StuP
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Starting the bee adventureHi
Thought I'd start this thread to provide progress on our beekeeping aspirations. Please everyone feel free to comment/criticise.
First steps. Last weekend we drove up through Fife to Tayport to buy our hives. We bought three National hives (one each and one for contigencies/spares) in flatpack (much cheaper that way) and the car was instantly filled with the smell of fresh sawn cedar wood and beeswax - just marvellous. So far we have one hive almost completely put together (including the frames).
We also laid a couple of concrete slabs in the garden to stand the hives on. This took longer than we expected as we had to dig out the slope, lay down a brick for each corner for stability, spread sand between the bricks and make everything level. I'll see about providing pictures later.
Next steps: finish building the hives and paint them with (approved) woodstain, send in our application to join the Beekeepers Association and contact local beekeepers about getting bees for April/May. We're gonna keep bees! 
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judith
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How exciting. Definitely keep us posted.
Any chance of some photos of your progress?
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gil
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Sounds like an excellent and very definite beginning ! How much approximately does a hive cost flatpack vs assembled, BTW ?
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tahir
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Exciting, will most definitely be interested in your progress, I hope to be doing similar in 07 or 08
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StuP
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| gil wrote: | | How much approximately does a hive cost flatpack vs assembled, BTW ? |
Brand new a complete, built, National hive comes in at £215 whereas flatpack is £165 (This from a company called Thorne). So flatpack is a substantial saving. Of course, if you contact local beekeepers you'd probably be able to pick up second-hand equipment for a fraction of the cost. If you're a bit handy you could even make your own from scratch.
We went for new as Kat had just received a small inheritance and we fancied building the bits ourselves.
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