January Beekeeping Chores

/ Bluebird Gardens/

January is a good time to organize stored beekeeping equipment. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

January Beekeeping Chores

Snow and record cold temperatures are in this weekend’s forecast. The garden is covered in a blanket of leaf mulch. My bees are tucked into their hives, clustering to keep warm and eating their stored honey. Good time to review last year and make new plans for this one.

Although the bees are not around, I have a lot to do this month to get ready for a new beekeeping season:

  1. Review my notes from last year. What worked, what didn’t, what do I need to learn more about this winter.

  2. Research, take online classes, read - this is the time to learn more about what didn’t go well last year and

  3. Catch up on current beekeeping research. I have a pile of beekeeping magazines to plow through.

  4. Check food stores in the hives. I placed supplemental sugar cakes on top of all of my colonies a week ao. I will check them in another week by peeking under the lid, I want to make sure they are not running out of food.

  5. This is also the month I should do an inventory of my existing beekeeping equipment and order what I am missing. Once the growing season has started, there usually is very little time to place an order and get what I need before I need it. I prefer to be prepared.

  6. Once I have the equipment inventory done, it will be time to get it all organized so I can easily find it.

  7. I have some hives I need to paint sitting in my garage from last year. Those need to get finished this winter.

  8. While I have the paint out, I also need to paint my nucs, I didn’t get to those last year, either. Bees didn’t care but I do.

9. I plan to split some colonies this spring. It’s a great way to manage varroa mites by keeping colonies small.

10. I also have a new beekeeping storage area to organize combining equipment so I know what I need to buy before the beekeeping season starts.

Conclusion

January may seem like an easy time for beekeepers but it’s a busy month for beekeepers getting ready for the upcoming season.

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Charlotte

January Beekeeping Chores

/ Bluebird Gardens/
January is as exciting as a new pair of beekeeping gloves. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

January is as exciting as a new pair of beekeeping gloves. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

January Beekeeping Chores

Snow is falling. The garden is covered in a blanket of white. My bees are tucked into their hives, clustering to keep warm and eating their stored honey. Good time to review last year and make new plans for this one.

Although the bees are not around, I have a lot to do this month to get ready for a new beekeeping season.

  1. Review my notes from last year. What worked, what didn’t, what do I need to learn more about this winter.

  2. Research, take online classes, read - this is the time to learn more about what didn’t go well last year,

  3. Catch up on current beekeeping research.

  4. When temperatures are between 30-40 F, good time to give my brood less colonies oxalic acid vapor treatment. Temperatures this winter have been record warm so there have been few days when the temperatures were at t optimum vapor application.

  5. Check food stores in the hives. I placed supplemental sugar cakes on top of all of my colonies a week ago prior to the latest snow storm. I will check them in another week by peeking under the lid, I want to make sure they are not running out of food.

  6. This is also the month I should do an inventory of my existing beekeeping equipment and order what I am missing. Once the growing season has started, there usually is very little time to place an order and get what I need before I need it. I prefer to be prepared.

  7. Once I have the equipment inventory done, it will be time to get it all organized so I can easily find it.

  8. I have some hives I need to paint sitting in my garage from last year. Those need to get finished this winter.

  9. While I have the paint out, I also need to paint my nucs, I didn’t get to those last year, either. Bees didn’t care but I do.

10. I plan to split some colonies this spring and will be trying to add Saskatraz queens to my apiary for genetic diversity. I’m a step ahead there, already have my pre-order in!

Charlotte