re: 2022 Spring Garden Thread

So I searched for a bit on a good site for tracking chill hours and came across Get Chill.

It seems like a pretty good source to see how many chill hours you have had in your area. They have a link at the top of the page to find the nearest station to you, then put in the dates you want to count the hours and it spits out a couple of different hour totals based on different methods to calculate chill hours.

So far I've got about 360 hrs in my area which is kind of surprising with the mild December that we had.

Idk if I'll hit my safe 400 hr mark though, February is supposed to be on the warm side except for the very beginning.

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February is supposed to be on the warm side except for the very beginning.

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Ah, so Mother Nature is going to lull me into a false sense of security and make me think I can plant out early. Then BAM! Frost in April.

For the last 12 years, I have transplanted the spring plants on the weekend of March 1st or March 15th. Only 1 time did I have to cover. I check the long range forecast and determine when to get 'em in the ground. My average last day of frost is 2/26.

So, in the 2021 garden thread I would post updates on my beehive occasionally. We didn’t really have a dedicated bee thread and the posts were relatively few and far between. As pollinators, I see them as an essential part of my garden ecosystem. Unless anyone has any objections I’d like to continue that practice in this thread.

Continuing with my backyard garden expansion, one of the things I wanted to do was relocate the hive to my back corner (maybe 15 yards from where they were). So that’s what I was working on this weekend. Yesterday was sunny and warm. I needed to check in on them anyway, and I would have to break down the hive in order to move them. So yesterday was perfect.

First up was to frame a 12x12 area. My back corner has a slope, which is good because it stays dryer. But I had to level off the middle section where the hive would go. Then I laid down roofing paper which is apparently good for helping keep hive beetle larva from burrowing into the soil to pupate.


Did a quick inspection and the queen looks healthy with a good population. I’ll definitely have to watch out for swarming this spring.


And they still have a full honey super.


Before the inspection I threw down some cypress mulch. With the boxes broken down and sitting on a pallet while bees flew all around me, I moved the cinder blocks and landscape timber’s over to the new spot and leveled them. Then I put the box back together. Most of the bees returning from foraging eventually found their way. There were a few nasonov fanning at the entrance.

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I'm assuming you didn't block off the entrance when you moved them? I've heard even moving them a little distance, that many will swarm to the old spot for a while unless moved at night and you block the entrance.

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I did not. I did move them closer to the evening when most of the foragers were already back. So I had done some reading up on this and most experienced beekeepers seem to have mixed opinions on it. Some say move incrementally. Some say as long as its close by they will find their way back into the hive. Also, winter time is the best time to move them because not many are foraging anyway. So I just went ahead and did the whole move all at once and best of luck to them. I'm sure they'll have to reorient themselves. As long as the queen is in the hive. They have a ton of honey stores and a healthy population, also there was a small amount of brood, so I have a feeling they will be fine. If this is a massive failure for some reason, I'll report back and let everyone know the lesson learned.

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Do you have any neighbors on the other sides of the fence? I'm curious if there are any issues getting that close with a mower.

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I mow around them all the time without issues. But then again, I’m always fully covered and move along quickly when I pass. But still, no issues.

ETA: Went check on them when I got home and they appear to have quickly adjusted to their new spot. There are no bees in the original location, and I watched several fly in and out with a little bit of pollen.

Very nice. I can barely keep my stuff watered, so no need in my plans. A new neighbor has several though and he’s only a few houses down.

I finally got my potting mix made yesterday and put 2 flats together this afternoon. I planted my tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplants.

Flowers and other stuff will be in a few weeks.

I've got a cousin in the BR area with bees. I really need to try and get her to convince my wife to be ok with bees in the backyard.


I'd probably have to give up the chickens though...

Cedar or cypress would be a good choice.

Any reason for not wanting to use treated?

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Cedar or cypress would be a good choice.

Any reason for not wanting to use treated?

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There's a lot of arsenic in treated lumber that can leach into the soil. When you add fertilizer, it allows the roots to absorb it and sent it to the fruits

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There's a lot of arsenic in treated lumber that can leach into the soil.

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Arsenic is no longer used in treated lumber and hasn’t been since 2004 I believe.

ETA: yep, just like Balls said.