Spring is the time to start a beehive

Spring into action – if you’ve been thinking about keeping bees, now is the time!

Why start in Spring?

• With the weather warming up and longer daylight hours, flowers are blooming and in abundance. This means your bees should have ample nectar and pollen sources (AKA, bee food).

• Spring is the easiest time to get a bee colony
  If you’re planning on purchasing a starter colony, we recommend getting in early as they often sell out quickly – otherwise, you may be waiting another year to fulfill your beekeeping dream.
  There are many ways you can get your colony set up and thriving – see our blog.
  
  With longer daylight hours, the queen will be laying more eggs to expand the colony’s numbers, and the worker bees will likely raise queen cells in preparation for swarming – find a bee mentor to assist you in catching swarms, it’s important to be prepared with a brood box, bottom board and roof (included in our complete Flow Hives).

• Allows plenty of time for your new colony to settle into their new home
  The worker bees will have enough time to build out the brood box, your new Queen to start laying eggs and boosting bee numbers, and maximum time for your bees to collect nectar to make honey during the bountiful spring and summer months.
  

• Getting started early provides the opportunity to collect more honey and increases your chances of a successful harvest in the first year. Your first priority with honey harvesting must be to ensure you leave enough honey and nectar stores for your girls to eat over the winter months.

So don’t delay any longer – order your Flow Hive and start your beekeeping journey today.

Your to-do list

Beekeeping Like A Girl blogger, Hilary Kearney, also shared It’s Flow time! Setting up and preparing for spring.
She said—if this is your first spring with bees, here’s your ‘to do’ list.

• Make sure you reserve your packages and starter colonies early. They often sell out.
• Build your Flow Hive boxes and take steps to protect the wood, either with outdoor sealant (Cedar) or exterior, weatherproof house paint (Araucaria). Give your equipment plenty of time to dry out before your bees arrive.
• Find out if ants are a problem in your area. If so, you should take steps to protect your hive from invasions. Build or purchase a hive stand with legs and then create moats or sticky barriers around them to keep ants out.
• Set up a water source for your bees and it’s a good idea to begin planting flowers for them as well. Although bees travel a radius of up to 5km to search for forage, it’s not a bad idea to offer them—and native pollinators—extra local options.
• Importantly, you should connect with your local beekeeping group to find out about mentorship opportunities and classes.

 
You may also want to check out our blog for top tips for newbees.

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