Ben Good

I'm still kind of a noob when it comes to bees, but I'd look for brood to make sure your queen is doing well. I too, am doing foundation-less on a Lang hive. They seem to draw comb just as fast if not faster than foundation. I do know that a few ants may be okay (a nest, probable not). Ants release formic acid (not sure why) and formic acid is an "organic" method of mite control. I like to think that when there are a few ants or spiders or whatever in there, that the bees are keeping them as pets.

Good news! I found a queen cell that was on the frame of brood I transplanted and there is a queen now. Wait, there's more. And the number of workers has increased dramatically. Everyone is still very busy collecting pollen and nectar. I think I should keep feeding them to help them build up their hive for the next big nectar flow when all the wildflowers start blooming.

Total inspiration for our farm. I'm in!

I'll open it up in a few days and see what's going on. It's cool and rainy right now. Good time for bees to do housekeeping.

Ludger,
Thanks for the reply. I did have another hive with brood so I borrowed a frame from them. They were in various stages from small larvae to capped. I didn't notice any eggs, but eggs on wax are hard to see. I did notice that the queen cells that were empty a couple of days ago and were capped today. Not sure what that means. I would imagine they are empty. I also just got the same answer (albeit not as detailed) from a friend who I consider an outstanding treatment-free beekeeper.

I'll do an inspection in a couple of weeks and post the results.
Thanks again!
Ben

I have a new hive from a package. After 2 weeks I opened it up and noticed no brood and assumed the queen was missing. There are the beginnings of a couple queen cells but there is no one to lay eggs in them. The small contingent of workers still there are busy drawing comb and putting up pollen and honey. Should I have a new queen overnighted, add them to another hive or add a frame of brood and see if they raise a new queen? I know what Convention tells me to do but I'm looking to get away from that problematic philosophy.

I am looking for a watering can to water soil blocks in a greenhouse. Everything at the hardware store is total junk. I had a very old galvanized can that worked okay, but my father-in-law (who probably needs his license revoked) ran it over with the riding mower. The water cam out a little too fast anyway. I've seen Elliot Coleman using a watering can that directs the water up like a shower, but can't seem to find one. That style would be ideal. Any recommendations?

Kirk, I wish I could help but I am looking for the same thing. I see a lot of examples but can't quite connect the dots to apply it directly to my land.

I posted this question a while back when I first started getting seriously interested in the permaculture concept and was quite overwhelmed with the how far my current life and property was from the outstanding models that so many people share. I've come up with a couple of solutions to deal with the poison ivy field. First, goats. Although buying goats is not economically feasible for us this year, I found a friend that will let me borrow her goats! And they shall feast on poison ivy, weeds and multiflora rose.

The reason I was so concerned with the ivy is because our bee hives are in that area and I did not like to go there. I would neglect the bees because I did not like to go there. Which brought me to the second, and most important, realization: WHY ARE MY BEE SO FAR AWAY?!? The ivy area is clear over at the corner of the property by the only few trees on the land... Why not put them near the house? Why was I trying to develop 5 acres of land with permaculture principles when I should be developing the 1/2 acre around the house first?

Hours on the computer reading permaculture threads has paid off!

Linda, great resource. Thank you. Just to clarify, the site is bamboogarden.com If you add an "s" it takes you to the wrong place.