Beekeeping is a very rewarding job, not only do you get to be a caretaker for your bees but your office is the great outdoors, but to clarify beekeeping is hard work. There are a lot of misconceptions about beekeeping. For one, people think that it looks easy and believe that they can pick it up without taking a class or informing themselves, this is not suggested. Here at Bee Hollow Farm, we do run a class so if you’re interested in becoming a beekeeper we would love to have you join! However, if you can’t make our class then we suggest that you take another class or do extensive research before purchasing one of our Nucs.
To clarify, a “Nuc” is bee terminology for a small and complete hive that you buy from an apiary (Bee Hollow Farm) and install in your hive. It is typically a small wooden box with five frames in it. These frames compose everything that a young colony needs including a queen, honey, and brood. Purchasing one of our Nucs is the best way to start if you are a first-time beekeeper. You can purchase our Nucs directly from our online store, and when your Nuc is ready you can schedule a pickup time that is most convenient for you!
Here at Bee Hollow Farm, our number one goal is caring for our bees. We want to stress that beekeeping is not about the honey, but in fact, it’s about caring for the bees. When you properly care for your bees they will do the hard work and produce high-quality honey. Caring for your bees during the offseason is extremely important. In NY State alone, the bee survival rate dropped more than 60% during the winter months. At Bee Hollow Farm we have an unprecedented survival rate. For two years in a row we went the whole winter without losing a single bee, and last year we only lost 5 out 550 bees. That’s why it is so important to properly educate and care for your bees.
Our over-wintered nucleus colonies are started the summer before with our own Carniolan queens and are over-wintered here in Upstate NY and are available for pick-up at the start of the spring season. All of our Nucs are 5-frames of bees, brood, food, and of course one of our marked Carniolan Mutt Queens.
If you believe you’re ready to become a beekeeper, Bee Hollow Farm would love to be a part of your story. To purchase a Nuc from us please check out our online store and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us with any and all of your questions, we’d love to help!
