I hope to put a few posts on here about our experiences with beekeeping. We have done a seven week course with a local expert....can't recommend doing that highly enough....takes a lot of the mystery out of it.
So...where will be put our hives?
Well, they are advised to be in dappled shade, protected from wind, on a level base, not in a high foot traffic area but close to where the honey will be extracted etc. A high hedge or obstruction in front of the hives encourages the bees to fly further in search of food and not plague the neighbours.
The area we selected is on the right of this picture - outside the wall towards the trees.
Now we have done a lot of work on that area - the walled area now holds greenhouses
Hive Area by
British Red, on Flickr
You can see a sort of alley between the greenhouses and ivy covered log shed
The trees are now cut back and BB did stirling work digging out all manner of broken bricks and rubble from old buildings
Cleared Hive Site by
British Red, on Flickr
I have built a couple of firm platforms to site the hives on
I started with a load of left over 2x2 from the raised beds
2x2 framing by
British Red, on Flickr
Got a couple of el cheapo 2' square slabs and grabbed the mitre box and saw
Tools by
British Red, on Flickr
I used the box to mitre the ends of the wood leaving 61cm on the inside edge (the slabs are 60cm square)
Mitre box by
British Red, on Flickr
With each piece I checked the fit
2 pieces by
British Red, on Flickr
4 pieces by
British Red, on Flickr
The corners were held in place with 2 x 3" deck screws
Corner Screws by
British Red, on Flickr
Putting the frames on the ground showed how uneven the ground was
Unlevel ground by
British Red, on Flickr
I marked the position with my trusty yellow pegs and got some of the rotted back turf removed from the raised beds to make good
Marker pegs by
British Red, on Flickr
Spirit level and pegs by
British Red, on Flickr
Flattened Earth by
British Red, on Flickr
Then I covered the area in weed matting and replaced the frames
Flattened Earth by
British Red, on Flickr
Frames on flat earth by
British Red, on Flickr
Inside the frames I put a layer of damp sand and got this nicely level
Levelled sand by
British Red, on Flickr
Then popped in the slabs
Slab in place by
British Red, on Flickr
A layer of chipped wood and bark completed the area (thank you tree surgeon chappies)
Finished hive location by
British Red, on Flickr
There we have it ...a place for hives....next comes building the hives
Red
