Category Archives: Hive Components

Spring Beehive Tidy And Preparation 2016

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Bean

Spring has arrived in Whatcom County Washington (the northwest corner of Washington state). It has arrived two weeks earlier than last year, which was early as well. The sun and flowers emerge fast on the heels of a very web … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Brookfield Farm Bee Yards, Hive Components | Tagged Beekeeping, bees, boxes, Brookfield Farm, flipping, hive, how to, manipulation, Maple Falls, spring, Washington | Leave a comment

Storing Bee Hive Frames in Winter

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Bean

I search continuously for easy, efficient, nontoxic ways to deal with bee equipment. Storing frames for winter has been an evolving technique. I am pretty happy with my new set up: stacking frames in boxes set on their sides. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hive Components | Tagged bee, Beekeeping, Brookfield Farm, frames, hive, hives, how to, Maple Falls, store, Washington, Winter | Leave a comment

Bee Year 2015 Overview – Brookfield Farm

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Bean

The Brookfield Farm Bees And Honey blog went quiet for a while – ok, for quite a while. But it’s back. Bee work, honey work, festivals, Farmers Markets, a bit of fun in the backcountry and some rather massive family … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Brookfield Farm Bee Yards, Hive Components, Honey Extraction | Tagged 2015, Beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, equipment, extraction, Maple Falls, overview, tools, Washington | 2 Comments

Making Beehive Bottom Screens 2015

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Bean

I keep mentioning that I’m “making equipment like crazy” this year, due to good weather and bee hive expansion. One of the things that we make here at Brookfield Farm are our own bottom screens. I don’t use bottom boards … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hive Components | Tagged beehive, Beekeeping, bees, bottom screen, Brookfield Farm, how to make, Maple Falls, Washington | Leave a comment

Walk-Away Beehive Splits

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Bean

It has been an absolutely busy time in the bee yards. The weather has been lovely, the bees have been out, and it did not pour rain in the middle of the Maple and Cascara flows. Looks like good weather … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Brookfield Farm Bee Yards, Hive Components | Tagged away, beehive, Beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, how to, Maple Falls, splits, walk, Washington | Leave a comment

Spring Supers For Bee Hives

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Bean

Spring arrived early here this year. So I’ve supered the strong hives, many of which were packed with brood, and fed honey to those that had eaten nearly all their stores. Bees On Brood This is a spring … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hive Components | Tagged bee, Brookfield Farm, foundation, hives, how to, Maple Falls, super, supers, Washington | Leave a comment

Winter Bee Hives Losses and Lessons at Brookfield Farm

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Bean

I have now gone though all my hives. My last post was about what that entailed. This post is about the results, what I saw for good and for bad, and the result of an experiment. The Overall Results This … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hive Components | Tagged Beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, failure, honeybees, Maple Falls, over winter, queen, results, Washington | Leave a comment

Checking and Manipulating Bee Hives in late winter

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Bean

The sun finally broke out, temperatures went into the low 50F’s so I finally got out to the hives to check them for honey stores, a bit of hive manipulation, and to put in their essential oil patties. The sun … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Brookfield Farm Bee Yards, Hive Components | Tagged bee hive, Beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, cleaning, honey bound, honeybees, how to, manipulation, Maple Falls, Washington | Leave a comment

Making and Moving Bee Hive Splits

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Bean

Every year I raise and purchase queen bees, each of which requires her own hive. Thus every year I make and move splits (also known as artificial swarms). I use the “over night split” method to make the splits. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hive Components | Tagged bee hive, Beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, how to, make, Maple Falls, move, splits, Washington | 2 Comments

Preparing for Splits and Supers

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Bean

Spring is upon us. Flowers are blooming, drones are flying, it is time to put supers on the hives and/or split some of the hives to create homes for the newest queens. What follows are photographs of what I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hive Components | Tagged bee, Beekeeping, bees, boxes, Brookfield Farm, cleaning, frames, Maple Falls, order, spits, supers, Washington | Leave a comment