It’s an interesting one philosophically Woodgatherer.
What may work in one season may not the next and what suits one location may be impossible just a short way away. My main apiary after end July is a nectar desert surrounded by loads of other known apiaries only fields apart.
Two miles away I have a single hive next to the river which feeds itself solid with Himalayan balsam and I have never winter fed in a decade nor needed to. Try that in my main apiary and the results would be severe. A farmer deciding to grow beans in a nearby field one year may mean a bonanza or a wheat crop next year zero.
I will do what I think is the best by my bees - and that should have in most years benefits for me as well. I don’t always get it right but I am increasingly in agreement with Nealh, with busy lives the KISS principle has a lot going for it.
So I would go as far as saying I try to be open minded about being open minded !!
What may work in one season may not the next and what suits one location may be impossible just a short way away. My main apiary after end July is a nectar desert surrounded by loads of other known apiaries only fields apart.
Two miles away I have a single hive next to the river which feeds itself solid with Himalayan balsam and I have never winter fed in a decade nor needed to. Try that in my main apiary and the results would be severe. A farmer deciding to grow beans in a nearby field one year may mean a bonanza or a wheat crop next year zero.
I will do what I think is the best by my bees - and that should have in most years benefits for me as well. I don’t always get it right but I am increasingly in agreement with Nealh, with busy lives the KISS principle has a lot going for it.
So I would go as far as saying I try to be open minded about being open minded !!