A Season of Beekeeping - Day in the life of a beekeeper - Part 1

This is an ad free video made possible by my supporters on Patreon -   / justalexsmith   I wanted to create a relaxing video, free from distractions, so I’ve chosen not to place any adverts within this video. It is purely made possible by my supporters on Patreon. If you want to see more ad free videos like this, consider supporting. Thank you. It’s the end of March and the first warm day of the year is my cue to check on the bees. The daffodil bulbs I planted over the winter bring some colour to the mostly bleak apiary, and the fresh smell of spring encourages me to check through all the beehives. It’s always unsettling peeking into the hives for the first time of the year. I put in much effort the previous autumn, preparing the bees for their best chance of winter survival, and I was soon to find out whether it had paid off. I was surprised to see that all colonies had survived, but they weren't all equal. Some were filled with bees, bursting out the top, and others just dwindling on a few scruffy bits of comb. Many factors are at play for this spectrum of strength amongst the hives. My job now was to help the weak ones and manage the strong colonies, in hope for a good crop of honey later this year. Weak colonies were fed sugar syrup and strong ones given more space. In April comes the first nectar flow; flowers become abundant in the landscape and the bees are making the most of it. Hedgerows thick with hawthorn buds about to burst, pasture dotted with dandelions, a plethora of wildflowers scatter the fields and woodlands, and the combs are quickly filling up with nectar. The bees need space to store this excess of nectar and so I make sure to add honey supers to the hives, but not before a queen excluder. This is a sheet with small holes in that allow worker bees to pass through but prevent the larger queen from passing. I prefer to keep my queen bees out the honey boxes. It helps me manage the hives easier and find the queen bee when I need to. The beekeeping season has begun. I hope you enjoy watching the season unfold. In part 2 I will be raising queen bees, adding honey boxes, building a shed and more... Support the Just Alex Channel on Patreon -   / justalexsmith   Check out my Instagram -   / alex_smith1809   Business enquiries - [email protected] Other enquiries - [email protected]