Hi there,
I am an aspiring beekeeper and this is my first post in this forum. I am not new to homesteading, however. I keep chickens and try to grow as much of my food as possible. Although we live in the outskirts of a large
city (Ankara, Turkey to be specific) our neighborhood is not ideal for keeping
bees in my backyard. However, we own some
land in a nearby village about 50 miles away from where we live. This land is in a complete natural environment with lots of
trees, flowers, and access to
water sources. I therefore hope to do
beekeeping in this location but I've reservations.
I've talked to a beekeeper whom I know from the
local farmers market. He told me that I would have to attend my bees frequently as there are many chores that need to be performed such as division, placement of the new frames as needed, making sure the queen is there (and several other things that I don't remember). He therefore discouraged me from starting this endeavor if I cannot visit the site frequently (every few days or so).
First of all, I would like to get your opinion about whether what he told me is actually true. Do I really need to attend the bees constantly? What would be the maximum time that I can leave them unattended? I think I can visit our land every two weeks or so. Do you think such frequency would be too low to successfully raise bees and get to produce some of my own honey?
Looking for some advice from you experts out there.
Cheers,
Oguz