We are officially bee parents! We have beehive in our backyard!
I really am still not sure how my husband managed to convince me to allow bees to live in our yard, since I am suuuper jumpy outside if anything flies near me, but here we are. I'm leaning into the "homestead" vibe and I do think bees make a cute addition to my vegetable garden/DIY raised beds in the backyard, so I'm rolling with it.
Every time I post about the bees on Instagram, I get a few of the same questions, so I wanted to answer them and have a permanent post about them for reference and to share with others who might be considering bees.
FAQ:
why did you get bees?
My husband's grandparents have always had bees and it's a tradition that was passed down to my husband's dad and uncles - they all have bees! So I guess it runs in the family ;)
how do you know what to do?
I definitely don't! My husband has helped his grandpa and parents with bees before, so he's done all of this before. "Grandaddy" went with him to pick up the bees and install them in our yard, and is only a phone call away!
do they bother you?
The bees surprisingly stay in their corner of the yard. You can watch them fly out of their hive, then straight up, then out of the yard to find pollen.
will they make honey?
They sure will! Hello, Christmas gifts for friends and family!
how long does it take for them to make honey?
The bees are most active in warm weather, so they work mostly during spring/summer to make honey. We will harvest the honey at the end of summer. We won't take it all though - bees need some of their honey to survive the winter!
how much honey will they make?
It depends on the size of the hive and their surroundings. Based on past family hives, we estimate that they will produce around 5 gallons of honey.
how many bees are there?
We have around 2000-3000 bees in our hive! You never see them all at once, of course; we usually only see maybe 10-20 flying in and out.
do your neighbors care?
No. We love our neighborhood. We live in Dallas, but it seems that many of our neighbors are also embracing the homestead vibes. Two neighbors, that we know of, have chickens, and it is so much fun! There are many family vegetable gardens nearby, too, and bees can help pollinate plants!
are you going to get chickens too?
I would *love* to get chickens, but unlike bees, there are certain rules about having chickens on your property in Dallas. I don't remember exactly because I first looked into getting chickens years ago, but you need something like 20 feet from your house to the chicken coop, and 20 feet from the coop to your neighbors property line. Our backyard is kind of oddly shaped, so we won't be able to get chickens. UNLESS we fenced in our side yard. We are on a corner lot, so that's doable, but we also like having a lot of grass space to play games, etc. in the front and side yard, so we aren't planning to fence it in.
where did you get the bees?
From a bee farmer in Royse City, TX!
What other questions do you have? DM me @rhondajenkins and I can add to this post, as needed!