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[rjmeyer]

Pat. .it took a master beekeeper to point out incorrect information on a YouTube video about checkerboarding..be careful not all that we see is correct. Good books and videos from reliable sources like Mike Plamer..Mike Bush..DrJim Tew..just to name a few..also check out beekeeping101.psu.edu online course..good beginner information at your own pace.

[T Beek]

Patricia, One of the things I've been doing (first year beek), in addition to what you've been doing, is I started with the most recent post and read the threads one at a time going back. Good luck!

This is excellent advise.  The BeeMaster archives are loaded with good info.  I spent about two years lurking and reading before I ever wrote a single post.

[GSF]

Yeah T Beek, I love reading them. Someone will say: "This is the way you do it." then a reply to the effect; "That's one method" or "That will work unless". Like you said, a lot of good info.

[sc-bee]

Pat. .it took a master beekeeper to point out incorrect information on a YouTube video about checkerboarding..

Not sure which you tube video you are speaking of. I would like to see if the master beekeeper got it right. Folks throw the word checkerboarding around loosely and use their own interpretation when in reality in recent bee keeping years I think folks are trying to refer to Walt Wrights recommended sytem of keeping bees. But everyone makes their own changes and say  "I am checkerboarding"

[rjmeyer]

Sc...if I saw the video again I would remember it..but basically the guy was checkerboarding with undrawn foundation which doesn't create laying space for the queen so essentially crowding is not eliminated and as a novice I did not pick that up right away...sort of like the movie More than Honey opening  scene of queen emerging from cell..it was facing up..the cells face down...not all you see is always correct..youtube has alot of I did it once now im an expert.

[Patricia H]

Wow, I love all this good advice! Who better to listen to than friends on this forum! I know I will certainly learn along the way. I'm sure there is a lot of misinformation on the YouTubes, and it would be picked up by the experienced keepers. That's why this forum site is so great. If I have a question there is plenty of experience here to kick it around. I have been following the Brushy Mountain Bee Farm videos & Mike Bush videos which seem to be really good. I do have one dilemma to solve before I even get started. I plan to go with all 8 Frame Medium Brood Boxes & Supers but the nucs come on Deep Frames. I know I could put an 8 Frame Deep Box on the bottom and all the rest Medium, but I want to keep everything one size to switch out back and forth. Does that make any sense at all or should I get the one Deep Brood Box. How would everyone else go about it? Your opinion counts. :)

[sc-bee]

Wish I could give you advice there. I have a friend in the same situation. They stacked two mediums to insert the deep and will have to cull the deep frames later in the process. Maybe someone has a better way if all you can find in deep nucs.

Also if I remember right Brushys 8 frame equipment outside measurements is a little narrower than the other companies 8 frame equipment. This means you can not stack Brushy 8 frame with others 8 frame and it look even on the outside.

[Patricia H]

Thanks for the info. I don't know why everyone just can't make the same size equipment. It would be so much easier for everyone. Argh.

[rjmeyer]

Pat, I would put the nucs in a 8 frame deep, put mediums above that as needed...go into winter like that, comes late winter/early spring the bees will be up in the mediums and you can pull the deep out. You can then keep the deep to cover feeders, trim it down to a medium or use it as a swarm trap.

[Patricia H]

I think you're probably right the more I think about it. You can probably never have too many boxes. Wintering over in a Deep box would offer them more insulation if they cluster together in the center and I don't have to cull frames. Plus if the nuc does really well they have more room. I'll be worrying that they will have swarming on their mind, which is not really a bad thing I guess. You gain more colonies, right?  But I'm too new in this to address a swarm. I vision a basket ball size of bees 30 feet up in a tree. 

[T Beek]

Any size box can serve as a NUC box.  I mainly use mediums because that is all I use.  By inserting follower boards to both sides you can make it any width size that you choose (followers allow for expansion along with bee population growth).

"different sized' equipment?  It is the American way  :)  SEE; 'automobiles' for more examples  ;)  I am basically a non-conformist in life, but also recognize that SOME uniformity is GOOD.

[jayj200]

below Be master's official facebook page, is a list reading from left to right read as follows.
home help search profile and so on

HOME should take you to a list of subjects
HELP offers help on navigating this site
SEARCH will help find a topic or people
PROFILE one can find profiles of
for me its hard to see non bold some what similar colors farther right and down from that row
Reply
easy as that
under this white reply box is post and spell check down down to get there.
jay

[obxbee]

Patricia welcome to the forum. Im rarily on here due to work sometimes for several months
But the people here are friendly and helpful.
I still consider myself a "bee haver" instead of a bee keeper but I keep learning every day.

Good luck.

[jayj200]

One must remember or take into consideration that those like Mikel Palmer have thousands of hives.

Foam board insulation costs would necessarily be UMUGAS, and therefore valid for his situation.

For me I could ill afford to loose even one hive due to cold or wetness inside.

A new Queen is what $100.00

Mikel Palmer would raise his own queens with his own resources, thousands of hives, human workers, and other considerations I could not name.

Yes bee tree have larger openings and sometimes multiple openings. One must concider a bee tree

would necessarily have many multiples of the 3/4 inches of a man made hive, the difference is 3,4,5,6

inches of wood when compared what we have shoved them into.

Are we now God's by our own actions?

jay

[rjmeyer]

Hi Pat, Did you attend this past Sunday's LIBC meeting?

[Patricia H]

Hi, yes I did and part of the meeting before it for beginners. I missed the first part of it which was about feeding and what feeders to use with sugar solution. Ray had all kinds with him to show but I missed that part. I asked him about the jar feeders which you place over the inner cover hole and he didn't like them. I saw a frame type feeder that sets down in between the frames, and he had also had top feeders but don't know his opinion on those either.
     I got 2 hives delivered last week. They each have 1 deep 8 frame box and 2 medium supers to go on top. I just have to seal/varnish the outside wood on them. Now I just have to find what feeders to get. Were you at the meeting? There were so many more people than the last meeting.

[buzzbee]

Here is the link to Walt Wright on checkerboarding:
http://www.knology.net/~k4vb/all%20walt%20articles.htm
You can find some other  links stickied in the reprint article forum here:
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/board,56.0.html
I made  video on a few feeder types a while back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWtBvEbAI9Q&feature=youtu.be

[Patricia H]

Thank you Ken! That is great! :)

[beesNme]

welcome patrica,  i am new here as well. great place to find info and good people,

good luck

[Patricia H]

Thank you beesNme and welcome to you too!  :)