The first week I started blogging on Steemit I entered the Steemit homesteading challenge by @kiaraantonoviche and won! I shared my dream to build an apiary and become a bee-keeper using the Slovenian Hive & bee house design. It was a really wonderful way to begin my journey on Steemit and I really appreciated it. I thought it was time for an update on the progress we have made.

If you would like to know why we think these hives make a lot of sense, here is my contest entry: To build an apiary and become a bee-keeper using the Slovenian Hive.

What is a Slovenian AZ Hive/ Bee House?

The Slovenian AZ hive is not a modern design. It's been used for hundreds of years. The hives can be stacked together like blocks, and are accessed from panels in the rear of the hive. This makes it easy to encase them in a special shelter or "bee house". The shelter provides protection from the elements and offers a more stable environment. It also makes it possible for the bee-keeper to work on the hives regardless of the weather. The rear panel access eliminates the need for heavy lifting.

Here is a PDF from the Scottish Beekeeper Association that walks you through the design.

AZ Hive Communities

I have found a few great groups on facebook that shares their knowledge and experience with the Slovenian Style AZ Beehives. The groups are called AZ Hivers and the other is called AZ hive creators. A place to design and build AZ hives. Maybe we'll have an AZ hive community on steemit in the near future - that would be cool!

The Bee House

There really aren't any plans for building a bee house and there are a wide range of sizes and options. Some are large building with a honey processing kitchen in the back. Others have a simple cover/latch system so you can work from the back from outside. Others are even built on a trailer for easy mobility.

The basic design is that you have a sloped roof and an overhang. The overhang provides shelter/shade from the sun and can have a rain gutter on it too to divert heavy rain. The back area needs to be accessible to work on the hives.

We will start sketching out plans soon and will start construction when the snow melts and the ground firms up a bit. Our thinking is to go bigger than what we think we need. We'll need to decide were to place it on the property and make sure the entrance is oriented to the south or east-south-east.

image: permies.com

The Hives

I spent time in the forums reading about how to build our own, and have realized that we are better off purchasing our hives, at least the first few. I was really pleased to discover that you can buy a Slovenian Style AZ bee hive, American made. It's not authentic and some die hard EZ hivers frown upon this, but I am quite impressed with what they have done.

"The Drebbieville is the first American produced AZ hive with accessible frames from the rear. Modified to familiar Langstroth dimensions. Hive includes 30 Langstroth-size AZ frames, screened windows, interchangeable queen excluder and separator/blocker, bottle feeder, entrance reducers and entrance blockers.
$450 USD each for a three chamber hive - fully ready. http://www.drebbievillehives.com/

Photo: The Bee Shop

Bees

I really haven't got much choice about bees. Our province has very strict guidelines and you can only obtain them from a few local/certified suppliers. I can get a package that includes the queen suspended in a cage or I can buy a colony and queen separately. I am I am thinking the package makes most sense because these are not the traditional style of hives.

I know a few people have suggested gathering a swarm but as a beginner this seems quite advanced and intimidating. I have never come across a swarm so I think I will be better off buying some bees from a certified supplier.

1kg packages of Arataki Bees (New Zealand) with caged mated Queen. $250 Canadian each from Country Fields in New Brunswick Canada.

Image: pixabay.com

The Garden/Land

We are a 100% organic property with plenty of wilderness around us. The wild bees are very active here as well from early spring until just before snow fall. There is plenty for them every season. We intend to keep planting and creating a food forest around us so we don't think food will ever be an issue for the bees. The one thing we are short on is water so that will need to be made available. I have found a book called Honey Plants of Eastern Canada on Amazon that I am looking forward to reading but overall I think our land is quite ready to welcome some honey bees.

Image: @walkerland

Folk Art

Another beautiful aspect of the Slovenian EZ Hives is the traditional folk art that adorn the hives. If you search on-line you will see countless examples and historical story telling through the lovely paintings that have been affixed to the hives. This post shares some of the stories and photos of folk art. Main photo credit & Folk Art Inspiration

I am rally looking forward to this part of the project. What stories should I tell? Who's going to help me paint them??

What's next

As you can see, it's not inexpensive to start an apiary using the Slovenain design. A lot of the items you need are however a one time investment. We'll place orders for the bees and the hives next week to ensure we don't get stuck in a back order type situation.

Once that is set in motion we can focus on the design and sourcing materials for the building and refreshing our study of bee keeping. I've been dreaming of this for a lot of years, it's incredibly exciting to know that soon we be offering a happy home for many bees. I must admit, the idea of honey made right here on our homestead makes my heart very happy indeed!

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[@walkerland ]
Building a greener, more beautiful world one seed at a time.
Homesteading | Gardening | Frugal Living | Preserving Food| From Scratch Cooking|

You can also find me at: walkerland.ca

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