keeping on.  I am finding that splitting the hive and collecting swarms has given me the chance to observe things like queen cells and the different stages that the hives go through.  I am hoping to end this year with six strong hives (I built and have just put out a swarm trap two days ago) so that if something goes wrong over the winter with a couple of them I won't be back to the start again.  We will see.

JC.

[iddee]

I've only been at it for 33 or 34 years. When and If I get to where I understand bees, I'll tell you then how long it takes.

Just study, think logically, and hope for the best.