The work day with Tim Holt’s bees tentatively scheduled for March 14th has been moved to March 21st and only those buying nucs will be able to get into the hives. Others may observe, but you will need to keep out of the way of the workers. We are working on scheduling a field day in April where anyone wishing to get their hands on bees will be able to do so. More on that as details get sorted out.
You will need to arrive by 10:00 am on Saturday, March 21st.
The address of the bee yard is:
182 Romey Brown Rd, Siloam, NC [ map ]
GPS and Google Maps provide good directions
Directions from Dobson:
Go south on 601 to intersection of 268. Turn left. Go to Level Cross area (intersection of 268 and Siloam Rd). [alternate if you choose, go Siloam from Mount Airy to 268, turn left] Continue on 268 about 1 1/2 mile to Miller Gap Rd. Turn right, go about 1/2 mile to Romey Brown Rd. Turn Left. Go about 200 yds, bee yard on right. You can see bee yard on left side of the field —(south east–about 300 hives across the open field) –Plenty of parking–
If you are buying nucs from Tim, you will need to pay by CASH ONLY – Exact Change – when you get the bees. He will not have change available, so it’s important to bring the exact amount. The price per five frame nuc is $115 and will include 4 frames of brood and bees, a laying queen, and 1 frame with pollen and honey. Tim will provide the frames. You DO NOT need to bring new frames to exchange with Tim. You need to provide the container to transport them. Suggest protective clothing, veil, etc.
Following are more detailed instructions about that:
- You will need to bring your complete wooden hive or nuc box (either wooden nuc box or wax cardboard nuc box already assembled) to put the 5 frames in.
- If you bring your complete wooden hive (bottom board, deep brood box, inner cover plus migratory top or vented inner cover and moving screen), you will need to bring extra frames to finish filling in the brood chamber to keep the 5 frames anchored in place during transportation. That means, 5 extra frames if you have a 10 frame brood box, or 3 extra frames if you have an 8 frame brood box. The frames should already have foundation in them.
- Be sure that you have a screened or vented entrance so the bees can breathe and cannot escape while transporting them. This goes for nuc boxes as well as full hives.
- Make sure that you have a way to anchor the hive once the bees are in it. If you are bringing woodenware, you will need to be able to strap it together.
- Bring protective clothing – veil and gloves at a minimum.
- When you arrive at the site, someone will assist you in moving from frames of bees as described above from one of Tim’s hives into your equipment. Once the bees are in your equipment, they are your property, so make sure you take care in transporting them to your vehicle and into your bee yard.
- You may stay and observe the activities as long as you care to.
- If you cannot attend and want to buy a nuc, you will need to make arrangements with someone else to get your equipment, your bees, and pay for the bees.
- Because of the large number of folks buying nucs, if you are not buying bees, we recommend that you not attend this event and wait for our coming bee yard day. Anyone not buying nucs or who have completed their purchase will need to stay out of the way of the folks buying nucs. Also, please be considerate and park vehicles away from the bee yard so those transporting nucs will not have to carry bees a long distance.
The newly opened Blue Ridge Bee Supply located at 270 Hickory Street, Suite 200 (parking and entrance around back of building), Mount Airy has wax cardboard nuc boxes available for $8 each plus tax. These are great for transporting bees.
If you live closer to King or Germanton, you may want to check with Darrell Hampton with Bee-Attitudes Bee Supply to see if he carries the wax cardboard nuc boxes. His phone number is 336-978-6695.