Here's our first episode of Backwards Beekeepers TV!
Starter strips are the Backwards Beekeepers' alternative to the wax foundation traditionally used in beehive frames; the wax sheets sold commercially usually come from hives that use chemicals and fungicides. Letting your bees draw their own comb also means that they'll build cells that are the size they want, not the size you tell them to build. This means you get bees that are slightly smaller (just like in the wild) and better able to resist mites and other problems.
Take it away, Kirk:
2/13/09
Backwards Beekeepers TV premiere: How To Make Starter Strips
Russell 2/13/09
Labels: organic principles, starter strips, video
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14 Responses:
Great video. Nicely done!
Thanks. I've been stuck doing it the old way since I didn't know any other.
I love it. Well done.
Brilliant! Spielberg move over!
Were the frames in the video from a commercially made hive? Or do you make your own frames?
Or more basic question - do you have plans available for making a hive from scratch? Thanks.
Yep, those are medium-size commercial Langstroth hive frames. We buy ours from Los Angeles Honey Supply.
For homemade hive ideas, check out Michael Bush's site:
http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm
Thanks. The Kenyan Top Bar Hive - looks perfect!
I'm thinking that what I'll do is build 4 of these Kenyan hives right off, rather than one at a time. Then I'll hunt for wild bees.
Does that sound like a good beginner's plan?
Thanks.
How long after starting a Kenyan hive do you project it will be before I need to split it? Thanks.
That's really up to the bees, and depends on how fast they expand. We let the bees make most of the decisions, and try to stay in sync with what works best for them.
Good luck with the bee hunting. Send us photos of the results, and we'll post them on the blog.
Thanks. The reason I ask is to decide how many hives to build initially. I don't want to have to build one, then soon after, build another, etc. But I don't want to build too many. What might be a sensible number for the first year? One? Two? More?
Thanks.
I'd say build two, and see how things go.
Sounds good, thanks.
By the way, Mike's Bees says he doesn't paint the starter strips with wax and gives several reasons why he doesn't. Have you heard his viewpoint?
Can you just use melted wax from a beeswax candle for your(my) first one?
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