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Ralph Yamamoto's Blog Backyard Beekeeping: Back to School
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  • Author Author: ralphjy
  • Date Created: 25 Mar 2023 3:05 PM Date Created
  • Views 946 views
  • Likes 10 likes
  • Comments 5 comments
  • savethebeesch
  • beeekeeping
  • honeybees
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Backyard Beekeeping: Back to School

ralphjy
ralphjy
25 Mar 2023

The "Save the Bees Challenge" has raised my awareness of the potential for actually having a honeybee hive in my backyard.  It will be a little late for the challenge, but I signed up for a class on Backyard Beekeeeping at Portland Community College (class is in May - earlier classes had sold out).  The most interesting aspect of the class for me is that it is taught by a local beekeeper in Northeast Portland, so I hope to get some insight into how difficult it is to maintain a beehive in our local climate.  Seems like it would be extremely challenging in the winter and early spring in a backyard setting.  I've always wondered if backyarders just start over from scratch every year.

It's a really short course - a 3 hour classroom session covering the basics of setting up and maintaining a honeybee hive and then a field trip to the instructor's apiary, which is literally in his suburban backyard Relaxed.

The instructor runs a small business, Bridgetown Bees which provides beekeeping supplies and nucleus colonies (NUCs) and queen bees that he sources from bee farms in more rural areas of Oregon.  I'll see if it is viable to start a hive this year or whether I should just stick with the solitary native bees (Mason and leaf cutter bees).  The finishers prize in the challenge would allow me to do the latter, so I'll do that anyway.

These classes are pretty popular - this session was almost sold out when I signed up.  These community college classes are a great way to meet fellow hobbyists.  And for old folks like me, the fees are discounted 50%...

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Of course, if I do start a hive - I'll be able to use my challenge instrumentation for real Sunglasses.

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  • dougw
    dougw over 2 years ago

    Bees survive fine around here (the coldest capital in the world) so you won't have any problems. Bee keepers here may use a little extra insulation and wind breaks in the winter, but bees keep the hive warm.

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  • mp2100
    mp2100 over 2 years ago

    Looking forward to your postings.

    Having grown up with a beekeeper Dad in the upper Midwest (the winters were really really cold, -30F, no, not kidding), he had to start most hives from scratch.  Balmy Portland, I would expect bees to survive.  Except for colony collapse.

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 2 years ago in reply to ralphjy

    You'll need to get an outfit for granddog as well. Don't want to have to explain bee stings on the snout whilst in your care !

    We've had a bit of everything weather-wise here recently.

    I had an e-mail from Australia last week saying it was 39degC out there, whilst I was busy scraping ice off the car windscreen in the morning... 

    Hummingbirds are awesome. Don't get them around here. Mainly sparrows, blue-***, robins and starlings around the feeder here.

    We change into British Summer Time here in a few hours. Time to play hunt the clocks that don't have automatic daylight savings... (I do have a list, but then I have to play hunt the list...) 

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  • ralphjy
    ralphjy over 2 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

    I'll definitely post a photo if I get an outfit Smile.  I doubt if they are going to let us handle the hive hardware on our field trip...

    We're having our typical spring weather - we had snow and hail yesterday, but most of the snow was gone by early this morning.  I took the granddog out for a walk this morning in 36 F cloudy weather because it was supposed to rain this afternoon.  Of course, it is now 50 F outside and the solar panels are running full tilt in bright sunlight.

    I haven't seen the hummingbirds around the feeder, so I suppose they are finding lots of flowers.  And my allergies have kicked in, so spring must be here.

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 2 years ago

    When do you get measured up for the beekeeper's suit? Don't forget to post a photo Slight smile

    Here I appear to have more bats flying around than bees at the moment, which suggests there is some insect activity. Temperature randomly keeps dropping below freezing though.

    Snowdrops and Crocus have been and gone though and currently have Muscari Armeniacum in two different stages of flower at the moment but the bees appear to be missing out so far.

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