perfect apiary site - what have you got and what would you like?

[Chrisbarlow]

Ive got a variety of apiary sites from open fields, to enclosed sites and woodland area's

The woodland one has only been in use this last 6 months and is in its first winter with colonies

Its a deciduous woodland and the apiary is just inside of the edge.

Now that all the leaves have gone it's open to the winter sun but protected from the wind. Vehicle access is also very good. It's not very flat unfortunately.

To my surprise it's proving to be quite a good overwintering site when I didn't think it would be.

Now that I've got this site, I'd like more of the same.

What are others apiary sites like and what do folks want in a good apiary site.

[Alfred]

Wouldn't be without my shed and tea making apparatus....

[Alfred]

Oh and a winch to drag the van out of the mud like I had to this morning.

[Patrick]

Great question. I suspect for many of us it is always a bit of a compromise.

Most of my hives are currently located quite close to where I live and with an adjacent large old shed which houses a load of stuff including my spare equipment, a plough and a badger set hole. I don’t consider either of the last two essential apiary requirements. Having spares kit close to hand is great.

It’s an orchard, which is good and gives weather protection but also some shading. There is no vehicular access into the orchard any more, but supers can be reasonably easily narrowed out. I think think this is a major consideration for a site. There is a critical distance beyond which either carrying or barrowing supers is really tedious, especially in any number.

As regards forage, I think you just have to suck it and see. Some sites are remarkably poor and hardly produce any surplus.

[NigelP]

Oh and a winch to drag the van out of the mud like I had to this morning.

On my wish,list. Managed to get 4x4 nearly stuck a couple of times at one of my sites.

[Chrisbarlow]

Oh and a winch to drag the van out of the mud like I had to this morning.

that's a great idea! only a couple of weeks ago, I got stuck in a field and got dragged out by a friendly farmer in a tractor. oh the shame of it.

I quite like the shed idea as well

[Chrisbarlow]

As regards forage, I think you just have to suck it and see. Some sites are remarkably poor and hardly produce any surplus.

One of the strangest questions I get asked is "will this site gets lots of honey", my standards answer is, stick some bees there and I will tell you in 3-4 years.

[Patrick]

It’s always been a puzzle why there seems so much variation in accumulated surplus between bees kept not that far apart, certainly within the Venn diagram middle bit of others that do so much better.

Is anyone aware of any research correlating crop surplus with distance from main nectar sources? I know the obvious but we always waffle on about the 3 miles but for practical purposes I suspect most useful foraging is much less surely?

[AdamD]

My home apiary site is 500 metres from a field where I also keep bees. The home site is more sheltered and colonies do a little better, I would say and the open field is not so good for overwintering nucs due to lack of shelter and the tend to be smaller in March than those at home.

A storage shed or similar near an apiary site would be beneficial - at the field site I use a pallet to dump stuff on - boxes, excluders, crown boards, empty nucs, feeders etc so they are at hand when I need them. They are put away come September.

It's fair to say that a few hives at home is by far the easiest way of looking after them; everything is at hand and you can gauge what's going on better - and know of swarms quite often too.

[Bobbysbees]

I make do with my back garden as well as my very kind neighbour s garden which he was kind enough to "let" me clear the chest deep brambles from. I have space for maybe 10 hives but as a beginner I managed to acquire 2 nucs early on in the year. I v got a wonderful shed with electric for all my wood working kit as I love making my own stuff.
My ideal would be the house I grew up in. Which was on an arable farm 4 miles from anyone else with an acre and a half of garden. But for my sins Im stuck living in town now. At least i now dont have to think of what to give the neighbours along with their Christmas card lol Hope they all like honey.