Where to put your beehives? It's a seriously important decision, as it plays a critical role to the health of your hive... and it's a massive pain in the arse if you ever have to move them! These two deciduous trees are the making of my apiary - as you can see they perfectly shade the hives in summer, yet in winter when they drop all their leaves so the beehives get full sun... perfect combination. The hives are also east facing, meaning they get beautiful morning sun to wake the girls up, but are shaded from the very hot afternoon sun. They are also at the very end of the veggie patch, meaning there's almost never a need to walk through their flight path (although even when I do I've never been stung). It's also very easy to access as there's lots of heavy stuff you need when doing hive inspections and harvesting honey so you don't want to be in a too obscure place (people who have bees on roofs... I admire you but I don't know how you manage on the ladders!).
So, my advice for choosing where to put your bees:
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put the hives south of a deciduous tree - make sure that the spot gets lots of winter sun (areas that are sunny in summer are not necessarily sunny in winter due to the sun being lower in the sky!)
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face the hives east
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be aware of the bees flight paths and keep it clear for them
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make access as easy as possible for you
While autumn is not the time to get hives, if you're thinking about getting bees in spring then keep an eye out over the next few months as the seasons change as to where might be the best spot xx
Want more of my edible gardening tips and tricks? Check out my podcast ‘Rooting for You’! There’s episodes on bees too 😊
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