About Time For Another Box

This is Garden Hive Row. Ideally I like to keep only a few hives up near the garden. The Garden Apiary is usually reserved for new Nucs, splits or small problem hives I am feeding or what not.  Except this year the warm weather crept up on me before I had a chance to move last year's hives out to new locations. All the hives you see with one brood chamber and one honey super on top are last year's hives while the Nuc and the two other single box hives are some of this years swarm hives.

I have been trying to get all of last years hives moved now for almost two months but neither the bees, the rain or the temperature is cooperating very much. When it finally dries out enough for me to transport the hives the temps seem to remain high enough that the girls are bearding well into the night right now. I had hoped to get them moved before I put the second brood chamber on them but the time has come that I either give them more space or risk a late Summer swarm.

The Nuc and the two single box hives are also ready to graduate up to a full hive or a second deep respectively.

So it looks like this afternoon and tomorrow I will be adding boxes to Garden Hive Row. My plan at this point is to go ahead and stack em and then wait for Winter to move them using my two person hive carrier once they are in their Winter ball.

I mowed around the hives this morning and after I got finished I put the bottom board under the Nuc to get the bees used to seeing their new landing board target. I have found that placing the Nuc on the bottom board for a day are so before switching the hive over creates a lot less chaos and doesn't upset the foragers near as much when they come back.

Now all I need is for the rain to cooperate and stay away for a few hours.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!