Rob Browne

Lovely work of art. Maybe not the most practical beehive but its BEAUTIFUL.

You really need to use the electric netting.

Cheers
Rob

The way I see it is that while you may need to import some mulch in the beginning it eventually becomes a self regeneration system and can even be used to export this material to extensions of the system. So in answer I see it as non-sustainable if done over a long period BUT as a permaculture forest is a long term project and will generate much more mulch it is sustainable, and justifiable in the short term.

Catching a swarm is the best way but I am not around enough to ensure I catch them so usually its an earlier split or nest expansion for mine. Its just how it is in my situation but I ageee a swarm is best to start a hive with.

We have found keylining on our semi-arid farm to be one of our best regen tools.

Depends where your hives are located as to whether swarming is good or bad. Sure it is the natural way for hives to reproduce BUT we have changed the game plan since that bit of evolution. There are not as many suitable natural hive locations as we tend to log out the larger trees and maintain our gardens more. For this reason most wild swarms end up dying. Isn't it better to house them? If you live in an urban environment then swarms tend to cause a certain level of panic in the residents which causes problems when they find out you keep "dangerous" bees in your backyard. Isn't it wiser to house them before swarming?

Just some thoughts.

Now that was a great read.

Possibly David but its no where near as big as a four box Lang deep and I have quite a few hives of that size. If they were restricted to say, only two boxes there would be swarms everywhere. Anyway, time will tell.

From what I have seen of these hives (only on the video) I reckon once a hive gets big and strong you would be constantly chasing swarms. The inability to expand the hive will force swarming.

In my wicking beds I use a sandy loam over a layer of sand. Between crops I add compost and keep it all mulched really well. It wicks really well, the loamy layer is about 18" thick and the water appears to wick up to the top but weakly. This keeps the soil moist but does not get through the mulch which would allow the water to evaporate.

Working for me 😀