Beekeeping is Frustrating - Where's the Honey?

[@artemis5776_]

After watching 6 videos, I have to ask myself, "Why am I even watching this? I hate bees. I'm never going to own a beehive." Probably going to keep watching anyway. Hell, I'm subscribing

[@vinofarm]

LOL. Welcome to VinoFarm.

[@lexiedurick4207]

Same

[@dianemilligan7370]

Same! But I’m obsessed with this adventure - vicariously!

[@dan.vitale]

I ALWAYS get excited whenever I see a new Vino Farm vid posted :)

[@MutepusMinecraft]

It's the highlight of my week! I feel like I spend my time refreshing my subscription feed waiting for the next!

[@jayboy0681]

It's good wholesome viewing, you can see the love and passion that this man and his family have. Good morals and drive are something to be celebrated especially in the world that we live in today. I love to watch someone that has a passion for something and watching it come to fruition. I'm just thankful that he is kind enough to share it with all of us.

[@thinkforaminute]

I just found this channel today so I'm binging. I hope he's continuing to post videos. He's very descriptive of what he's looking for and it makes for entertaining videos. Good luck bees!

[@kennethgrieger1327]

They are your bees. I just started bee keeping this year so I don't have much experience to speak from but when a hive is under weight for winter all of the older bee keepers I know say to feed feed feed. Just keep the feeders on top of each hive like you have been doing to prevent robbing during the dearth time. It would also be a good idea to step away from the hive before flipping your bucket so the sugar water doesn't get on a hive and get robbing started. Good luck and thanks for giving us smaller/ new bee keepers something to compare to!

[@vinofarm]

Ha, I'm a new beekeeper, myself! I don't know if you've ever posted a video of yourself on the internet, but there is a lot of controversy when you announce you are going to feed bees in the middle of the summer. Thanks for the thoughtful comments. I do the bucket flip outside the bee yard and have mentioned it in videos before! Thanks for watching. Best of luck with your bees.

[@ShadowMosses]

kenneth Grieger What do you mean "robbing"

[@kennethgrieger1327]

ShadowMosses 1998 stronger hives will send bees into the weaker hives thinking it is a source of food. After this, the week hive is left with no food and often dies

[@Redspence73]

The first 4 years of beekeeping for me were failures. Each year I would lose both of my colonies, only to harvest the honey that was left over from them or I would use it again for the next year's packages. It was so frustrating. It takes time to learn what your bees are going to do and what they need. If you were able to clone a hive and stick one in your yard and another in your neighbors they will not behave the same way. You live in a 100% different environment and have different amounts of available resources that the thousands of people giving you advice have. While some environments maybe similar and it's nice to have everyone giving you advice, you're the only one that truly knows the feel of the hive. Listen and heed the advice, read, watch other videos, then go with your gut. But just be aware that sometimes things change and your gut is wrong, but we learn from it and take it into account the next time. Either way it's fun for all of us to watch :)

[@bwakel310]

Plant ALOT oregano and let it flower next year. It will give you July nectar.

[@vinofarm]

I have oregano in my herb garden and I just noticed the timing and the amount of bees on it! I should plant that all over the field. Good idea.

[@bwakel310]

Vino Farm If you can get your hands on Meadowsweet as well.

[@bwakel310]

Vino Farm Rotate cutting your 3 acres of land as well. The fresh cut will promote new young growth.

[@P_Chalou]

Thyme is also great, at least for greek beekeeping, but i dont know if it is suited for your climate. Same goes for lavender and rosemary. As far as trees are concerned i would strongly recommend chestnut tree, which provides among the most nutricious pollen you can find. All these povide nectar and pollen during summer, except for rosemary which blooms many times during the year.

[@decaturridgebees8761]

Why not buckwheat. Pretty good producer of nectar and should produce in July no?

[@Ellelolliette]

While Comments can be helpful sometimes you gotta trust your gut. Do what you think is right knowing your climate and nectar flow. While somethings work for others they might not work for you and that's okay. There are times when you just gotta ignore what everyone else is telling you. If feeding them in necessary then its necessary. Live and Learn by your experiences. Not others. To everyone telling him to stop feeding. Your Critique wasn't helpful but he tried it. Let him Take care of his bees and when you give critique especially when it isn't asked for.... KEEP IT CONSTRUCTIVE. Tell him flowers he can plant for his climate to help the avoid the dearth. don't post "STOP FEEDING THEM SUGAR" That in no way is helpful when you don't know his specific situation.

[@vinofarm]

Thank you! Everyone's situation is different. I'm not pretending to be an authority on "how to keep bees", I'm just documenting MY experience. I appreciate the support.

[@Ellelolliette]

Always. You have grown to be one of my favorite KZbinrs. I joined at about week 3 or 4 of your Beekeeping endeavors last year Shortly after your comb breaking that first time.. I think this is my first time commenting. I know how hard dealing with critique can be. I know people try to help but sometimes its just not helpful. I grew up on a farm and always wanted bees but a majority of my family is allergic and I now live in a city. I live through you in every video. I love that you don't show us just the cool stuff and take us through all the steps every check, every decision.

[@overlycreative1]

A big Yay to you. Smiles and good advice.

[@caseyj.brooks2578]

All that land and I am surprised you don't have rows of bee loving flowers or at least a field of cover. Feed them naturally with flowers. I plan on planting bee plants all over the place next year.

[@vinofarm]

Casey J. Brooks There is a full acre of planted wildflowers and 2 acres of unmowed pasture surrounding the bee yard. It's just a mid summer lull in blooming times. Goldenrod just opened up and the fall will bring a significant bloom.

[@diygardener4556]

Definitely feed those bees! Don't listen to the naysayers. You can stop feeding and put on honey supers the same day if need be, when the nectar flow starts. When a necter is on, bees typically won't take syrup anyway.

[@leannechin1482]

DIY Gardener i

[@decaturridgebees8761]

My only thought on this is that bees can and do move nectar out of the brood box and into the supers. If your brood area is filled with sugar water and you super up then your supers are going to have some sugar water. I know its taboo to talk about that but that’s the way it is

[@justinmk79]

Nothing wrong with feeding.

[@vinofarm]

justinmk79 I agree, but there's always a debate.

[@T289c]

You are Exactly right. This is the Dearth season. You will get loads of pollen but no nectar. I think here in the northeast early spring is the best flow time I think. We have to get our bees to overwinter for max honey. You are absolutely correct with your conclusion today. If these hives are alive in the spring I think you will get honey next year. Power to those bees brother!! Good job

[@T289c]

Here is a cool map that shows Bee Forage for the year, State by State in the US. The number on the chart is the month the flower is in bloom. honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov/Honeybees/Forage.htm

[@FloryJohann]

You are right, My bees bring in pollen, but they do not have honey stored either and i am feeding.

[@BzzzantHoney]

If your not collecting honey, there is nothing wrong with feeding them to make comb. You have to remember, when the population is lower, you need to have enough foragers to get enough nectar to draw comb in the hive. Lower population hives may only have 5000 forager bees. While a larger full power hive may have upwards of 30 - 40,000 foragers. So you won't see alot of comb show up in a weaker hive without feeding them right inside the hive. Your right, feeding is always a subject people want to weigh in on, but the reality is every location is different, with different flowers, you cannot rely on other beekeepers to tell you what's right in your area. You need a canola field 🤣

[@bigleo122]

I am experiencing the same dirty in Savannah Ga as well. It has been pretty rainy here as of late. I was just up in the Southbridge MA area last week. The weather is nice up there so that's not the issue. I really think we are waiting on the Goldenrod to bloom or something for the final push before winter. I am so have not been able to use the flow frames yet either. 1st yr doing all of this and I'm looking for a answer too. BTW, I also found 2 queens coexisting in one of my hives.

[@HeatherSaltas]

How come you take the supers on and off? I understand it might be needed in the winter, but I’m curious why during warm weather?

[@lwil2808]

Feed your bees and don't worry about people telling you not to. If they need it they will use. They need to build.

[@gasperle]

This is better than soap opera :D

[@brettgolden1145]

I'm in the SAME boat, Vino Farm. Working to keep my hives alive this coming winter (2 Buckfast hives kept in flow hives and 2 Italian hives kept ApiMaye hives). Everyone around me wants honey but I'm not worried about honey for myself. My bees need it and THAT is that! Stay positive, you are doing a great job fighting to keep the bees. The bees will reward you soon.

[@hightde13]

Looks like you are getting the hang of things. Your knowledge of the area and hunch to feed them like you were doing in the last video was spot on. Some times you just have to go with your gut! Still, lots of activity and glad to see so many little ladies in the italian hive. Good luck with august/sept bloom!

[@granttabor1338]

Feed syrup and give them a pollen pack. They will only use it if they need it.

[@MrJancisLv]

Past two years have been really harsh for bees. Barely any honey for harvesting, if any at all. I live in eastern Europe. Beekeepers around my area say a lot of hives have died out. This summer doesn't look much better. Good luck.

[@justinmk79]

Bee keepers that get honey already have pulled comb for the bees. The bees burn through a ton of honey building comb.

[@terrycrownover5698]

I watched your channel from the start on bees. I started out with one cut out and now I have 7 hives. no honey yet but you are right it is a journey. You have inspired me to spend almost 3000 dollars to get to this point. stick in there and have lots of pashents. soon we will be having tost and honey from our hives for years to come.

[@Newholland-vd6wt]

You said that your bees missed to spring flow or whatever but what if you feed them and give them what they need to have what they missed in the spring flow. So I guess you could try and recreate spring flow for them but I do not know if that is possible.

[@patrickprescott5166]

Never realized you were also in MA. I find your videos extremely helpful. I just started with 1 hive in April have experienced ups and downs just like you, had a queen swarm, went queenless for a month after the virgin queens never returned, and just re-queened last week with a mated queen I got in the mail. It's an incredibly interesting hobby and you never know what will happen. Even had a been sting me that went up my pant leg. A week later it was infected. Yup an infected bee sting. Only like a 0.4% chance of that happening. It's been an awesome adventure so far, though and I plan to expand next year.

[@TheKat420]

There was some golden Rod growing by Springfield this weekend. I'm in northwest CT. Starting to see some here too. I hope the dearth isn't going to be too long.

[@vinofarm]

Our goldenrod is juuust starting to pop. It will go for over a month after that. I'm going to feed for a week and see what happens. I'm sure they'll suck it all up and fill those empty frames.

[@tbp.whiteraven]

Hello, I'm waching your videos for quite some time now, and I want to thank you for them. Lot's of information, beautiful apiary, and land. Congratulations. Anyway, I'm from Croatia, near the sea, and the foarging season is at the end here. I am preparing to be a newby in beekeeping, I prepared my apiary and will buy my bees in march of next year. Untill then, I'm studying hard (books , videos, consulting beekeepers ecc.) about beekeeping. I some suggestions for you, since you have enough land around your apiary (I don't :(, and the soil is half rocky - mediterranean): I saw that on your land you have a lot of grass, and between your fruit trees too, why don't you plough the meadows and between the fruit trees, and sow clower there(white is best)? White clover is eccelent for bees - lot's of nectar and pollen (all clover and other similar plants too) and has bacteria on it's rooth that bonds nitrogen from the air and tranforms it into nitrites and nitrates that are plant food (good for fruit trees). It's a very natural way to enrich the soil. How about some cherry trees? There is bassically no pruning with them, and they are a blessing for bees (I'll plant another cherry tree near ma apiary in october). Have you heard about Paulownia tree? It grows very fast, has a wonderful lilac flower and produces tones of nectar. On the other hand you have Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) it is the rincipal honey tree in the Balkans. I'm fascinated with your work and your land and I see the potentials that it has, on the other side I don't have so much opportunity as you, so I took the liberty to give you some suggestions, I'll be glad if you'll accept them, all in the interest of the girls in the hives and the great work you all are doing :) Sincerely Tomislav

[@vinofarm]

Thank you for your comments. The acre of land next to the bees was plowed and sown with a mix of perennial wildflowers last summer... and they were beautiful last year. Unfortunately, what came up this year was mostly grass. The area on the other side was plowed this spring and sown with clover, alfalfa and buckwheat. I don't know what happened, but the clover and alfalfa did not germinate and grass took over. The buckwheat took off and is doing very well. We are going to re-till the grass into the soil and try re-seeding with clover this fall. We are trying very hard to PLANT FOR THE BEES!

[@briangriebel3984]

Vino Farm alfalfa is very difficult to grow unless all the conditions are JUST right. Maybe just try growing different varieties of white clover, example: alice white clover. It will do very well in your climate, it reseeds itself, it's perennial, and requires a lot less maintnace. Also bees love it. AND, it blooms all summer long. Love your videos by the way. Been with you from the beginning.

[@vinofarm]

It was my first time really trying to grow field crops. I probably did it wrong. I think the main problem is we didn't till the soil well enough and the old sod wasn't totally killed. The grass came right back. I still have bags of red and white clover and will try again on that big bare patch of soil next to the bee yard. I'm just waiting for the summer heat to pass and I'll put it down late August. Thanks for watching!

[@tbp.whiteraven]

Well, white clover can be sown in spring too, mabye the conditions in your area are better for spring sowing

[@ponyvet77]

Alfalfa winter kills very easily (esp in colder climates like yours). I would stick to clover and buckwheat.

[@riverbfarms8967]

We JUST had this same thing happen in one of our Apiaries! Out of the 50 or so hives we inspected there, I bet there was a noticeable absence of honey reserves in over half of them! It was not that way up until this last week. This apiary is in SE MN and there seems to be a LOT of wildflowers blooming in the area (though goldenrod is still holding off). We were just discussing the need to feed our few remaining NUCs as well as those hives that look needy. It appears that ALL comb growth has ceased, nectar collection is at a minimum as well. It was VERY scarey to see so much empty comb in those hives. The bee population is still strong and the queens seem to be 'slowing down' a bit. It's difficult to tell for sure but a month ago most were begging for empty cells. Now they have full frames (edge to edge, both sides) of brood going. We've only been doing this since May 1st so we are not even CLOSE to being any sort of experts at this and it's always nice to watch what other beeks are seeing. We decided to start with 55 hives just so we could see everything many times over so we never wondered if it was an oddity or a pattern. This is indeed a pattern for us - at least at this one apiary. Keep up the good work, we appreciate watching what you are going through too.

[@phyreacid]

Yay! You do what you need to take care of what you have. We can say anything we want in the comments but really at the end of the day it's your hives and you have to do what you believe is right for you and them. It is an experience and I'm just glad we get to follow along.

[@stacystancati8357]

I know nothing of beekeeping but i learn alot from the information in your videos. Go with your gut and feed them. I can tell you care for and about your bees which warms my heart. I can feel the love. 🖒

[@CaliforniaGleamin]

Does placing hives on a gravel bed prevent hive beetles?

[@vinofarm]

We don't really have a hive beetle issue in Massachusetts. But, yes, the stone would discourage hive beetles. I just like that it prevents weeds.

[@PaulOtis]

No hate here. I agree, feed them. When the fall flow starts, they will quit the feed and hit the real thing.

[@vinofarm]

Thanks, Paul. If they fill up their brood boxes over the next week or two, maybe they'll actually put some real nectar up in supers this fall. That's the theory...

[@roberthansberger7300]

I know this is off subject. but looking at you wind break is a good start but has not filled in yet. I would think about getting some bales of hay and making a better wind break for the coming winter. Just thinking proactive and not reactive. : )

[@MycolMushington]

I agree with adding syrup. Also, I would add pollen patties. They need to build and load up that comb! Once your hives are big and strong, then maybe considering taking off the syrup and pollen patties.

[@kennapop3]

This is why I put you up there with Mike Palmer . I have two splits ordered for spring multi breed local bees. I might order two Russian queens.. I spent my Sophomore H,S, year in Granby Ct. How close are you to that area? Trick question at one time Granby included a very large area from the Hartford airport to the Mass. Border.

[@vinofarm]

I grew up in East Longmeadow, MA, right on the Enfield, CT border. I'm a Pioneer Valley/ Connecticut River/ Western Mass native.

[@corysummers3008]

Great video, answered my question. My bees missed the spring flow as well and my hive is similar to your first hive you inspected, hardly nothing and no stores, if I didn't feed the wouldn't have anything. hey have a lot of pollen, 8 frames worth and they are drawing out the 3rd deep. My goal is to have a huge strong hive that can survive the winter!!!! As a rookie first year beekeeper I was just wondering if what I'm experiencing is normal. But your video brought some clarity and hopefully my bees kick ass in the fall flow cause if not they're gonna have a rough winter!!!!

[@vinofarm]

Sounds like a lot of us are experiencing the same thing. Our fall flowers are coming out in force right now. Should be a strong couple months for nectar.

[@fcmom2boys]

Another great video. I've been fighting with whether to feed, too. My hive of Italian bees are thriving without feeding. Although they are doing great, I've decided to wait until next year to try the flow frames. My two other hives were caught from swarms this spring and are definitely going at their own pace. They are much darker bees which I thought could be Russian bees. They have been slow to draw out comb and are very reserved in honey storage, too. Since they were feral bees that swarmed from a very large cottonwood tree, I think they are much different from my Italians, which I bought as a package in early spring. This is only my second year, as well, and I am focused on getting them through a cold Colorado winter. I agree that feeding may be what your two hives need to help them draw out the comb and pack in some stores. In the end, definitely go with your gut. I am still feeding my weakest hive to help stimulate the comb drawing so I have two solid boxes for winter. This was the hive where the queen took a good 2-4 weeks off from laying, then started laying like a crazy queen. They still don't take the syrup much at all, but it's there if they need it. Mostly, I think they are just going to take their time and go at the pace they want to go. I hope they will still be able to get enough stores for winter, but we will see. Also, I am not sure how far away your water source is, but maybe they might need it to be closer. I'm in town, and I feel my bees love getting their water from the wet grass more than the fountain. Thanks for another great video.

[@vinofarm]

Thanks for your continued support! Sounds like your bees are similar to mine. Maybe you're in a nectar dearth, too. Best of luck!

[@jotttn]

It's interesting to see how beekeeping works in different parts of the world. Here in Ireland, the nectar flow has been full on for over 6 weeks and still strong. I've had to pull honey off twice to stop being honey bound, in fact one hive is on its third honey extraction and they still have a super full (I always leave one super on). I take the 2 supers above this👍🏼

[@elissapond7200]

I agree. If you're not expecting honey and you just want to build brood and comb and help them store for the winter. Feed syrup 2:1 (s:w) or even a 5:3 mix. Nectar gold is an amazing product you can add to the syrup to give them vital plant nutrients. It's helped my hives build comb like crazy. They were just storing, but when I started adding the Nectar Gold product it was only a few days and they were building comb much more quickly than before. I think one single deep 10 frame hive built out 3-4 frames of foundation frames in just a week. It's amazing.

[@korgothkillings2032]

Feed them and put a medium on jut for space. Once you see the comb being built. Pull the feed and the extra medium. And then add your supers. Hope when you remove the medium you won't have to remove that much store and brood. I'm not even a beekeeper. I just watch videos. I just like thinking of different ways to do things even if they don't work. Maybe will get lucky. Love videos. Keep up the good work.

[@CharlesGinzel]

hey Jim, i think you stated your goals. build up, build up, build up and if nature provides, some honey. so put the feed on. i'm not in Georgia, but things are likewise much easier down here in New Orleans i'm sure. especially being in a suburban area where more flowering plants are available much of the year. i feel blessed when i see your situation and hear other stories about how hard it it can be to keep bees successfully further north. i like your positivity. i think you will eventually figure out the best way to keep bees in your area.

[@numbertwelve8627]

Hm... not sure how the climate is in your place, but... over here in Germany, many people are pulling in their last harvests of the year soon to start feeding and mite treatment for the winter. Fun fact: both syrup feeding and varroa treatment basically end the honey season for your hives here because you're not allowed to sell any honey pulled from those hives after you either gave them syrup or varroa treatment. You could still harvest and eat it for yourself if you really wanted to, but since that honey has been "watered down" with sugar syrup, you might as well leave it in there, as it's considered really low quality stuff. I wholeheartedly agree with you focusing on getting them through the winter over getting honey from them. It's even in the word: beekeeper, not honeymaker. Keep it up and good luck with those hives!

[@vinofarm]

I'm hoping to feed them for a week or two to build up their brood boxes, then put on queen excluders and small supers to try for a fall harvest. We have a good autumn bloom coming up in September. I would not try to harvest "syrup honey" but whatever they put in the supers would most likely be from the nectar flow. Any varroa treatments I do will be safe to do with supers on. Hopefully, the Russians won't need treatment. The Italians might. I will be testing in a week or two and treating in August if needed.

[@WindsofChange]

I know nothing about bee keeping (trying to learn...just starting), but I agree with you. The health of the hive needs to be primary. No hive, no honey for sure....better to preserve the hive for future honey...

[@lc7014]

I think the northeast has had such a long slow wet spring that normal progress is slow. My original flow hive is just capping honey now and my newer hives which started as nucs this year are very slow to build comb as well. I think next year will be better😊

[@shelbymitchell7643]

I recently discovered your channel and I absolutely love it. Makes me really want go try this but with my husband's bee allergy it's highly unlikely. But love watching your videos.

[@joereilly7082]

Curious, how goes your swarm trap?

[@anothergamedeveloper5820]

Hey, does anyone know how to store pollen patties for later bee consumption?

[@FloryJohann]

Oh man, you are talking my thoughts right there starting at 13:15 and for this year I do not have no honey either and my only goal right now is to get the hive through the winter alive. I have the same situation after my bees got pretty much robbed ever since I started to put the package of bees in place and i did not know until recently. I got the robbing under control and now I have to build up. I have been feeding syrup for about 1 week now and without it, the bees would be either dead right now or they would had left. I have a lot bees and 2 hive bodies, I just don't have honey stored in them. it is hard to build up with a lot of bees and no or little nectar flow. You may want to open feed and set the feeder up farther away 100 to 200 feet, this way the weaker hive does not get robbed by the stronger hive since you have several hives with different strength. All the bees meet at the feeder and not at another hive.....no problem. I am also a first time beekeeper and this is my first year. Good luck.

[@hcrtoothy]

I'm not a beekeeper but based off of what we've seen, the bees do fantastic with the sugar water you've been giving to them, and the weeks you've given them to naturally forage on their own, they haven't been very successful in growth. I do believe that you should go with your gut, but I also do believe that they need that sugar water to keep themselves on that "explosive growth" level

[@jesteris25]

Always feed your week hives always it helps with numbers here where I we had flowering plants all year round and very few cold days where bees wont go out so numbers boom quick.

[@lianimator]

Once you're able to cycle out those old, black nuc frames, be sure to hold on to them and use them in your swarm traps. They smell great to scout bees.

[@peterellis9836]

Hi, yes feed it takes one and half of a gallon to draw out one frame. I have the same issue at the moment. Love watching keep up the good work.

[@lalalovengun]

You are AWESOME in what you do. I truly enjoy watching your videos!

[@scottsbees7166]

Are you using brood builder in your sugar water?

[@halfblindalchemist]

A few thoughts. Regarding the two smaller colonies - they started late (not such a bad thing, since we had a cold, wet spring up here, and the flow itself was late), and they have a lot of brood ready to hatch. Very likely a large portion of the population is staying in the hives to keep the brood warm, so your field population is down. Once the new bees hatch the dynamics will change and the field pop will swell - just in time for goldenrod and Japanese knotweed. So, if you want to feed them, feed them. The bees will tell you when you can stop, because they will forgo the syrup in favor of nectar, when they have the population to go out and get it (and it is available). As others have noted, feeding is only a problem, if you have put on supers. The strong hive - they will only draw out comb, if there is a flow on, either natural or artificial. No flow, no wax production. So, checkerboarding will only work to produce comb, if there is a good quantity of nectar coming in. The bees won’t waste resources. If you think you are in a dearth, and if you want to have them draw comb, then you have to feed them, too. Pros hate to feed, because it costs money. As a hobbyist you have the advantage of doing what you think is best, when you think it is best. As for checkerboarding, it might help with producing straight comb, since you have frames being drawn out between existing frames. But, they will also draw frames in the upper box, WHEN they need it, and WHEN they have the resources to do it. If they still have several drawn frames that are available, then they will use those preferential to drawing new comb. Finally, what kind of activity are you seeing at the entrances? Lots of bees coming and going? Will be a good indicator of the strength of your field forces. I know you said you are in a dearth, but I am only an hour north of you, and right now there is a LOT of Dutch clover in bloom. The bees are all over it. I have a hive started from a package in late April to which I just added a fourth medium super, because the first three are capped. The other 10 colonies are also still putting up honey (added supers to several of them, as well). I didn’t expect it, but the late spring and ample rains have led to a near steady succession of blooms. You may be surprised (I hope), once that brood starts emerging in volume. Anyway, good luck. Enjoy watching you on your journey. Bill

[@mnkid900]

Earlier this year I decided to get into the beekeeping arena. My plan is to get as much info on it before I start my new hives (2) in the spring of 2018. While searching for videos about the flow hives I came across Vino. I have watched all of the videos from last year and this year. I can't give any help but from what I have read and watched I would feed the 2 small hives as they still need to build more comb and need some stores for the coming winter. This is what I would do but then I haven't even started a hive. I am just getting everything ready this year.

[@vinofarm]

Remember, I'm not a how-to channel, I'm just documenting my experience and my progress. Thanks for watching and best of luck!

[@mnkid900]

I know that it is just a documentary but it still is good for a beginner.

[@davidmedford1166]

Is it possible to keep bees in a green house with an exit during winter to keep them warm/alive?

[@sybilsinclair5614]

Hey neighbor! Feed 'em. :-) We're so glad to see that your new queen is doing such a great job.

[@bieleckybrothers]

Hello sir I am a new beekeeper and love your channel . I am 13 day new beekeeper . What time of day do you inspect your hive?

[@vinofarm]

Long Island Yaker People tell me the best time is the middle of the day when all the foragers are out, but I hate the mid day heat. So I usually find myself in the hives in the afternoons and evenings. I personally have not found a time of day when the bees are more or less easy going... that more depends on the time of year. During our dearth in August they are very defensive all the time and I usually leave them alone as much as possible. I think they get used to you as their beekeeper the more you are around them. Let them smell you. Talk to them a lot.

[@bieleckybrothers]

@@vinofarm Thanks , I am only on your second year beekeeping videos but I am learning allot from you and really appreciate your time in making these videos for us NewBees

[@budskillman7320]

Here's a question: our hive are next to our veg. garden. We are doing battle with Jap Beetles and Mex. bean beetles. It occurred to me that with your grapes you too are waging war with the Jap Beetles too. Since your hives are close by how do you control without harming bees?

[@vinofarm]

I use Japanese Beetle pheromone traps. No spraying.

[@christophersmith9233]

What happened to that swarm catcher you made? Anything come out of that?

[@vinofarm]

You will know if I catch anything. Still waiting!

[@bradhughes4494]

No need to apologise/explain yourself to anyone. Your experience is your experience. I'm a new beekeeper also and enjoy your updates. I'm in a similar climate (NB Canada) and the weather here can get nasty so my main goal is to have the bees survive winter too. FWIW I'd definitely give them syrup. Good luck!

[@vinofarm]

I always complain about beekeeping in New England and then I remember that people do it in Canada and Alaska. Not sure HOW they do it, but I know it's done. Thanks for watching and best of luck with your bees!

[@shaunbarker9201]

Agreed,syrup is definitely the key to success. It will make a world of difference,plus the bonus of natural nectar and pollen coming into your hives. They will gain a ton of stores,helping the new young bees turn into foragers and therefore strengthening the hives. Having three hives,if they are all the same strength, have you considered open feeding away from the hive as well. Your open ground would be perfect to set a stand or pallet with a few five gallon buckets full of syrup. Please take a peek at barnyard bees and their open feeding video. It helps both ways with hive strength. The robbing won't happen due to the fact the syrup foraging bees will continually be full from the buckets of syrup. Maybe 50-100 yards from the hives should suffice Jim. They will soon find the syrup and feed the hives well. Hope this helps

[@smokeydops]

getting the bees to survive is priority #1 italian hive looks like it's going to be OK, that queen has proven she is a Fall worker, but feeding will not hurt Russian Right looks like its in trouble compared to the Hive Left, though we admittedly have a smaller sample size of Russian queens than we do of 'usual' bees. from what I have read of Russian hive behavior, they definitely should be fed

[@pattycastle7863]

Gosh, I am amazed at how different your hives are from ours. I am in North East Ohio, and we have had 3 brood boxes on both of our hives since the end of June and they are pack and we had to put honey supers on both of them this last hive check. We started them both in April. Gosh, I'm rooting for your Bees. Feed them as long as they will take it. Like DIY Gaaradener says, when the nectar is flowing, they won't take the syrup. We had comb they built over a one week period in the lid of my hive that was filled with honey. We had to clean it out and got 3 quarts of comb with honey and a small rubbermaid container. :( I am sad for you cause you have worked so hard. It's the region your in not anything you've done. Keep up the good work, and check out Brian Koper on You Tube

[@jackbquick123]

Hey just wanted to let you know I enjoy your videos, I subscribed and can't wait to see the next one. I'm new at this, just got 2 hives about 3 months ago. Thanks for the vids.

[@debbiewoods983]

I'm a new subscriber and I think your doing a great job. I agree with some of your other viewers and that is: These are your Bee's. You know the feel of what is going on with them. Do what you think is best. Keep them healthy and strong.

[@mikeries8549]

My brood chambers are two deeps and two mediums. Yours aren't. You need more bees and more queen laying space. Plan for that and work your way to it and you'll be harvesting supers two or even three times in one season. It takes a LOT of bees to make harvestable honey happen. Have harvested around 55 gallons and still have full supers all over the place. It's been a good season in east central Illinois.

[@abrahamwashington2858]

I've never kept bees, but I have family that keeps them in Connecticut. I think your problem this year was that you fed through the early spring flow that you get up there. Now is the right time to feed - between spring and fall is a dearth in that area.

[@vinofarm]

Abraham Washington I completely missed the spring flow. My winter survivor bees were the size of a softball up until June and my nucs arrived in late May. I'm hoping to build all these hives up and make it until NEXT spring with strong hives. This year is pretty much a wash.

[@DreamofaHive]

Good call, although I would probably feed all of them - get that comb drawn!!!! :) Might be an idea to reduce the entrances on the smaller hives just in case russian hive left has been robbing ;)

[@andrewmoules]

Hi , love your channel I'm also a small time beekeeper I have watched your progress from last year. I'm beekeeping from the other side of the world in Australia we don't have the snow though winter but the bees do slow down when it gets cold.one thing that I have no doubt will help you to get more honey is changing out your bee boxes to paradise bee boxes 7 times more insulting than wooden boxes.the bees don't need as much honey to keep warm,the best thing is your freezing winters with paradise hives the bees would survive,paradise bee hives are made in Finland for their climate,ps feed your bees put a entrance reducer on the Italian hive stop the robbing,

[@sadrian1718]

I got the same problem, no significant comb/honey production after I stopped feeding them 2 weeks ago. Got my bees April 15 and they needed help. Now their numbers are up but I guess they need to learn to fend for themselves. There is wilderness all around me in the Pocono mountains and lots of wild flowers blooming everywhere. Compared with past 2 years I saw golden rod on the side of the road yesterday instead of around September. I hope winter is not gonna come way too early this year, but plants know what they know.

[@jeremymtz360]

Maybe because the workforce on the Italian hive isnt very high yet is the reason they havnt stored alot of honey?

[@sharonriley948]

You are establishing new colonies, if there is not a heavy nectar flow then feed them! It takes a frame of nectar and one of pollen to raise a frame of brood....so if you want to fill 2 brood boxes with bees and brood it take a lot of nectar and pollen to get them to that stage of development as a colony. It takes a LOT of bees to build up to a large brood chamber, feed all those babies and make enough honey to carry them through a winter and if you want a harvest of honey for yourself they MUST have sufficient honey flow to accomplish this, and still make excess honey I live in Pa. and we rarely have enough of a flow late in summer. For a first year if they were not started early and fed heavily, if you can strengthen them enough to store a lot of honey for the winter and go into the autumn with lots of bees you will have done well. Rick

[@kiasmith1006]

Yes feed those bees! It's not going to hurt them and it's just been that kind of year this year. I am in Florida and I am in the same boat as you. I am feeding. Your doing a great job!

[@NikiCanotas]

Feed em... fall will be here in a flash.... I am in California, I have time and lots of flowers. I have more options. Make sure it's cane sugar....

[@matchsee1657]

I love your vids. It's almost as though you're bringing us into it. I think you're doing great

[@evaphid]

I can see a hive there with huge potential. What has happened is that the queen has come into the honey super before making full use of the space in the brood chamber. That's one reason why some beekeepers use a queen excluder which keeps her in the brood chamber. I you intend to avoid the use of the queen excluder, avoid putting on a super before the frames in the brood chamber are all covered with bees of various stages, just time it well and apply the checker board strategy to prevent swarming. As it is now, you will have to rearrange the whole hive by finding the queen and return her to the brood chamber with the frame she is on, then place all frames with open brood next to her on both sides, after that insert a drawn out frame on the outer sides of the open brood frames, then and the frames with seal brood on the outside of those. The empty frames will provide space for her to lay eggs. Outside of the seal brood place frames with pollen and nectar which will be used by the nurse bees to feed the babies. Place all other seal brood and empty frames in the super with the brood placed in the centre right above the brood nest, then outside of those add frames for nectar stores. If on your next visit you should notice that the brood nest should expand in the brood chamber with brood of all stages on four to five frames, just add another super with frames, this will be mostly packed with nectar.

[@vinofarm]

Those are not supers... I am trying to build double-deep brood nests. And ideally triple high brood boxes with the medium Italian hive. Up here in the cold northeast, two deeps are recommended to get through winter.

[@kencollins3565]

I suggest you feed 1:1 and add Bee Healthy or Honey B Healthy additives... to boost brood production and wax production. I'm also in a similar position... building hives.

[@chaszrainsford]

IMO - (I am no expert) It seems you have the start of something awesome! I love the vids! They are great!

[@geraldrstone]

I'm not getting honey either here in wisconsin with 3 hives, probably because of the wet spring ( the cold wet flowers can't make nectar). if your not getting honey, you might as well raise bees by feeding them.

[@KleinerDrache]

sometimes the progress will go very very slow ... but better slow progress than absolutely no progress :)

[@cavemaneca]

What would I do? I would put syrup on any hive that I don't have supers on.

[@dragoljubstevanovic9344]

since you are trying to replace old frames in your place I would put all old frames on top and put queen excluder so queen have no access to them, and when all bees emerges from those frames in about 3-4 weeks just pull them and put them in front of beehives so bees can clean them. After that 2 options - melt wax or just throw them in garbage.

[@eddouville7874]

So it is my understanding that the girls will only draw comb if there are enough worker bees to take care of the brood, this maybe why they are not drawing comb but on the up side once the brood hatches you may see a change in comb production. I think you should do what you feel about feeding your bees. Also if you are concerned about the Italian hive being robbed you may consider reducing the entrance, with a hive that is trying to bounce back from the winter, a smaller entrance means less bees are needed to guard the entrance. And we fully understand your frustration, we have had some ups and downs with our bees in Massachusetts. Keep the videos coming. Thanks Old Drone 64.

[@alvaradopenreview6774]

If you feed them syrup to much will they rely on it and stop going out for pollen just a question don't know anything on bees

[@Ellelolliette]

Bees will pick nectar over sugar water. Sugar water just makes getting food and helping the hive easier. He fed all last year and the Hives take from the bucket as they need it. If they need it they take it all if they get food elsewhere they wont take any.

[@tho1efx]

What about putting the syrup in a separate container outside the hives so that they learn to forage at least sort of? Instead of basically inside it. Is it bears you are worried about? Maybe bees don't learn but if they do maybe that's the best way to go for feeding.

[@vinofarm]

Yes, we have bears. Also, I like to put the containers inside so I can monitor exactly how much each hive is taking.

[@tho1efx]

i can understand your reasoning. Thank you for your responce.

[@shaunbarker9201]

I agree Jim, syrup will help. If all frames were drawn and stored honey the problem wouldn't really be there. Helping them get going will encourage the older bees to forage to help the young bees once born. I feel it will make the hive stronger feeding syrup. Not to add a super for a few weeks will let them store honey. Secondly the going through winter is yes more important than a few pounds of honey. We have 10 hives as I've mentioned before,2 are very weak but 8 are rocking gathering pollen etc. I'm kind of the opinion, rather than getting the 2 weak hives stronger, let nature take its course. Jason Christian tried this method and I think out of 8 hives he lost a few,but his point was the weak perish and the strong survive as in the wild. I know there might be a few negative points from other keepers on this. Second year keepers the same as Jim and 4d honeybee 1. It's a journey and a learning curve daily. Over wintered hives I feel become better hives,as 2 of our hives are.this year we are going to try different methods for feeding . Half the hives honey and pollen with dry sugar and a small amount of a pollen pattie. The others honey,pollen and a 2:1 syrup. I would like to see the results in the spring. As 2 hives came through winter with dry sugar and pollen with a little stored honey. One hive which is my personal hive is a beast size wise ,very very busy with plenty of drawn comb and room for the queen. A super also added a few weeks ago,

[@vinofarm]

Thanks, Shaun. I would be more likely to "let nature take it's course" if it didn't mean 66% of my 3 hives dying! My instinct is to help them all live. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had 10 or 15 hives. I'm going to feed of 1-2 weeks and see what they do.

[@adamtate6030]

u have rite idea start strong n spring u will have more bee n hove then u know what to do wit i started wit two bpth when thru winter now 13 hives all but 2 strong

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

If you want to semi-quickly get rid of that yuky old dark comb (I'm doing the same with my hives), you could put the comb in a box above a queen excluder (even if it's a lone frame). Let the bees emerge. The bees might start putting honey in it, but you can just feed that back to them. I like your videos, they're well produced. If you use a PC, what editing software do you use? I need to get something to edit my really bad videos. Thank you.

[@vinofarm]

CluelessBeeKeeping This is a good tip and I have heard of similar solutions. The problem is I need new comb to replace the bad stuff. If the bees have started drawing new comb, I might try this trick to rotate in some of the new stuff. In answer to your question, I'm on a Mac and using Final Cut Pro now. I used iMovie all through 2016 and finally feel comfortable with Final Cut after forcing myself to use it as of January. I've only ever had Macs. Thanks for watching.

[@jamiebennett7663]

I feed all my new hives in till only 2 frames are not drawn then I stop and hi st suppers. Feed makes them think a best of flow is on. From the point of all drawn colmb then they will store extra on top. I suggest pre heavy wax frames. They will draw honey frames faster. Otherwise you have a 2-3 week prep time for them to draw the honey frames. Look up making a pollen food. They feed the brood and makes your hive stronger more bees more honey. Previous comments were they will stop feeding when the best of flow is on. This is true. Even when you feed sugar syrup they will stop when a slow is on. You have to take care of your bees what works for one does not work for all!

[@AIM54A]

Any signs of mites on the Italians? The hive might be losing bees as quick as she's replacing them.

[@vinofarm]

There's so few bees that I can really look hard at each one and I saw no mites. None on the bottom inspection board either. Last year things ramped up in late August, so I'm getting ready to start testing soon.

[@justinmk79]

Put all your drone comb up top. That way after the drones hatch they will back fill with honey.

[@markrjones]

If you feel you need to feed your bees, then feed your bees. I had to start feeding again down here in South Carolina. I've also planted buckwheat to help the bees through the dearth. #cedarfallsfarm

[@shaunbarker9201]

Then you could add supers in a few weeks ready for the August nectar flow. Giving you your honey.

[@jamiebennett7663]

Also put entrance reducers on. Easier to defend 2 inch opening compared to 10 inch. Less bees to defend wasps and other hives will rob! Allows hive to get strong and not robbed

[@rogerwitt5572]

I agree with you, beekeeping is a journey. If you feel you need to feed your colonies to get them healthy and strong to make it through winter then that is YOUR dicision. After getting your colonies strong and healthy so they survive year after year honey will be the natural by product of the good practices you put in place for YOUR conlonies.

[@ponyvet77]

My "i don't have bees" advice would be to put a medium honey super on the booming hive. If anything you can always add the honey to the smaller hives if needed

[@glenng.5577]

We're with you! Us, You, and the bees! (ok... the Russians too because they seem to be pulling their weight on the left) If we don't get any honey this year, we can always go to the super market and buy that sterilized crap they label as honey, and imagine it will taste much better next spring. You got this! Go bees Go! Suck up that syrup and pull out the comb! We wanna see so much comb that we start selling it at farmers markets under the hair care section! Ok, pep talk is over, back to work. Just go yell this at your bee hives, it's what I do here in Oklahoma, I'll let you know if it works.

[@deltacx1059]

I would definitely be feeling a tone of syrup before winter

[@09mouldy]

plant some sumac. sumac flowers now. I'm in upstate ny so the climate isn't much different. also a little bit of milk weed.

[@vinofarm]

There is a lot of milkweed in our field and a big clump of sumac on the edge of our woods!

[@stonerman2k]

Feed. Feed. Feed. Feed them all, and use brood builder or honey bee healthy. They need food to draw comb. No food, no building. It's been a tough year for all Beekeepers. I'm 100% with you on growing the bees.

[@ronreid7580]

Feed them all. You are about 7 hours southwest of me and my dearth hit this week. BUT and that's a big but my bees before that were bringing in so much nectar that I was down to a frame of brood in a number of hives. As fast as they would hatch they would back fill. Now the dearth has hit and they are eating stores and all hives are ramping up the brood. So I will hold off feeding until Aug 1st. That should give me a good shot of brood and lord knows they have packed nectar in every corner and they need a little prohibition. You mentioned golden rod. Mine hit mid Aug last year and ran into Oct. Would be nice if it happened that way again.. They need a flow to make lots of wax so feed feed feed. Plus as you say they need the food. As a side note my wife noticed a number of mites on my pull out trays. It's early but will do an OA treatment this week before they stop my hives dead. How are yours for mites? Got my nukes June 2016 and have enjoyed your journey and the comments left here. Both and a few others like bee source have enabled me to make it this far. Thanks R2

[@ronreid7580]

Guess if I had read all the way to the bottom there would have been no need to ask the mite question.

[@vinofarm]

Mite testing will happen in a week or two. We had no mites last year until late August. I have seen no evidence so far. Nothing on inspection boards at all yet.