Episode 99: Getting Hives Ready For Spring

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 99 of my podcast Beekeeping Short and sweet.Someone recently predict that Spring had arrived, well, with snow showers today and cooler weather ahead Winter still feels to have a grip. That shouldn’t stop us looking ahead and getting our bees in tip-top condition for the new season.Catch up with the very latest podcast as they are released hereHoney Paw Hives can be found online hereHoney Paw in the UK HereThis podcast is sponsored in part by Honey Paw Hives, This season I’m delighted to have Honey Paw hives on board as one of our biggest supporters. Do pop over to their website to take a look at the fantastic range of Langstroth beehives and here in the UK check out Modern Beekeeping who are the sole UK distributors of Honey paw Hives. As usual, I’ll leave links to their websites in the podcast notes.We’ve had a few chilly days of late, I’ve even taken to wearing my crocheted, beanie hat that I was given as a Christmas present a few years ago. Looks little daft but keeps my head warm, especially at the workshop where we don’t really have heating apart from the hot air that Pete and I spout when we’re talking, which is most of the time, but it’s still not enough to keep us warm.We’ve been trying to keep warm by painting the Honey Paw equipment, it sometimes seems a never-ending task especially as we don’t have the luxury of spray painting so it’s all rollers and paintbrushes, that said, we got a couple of coats on most things and Pete’s been checking everything out this week and covering up the bits we all missed. Hopefully this weekend we’ll have completed that particular task and we can move on to some of the more exciting jobs. I’m going to filming my take on the floors and roofs of the Honey Paw hives next, some interesting kit with some very clever features so do keep a lookout for that. Then it will be frames and wax foundation, and mountains of them. Not just for the Langstroth Poly Hives but for all the boxes we’ve been cleaning and preparing ready for the start of the new season. And that brings me on to today’s topic of getting ready for the new season.I was recently asked to give a talk in late March at the Norwich and District beekeeping association, my local beekeeping group that I’m a member of.The topic I’ve been asked to talk about is Getting hives ready for the new season. Well, the problem is by the time I give the talk, the third Wednesday of the month, it’s likely to be too late, I know that last season, we were very busy with our colonies moving to Oilseed Rape, putting nucs into full-sized hives and more generally beginning the checks for swarms.The perfect time to give a talk about preparing hives for Spring is probably August!Now that might come as a surprise to some beginner beekeepers but the more experienced beekeepers Will know exactly what I’m talking about. For me, the honey production season comes to a sudden halt at the end of July, you could almost see the nectar tap being turned off, it’s that sudden. So what is the beekeeper supposed to do between the end of July and the start of the new season around six months later, well, not a great deal if he or she is organised but there are some crucial steps that gets the hive in perfect condition and ready for a fast start the following Spring.I hope you have a fantastic week, the new season will soon be upon us so let’s do all we can to have a fast start.Please do remember to check out my Patreon page where you can access lots more content, that’s www.patreon.com/norfolk honey.I’m Stewart SpinkSupport the show