HOW TO DO IT
1 Install
Install in your garden any time of the year, just follow the instructions included with the hive. The Gardeners Beehive is this big because bees need an area for honey and for babies. It's for honey bees ( Apis mellifera ), this is NOT for the 300+ types of bumble / solitary / masonry bee.
2 Announce a new home
When you get your hive, you will have everything you need to get started. The instructions will explain a good location to setup your hive. Then spray with lure and announce you are ready, to all passing bees.
The single most important need is an open area in front of the hive.
3 Swarm moves in
Then , the exciting part, How quick before you get bees. Spring is when it all starts happening. What are your chances in the first year?? Well if you have bees in your garden you have a very good chance of getting bees. My urban customers last year, had a 70% to 80% hit rate and rural areas even higher, so I say, "It will take two weeks to two years until bees move in."
4 Then what?
Then bees move in. What then? Well then nothing! You then effectively have a tree stump with a nest of bees. They are quite adept at looking after themselves. For many years to come.
5 Share the big news
Tell the world, there is a new hive in town, and it is more genteel.
Your friends and family will be amazed!!
6 Honey? Honey!
A very unique way to harvest honey! Taking honey using the “ nook and cranny honey harvesting system “ this has no impact on your bees winter stock of honey! Its a system that was developed by me and is completely unique to my system and is the only completely self regulating system in the world! It's a quirk, and we are the only system that take advantage of this.
So to get honey. In spring put “honey boxes ” on your Gardeners Beehive.
( YOU CAN PUT ONE or up to THREE HONEY-BOXES ON A HIVE)
Then in autumn take them off. If it was a good summer they will be full, Comb with honey! If it was not a good summer then only a little or none. But that is the entire point, it is not only cool and funky thing to do it is totally ethical!
About Us
We Truly Care
Yes about the environment and people. Yes this is to help honey bees but not to the detriment of others. So all the wood we use is certified from ethical harvesting. All wood is A graded and to BS standard. Screws and studs are made in Germany and Italy. The roof is ply wood and has a felt covering. I could go on but you get my picture.
Customer Satisfaction
Yes this is a little rough and ready, that is the idea. It is built tough and simple, but clever. There are lots of design aspects and features built into this hive to mimic a honey bees natural environment. I try to dispatch as soon as possible and keep everyone informed with tracking numbers. I love speaking to our customers so if you have any queries, want more information or just want to have a chat about the bees, please drop me a line. For payments I use Pay Pal and as they are world renowned, not cheap to me but safe for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions & Answers
Is this real beekeeping?
Yes this is only for honey bees, ( Apis mellifera ) there is only one honey bee but over 300 different bumble bees.
What makes this so special ?
This is the only beehive and beekeeping system that conforms with every permaculture ethic! Just that one statement is astounding!
Because there is more this is truly astounding!
This is the only beekeeping system that relies completely on bees just moving in on their own! (This is in-part because of three things. A: mechanically it is what they are looking for. B: biologically it is what they are looking for. C: The lure sent is part of a natural cycle in bees colony life cycle and that is why it works like no other.
But there is even more! Gardeners Beehive honey harvesting is the only system that is completely self regulating! That is incredible and remarkable! But completely unique to Gardeners Beehive!
There are more reasons, but you would have to come to one of my talks to find out more.
Where is the best place to put it?
There is only one "must have" and that is:
There has to be an open area in front of the hive of 3 to 5 metres (16 feet) before any hedges or big bushes.
Have a look at some of the photos.
Then there are a number of "nice to haves" this is more to encourage them to move in, and stay. These are:
1: South facing , well from East round to West but South aspect.
2: Think tree-stump not beehive, so under a tree or in a hedge or bush.
3: Winter sun and summer shade, under a deciduous trees will give you this.
4: As the Gardeners Beehive are not frost tolerant, precautions need to be taken to prevent the hive getting to cold. If it is going to get frost or snow, you will require the Fiberglass roof.
5: Having a bird bath with fresh water is also welcomed.
6: In not to exposed an area, so protected from wind and driving rain.
7: not facing prevailing wind.
8: Higher aspect in the garden.
That is all really , then its just a matter of luck, leave for January till Jun in one spot, then turn it 20 degrees or move over a few feet, every month until bees move in or end of swarm season , the end of August.
Loads of purple flowers in the vicinity will encourage forging bees as well as scout bees.
Is it well made? :
Built tough to last for many, many years.
The roof is now covered with a felt, with a 5 to 10 year life.
The hive body is 2 X as thick as normal hives, and only A graded timber is used, screwed AND glued.
All the screws are made in Germany
Hive body is raw (it has to be) the legs are pressure treated.
Why so big and HOW BIG IS IT? : This is natural beekeeping, the ideal size from my research. The bees need enough space to store Honey for winter (top) and space to make babies (Bottom).
Foot print: 2' X 2' or 60 cm X 60 cm
Height: 4' 5" 130 cm
What does it cost? : Gardeners Beehives are £235.00 + p&p £32.00 This is for everything to get started.
Compared to:
Flow Hive at £404.00 + £ bees
Top bar Hive be very careful when buying as there are a lot of very cheap and nasty products out there TBH £300.00 + £ bees
Do I have to get honey? : NO you don't. In the second year you can install “honey boxes” these attach to the sides and that is how we collect the honey, but only if you want to.
How many honey boxes do I need? : You only need if you would like honey, and you can put one, two or three on.
When is the best time to put one in? : Anytime of the year, because it ideally needs to weather in a little, to be more appealing. But before spring is best.
How long will it take to get bees? : two weeks to two years.
How big must my garden be? : From a balcony in London ,or a terrace garden to a stately home (The only prerequisite is a clearing of 3 to 5 metres in front of the Hive.)
How much honey will I get? : This is the only completely self-regulating hive system.So sometimes a few jars, other years nothing.
Can I buy one directly from you without carriage charge? : Yes, you can pick up just call first. 0127 9814 301 we are in Stansted in Essex.
Who is concerned about bees?
3:Scarlet Johanson
4:Steve Vai is best known for his guitar work and associations with artists and bands like Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake
5:Morgan Freeman
6:Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
7: the Queen of England
8: Leonardo DiCaprio
9: YOU??
What are you buying?
What you get when you BUY a Gardeners Beehive?
Saving the Honey bee by simply giving them a home.
YOU ARE NOT BUYING A BEEHIVE.
Bee's face many challenges, from climate changed , mono cropping, pesticides and herbicides, to name a few.
But one of the ezzest problems we can all help fix, is "extermination though deprivation of habitat". Bees live in TREE STUMPS not beehives. Give them a MOCK TREE-STUMP, give them a GARDENERS BEEHIVE
So consider the picture above:
Here we have a Gardeners Beehive and a tree stump. and a comparison.
This is what you get when you buy a Gardeners Beehive:
1: You Get a "Gardeners Beehive"
2: You get the live Biomass that is put in the bottom.
3: Lure to entice the bees into your Gardeners Beehive
Lastly: comprehensive instruction on what is the best location, how to set it up and how to manage your bees once they have moved in, and some other interesting tit-bits, just for fun and interest.
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4: Once you have bees move into your Gardeners Beehive you can then consider the HONEY BOXES if you would like a little honey. This is the only completely self regulating honey harvesting system in the world, we take advantage a quirk that honey bees have in that they squirrel honey in all the little side cavities, in our case the "honey boxes" and this has no affect on their winter stock. You can buy one , two or three per Gardeners Beehive.
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5: Then lastly you can buy a fiberglass roof to provide extra protection from the cold in winter, from frost and snow.
Learn More
A: Roof
B: Live Biomass
C: Honey for winter
D: Comb where babies bee grow
E: Entrance
F: Honey Box (side cavity)
G: Buffer honey stock
H: Small entrance to nook and crany
I: Tree Stump
Plant Flowers!
Do your bit save the honey bee!!
Don't use pesticides in the garden! DO YOUR BIT!! To save the honey bee.
Become a beekeeper ! BUT BEES DON'T LIVE IN BEEHIVES!! Honey bees live in tree stumps, they thrive in tree stumps, not friken beehives! Even Albert Einstein said we would all be dead in five years after the last honey bee died!
OK so try this! put a beehive in the garden and a Gardeners Beehive (this is not a beehive but a mock tree stump, ) no bees will never move into a beehive, but they will move into a GARDENERS BEEHIVE !! time and time again!! Every single time!
Bees are under threat from all sides, but the most basic thing we can all do is just give them a home! A safe place for bees to do what bees do best! Make more bees! If we let them. You can give them the opportunity , in your garden with a Gardeners Beehive.
No Time like the present! get one in now before winter! During winter! The sooner the better. Not only for you but to help save you, me and every one and every thing!