The Garden Thread

Loganwayne said:
ya i didnt have a hive last year because i was fed up with loosing them. if i can get this hive going good i can split next year and im always looking for a swarm
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Ive got a good friend who lives in Blue Ridge,SC.
About 6-7 years ago he decided to start keeping bees. Lost a few hives and was determined to learn why. Went to a couple summer classes at Clemson and NCSU - for like 3 years he spent all his work vacation days on classes.
Now he is the Bee extension guy for Clemson. They send him all over and hes contemplating getting out of the engine business he is making so much and spending so much on Bees.

Im still not sure how folks make any money doing it, but he makes all his selling and consulting for folsk who want to start keeping bees. I call him the MLBK all the time...
 
Ron said:
Ive got a good friend who lives in Blue Ridge,SC.
About 6-7 years ago he decided to start keeping bees. Lost a few hives and was determined to learn why. Went to a couple summer classes at Clemson and NCSU - for like 3 years he spent all his work vacation days on classes.
Now he is the Bee extension guy for Clemson. They send him all over and hes contemplating getting out of the engine business he is making so much and spending so much on Bees.

Im still not sure how folks make any money doing it, but he makes all his selling and consulting for folsk who want to start keeping bees. I call him the MLBK all the time...
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From what I have seen on the internet, selling swarms, queens, and supplies seem to be the money makers. The big bee farms rent out the bees and ship truckloads around the country each yr to the almond groves and wineries.
 
Ron said:
Ive got a good friend who lives in Blue Ridge,SC.
About 6-7 years ago he decided to start keeping bees. Lost a few hives and was determined to learn why. Went to a couple summer classes at Clemson and NCSU - for like 3 years he spent all his work vacation days on classes.
Now he is the Bee extension guy for Clemson. They send him all over and hes contemplating getting out of the engine business he is making so much and spending so much on Bees.

Im still not sure how folks make any money doing it, but he makes all his selling and consulting for folsk who want to start keeping bees. I call him the MLBK all the time...
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what Ben said
a package of bees is 150-165 bucks
a nuc is 165-200 bucks

the real money to be made is in queens 45-65 a piece and you can raise 40ish at a time every 20ish days.
 
Loganwayne said:
what Ben said
a package of bees is 150-165 bucks
a nuc is 165-200 bucks

the real money to be made is in queens 45-65 a piece and you can raise 40ish at a time every 20ish days.
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Yup. Building the small Nucs and learning how to force the bees to create queen cells, and hatching queens is where the money is. Esp this time of year. It seems like I always hear about finding queens can be a struggle.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Yup. Building the small Nucs and learning how to force the bees to create queen cells, and hatching queens is where the money is. Esp this time of year. It seems like I always hear about finding queens can be a struggle.
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i know alot of people want to requeen every year to keep a "young queen" in the hive or when they do splits it speeds up the time for a hive recover to have a queen to put with the split. i know the place i got my bees from this year is outta bees and queens the rest of the year.

if i can build up to about 8 hives i think i will turn two hives into queen raising hives and see if i can get some and sale them.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
JimIve got a friend who looses half of his hives each year, for one reason or another. Not sure if its operator error or what, but it has been way too expensive of a hobby for him. If I can catch a swarm, I will probly get into them.
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If your not inspecting and medicating every month your not gonna keep bees these days. Its no longer a lazy spring late summer hobby. Its full time.
As for making money your either doing as stated or you have a big group of boxes. My relative had over 60 hives at his peak. All with several supers stacked. He has a slinger I can stand in and not touch the sides. All his process was in a dedicated building. Sadly health and years have caught up. He may have 25 hives now, but a wealth of knowledge and state fair blue ribbons. He himself said it's become almost to expensive for hobby work. Clearly told me bi-weekly checks at a minimum to keep them healthy. He has burnt many boxes for some sort of fungus or mold. He told me the insects and mites are the easy stuff to maintain.
 
My 2021 garden.

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With current wood prices it would have been cheaper to just eat out all summer.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
Looks great. I have been wanting to make some raised flower beds, I'm just running out of room... lol
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Look into GreenStalk. They are kind of expensive, and dont grow larger plants, but it is a good design and seems to work well. Also the family that owns it are great folks and located in TN.

I have thought about getting one to grow herbs in year round, and also thought about one for growing bush beans, so i dont have to bend over to pick as much. But I have plenty of space currently, so cant justify the cost.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Look into GreenStalk. They are kind of expensive, and dont grow larger plants, but it is a good design and seems to work well. Also the family that owns it are great folks and located in TN.

I have thought about getting one to grow herbs in year round, and also thought about one for growing bush beans, so i dont have to bend over to pick as much. But I have plenty of space currently, so cant justify the cost.
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I really just want some raised garden beds just to break everything up. We have a Hosta garden in our backyard and would like to incorporate some raised beds just to add some height, but would want the raised beds to have some color, just hard because that area is so shaded. Already have astilbe, heuchera, and some painted ferns, to get my purples, reds, and blues. but a raised bed with some smaller hostas might be pretty cool.
 
Got another plot plowed and disc’d. 3 rows pulled up for the corn, will plant it in the morning.

*edit* weather calling for rain tomorrow so I went back out and sowed the corn.

Now I can clean up the shop tomorrow.
 
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Typical suburban backyard garden. Adjacent to my shop and my Jeep, tucked away out of view. This is my early morning coffee/smoke/music/don't-F-with-me spot.

Cherry tomatoes, onions, 11 different types of peppers, cactus, aloe, Oregano, sage, parsley and peppermint.
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XJsavage said:
Typical suburban backyard garden. Adjacent to my shop and my Jeep, tucked away out of view. This is my early morning coffee/smoke/music/don't-F-with-me spot.

Cherry tomatoes, onions, 11 different types of peppers, cactus, aloe, Oregano, sage, parsley and peppermint.
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you know, for some reason... my wife thinks I'm an A-hole for wanting a don't' f*ck with me spot/time. I just spent the last 2 weeks with a sick 2 year old, then my wife and I both got sick for about 4-5 days and so we were all together pretty much 24/7 during that time and the other night I mentioned that I needed a fortress of solitude to get away from the screaming and whining...
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
you know, for some reason... my wife thinks I'm an A-hole for wanting a don't' f*ck with me spot/time. I just spent the last 2 weeks with a sick 2 year old, then my wife and I both got sick for about 4-5 days and so we were all together pretty much 24/7 during that time and the other night I mentioned that I needed a fortress of solitude to get away from the screaming and whining...
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Yeah man, totally. Even without a reason, having a little chill spot to just sit and listen to the birds singing while watching things grow is insanely therapeutic.
 
XJsavage said:
Yeah man, totally. Even without a reason, having a little chill spot to just sit and listen to the birds singing while watching things grow is insanely therapeutic.
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I agree. Most Saturday mornings I can get up and head outside for a good 30 min or so to get some peace and quiet just before the shit show starts...
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
you know, for some reason... my wife thinks I'm an A-hole for wanting a don't' f*ck with me spot/time. I just spent the last 2 weeks with a sick 2 year old, then my wife and I both got sick for about 4-5 days and so we were all together pretty much 24/7 during that time and the other night I mentioned that I needed a fortress of solitude to get away from the screaming and whining...
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Find a reason to go to the store, and then decide to use the one on the other side of the county, cuz its less crowded.

Or take up a hobby outside that she wont complain too much about, or want anything to do with; like gardening. Or hunting/fishing
 
I need to get some electric wire strung to keep the rabbits at bay.
 
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