Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏 😊 ❤I appreciate you!! Your videos are awesome. I love the top bar hive nuke idea! And all the top bar modifications and feeder suggestions!!!! Fascinating stuff
Thank you, kind sir for sharing your knowledge. Recreating the environment of a tree hollow certainly makes sense. I'll be incorporating this in my new hives to see for myself how it works. I believe I will make mine rather deep to provide for a better moisture and energy sink and therefore better regulate the internal temperature of the hive. The goal isn't so much to maintain temperature (even if there may be some heat from decay) but simply to help temper rapid changes of temperature in a short timeframe. This may be a case where more is indeed better. We shall see!
Completely new concept for me. Life is all about the breaking down into earth. This is a sound experiment. Be a good idea when going for firewood to take time and gather the sawdust. I believe bar chain oil is eco friendly.
I've been reading about various mushrooms that seem to have both an immune-system boost for the bees and kills varroa. I don't think the studies are big enough to say for sure that this information is right, but suggestive. But anyway, one can very easily grow King Strophoria mushroom in wood-chip and that is one of the beneficial species. Perhaps something to play-with in an eco-floor.
Woodchip breaks down a lot faster if chipped with green material, ie leafs and new branch growth. After a few months a heap would be full of mycelium treads...Paul Stamets is a mushroom expert and beekeeper, he found out that when his bees were poorly that they started feeding on a type of mushroom that was growing on a near by woodchip pile, he is now trying to get this information mainstream
On our farm we have an abundance of mulch. We clean sheep barns a couple times per year and produce 20 tons of compost annually. On the third year of composting we move the piles out to the fields as fertilizer…but after year one the poop has cooled off and lost the scent for which it is well known. I have started using this partially composted hay/straw/poop mixture and it has a nice earthy smell that the bees seem to be drawn to.
Hello again Phil. I just noticed that I wasn’t somehow unsubscribed. No wonder I have been missing your notifications. Resubscribed and now searching for what I have missed. I still feel that the compost would maintain it moisture more if it’s sitting on the ground.
I wonder if you can use eco floor over mesh floor vent in a (plastic Drum) top bar hive for better environment for the bees. Using a Plastic drum barrel cut in 1/2 the long way.
Hello Phil, Thank you for another great video. Im going to try your eco floor on my next hive. Just got a quick question. Do the Bees not burrow under the wood chippings and beneath the follower boards? Many thanks.
How about puting some sort of rain catcher on either side of the floor, like a small funnel and a bent pipe? And maybe a small hole halfway up the guttering to act as a overflow. Or abit lower as needs bee.
I was planning to experiment with something like that. My idea was to use a raised flower bed as a hive floor, and make the floor area bigger than the hive so that the rain gets on the sides of the floor and wets the rest of the floor material by diffusion.
Hi Phil thanks for the updated info on the eco floor I have built both my hives with the eco floor in them, I wondered if you ever built the cathedral beehive you talked about in one of your videos?
I did actually discuss the idea of a "cathedral hive" (although I didn't call it that) and made up several versions of the semi-hexagonal frames about a year before the "official" version was launched, but have never actually built one myself! Maybe one day...
Question, would you consider that if you add dried out cuttings from lavender flowers, mixed with the wood chipping, help the conditions within the hive? (I mention the Lavender, because I've seen that if the honey bees collect from the lavenders, they seem to be more healthier when looking into the issues with the varroa mites.)
Im new to beekeeping. Im curious about the eco floor idea. Is your hive base, solid wood or mesh? Doesnt solid wood impede ventilation? How do you manage your varoa mite population? have you heard anything about using yellow cedar for varoa mite control? Im building a yellow cedar langstroth hive at the moment to place beside my pine langstroth to see if it does indeed curb the varoa mites.
Hmm, how about if for the eco-floor, one dedicated an entire brood-box completely full of mulch and wood-chip etc? The sheer volume aught to be very helpful in maintaining moisture, and should watering be required it should be easier to do via a hole in the back, just the same as some hive entrances rather than having to disturb the hive. I am getting crazy ideas about a circulatory system from a quilt-box back down to the eco-floor now, but I'm a long way-off having a fully formed plan lol
Just a thought on retaining moisture in the litter on the eco-floor, what about charcoal? I know that it absorbs water but it might slowly release moisture back into the litter. I recently burned a birch stump and root so will put some charred pieces into my just built, from your plans and books, TBH. I'll have to build a second as a control and leave the charcoal out to see if there is any difference. Mind you as I live in Ireland I imagine that the litter will always stay damp!
Excellent idea! It's pretty damp here in Devon as a rule, although we have just had 3 weeks of dry, cold weather and easterly wind, which is practically unheard of.
Hi Phil Im very new to Beekeeping and hopefully will catch my first swarm soon as I have made a 4 foot topbar hive plus 3 topbar swarm traps, I love the idea of the eco floor and have incorporated into my big main hive, should I use it In my swarm traps too??
Hi Phil. When I built my first tbh with an eco floor about six years ago I filled it with shavings. The bees decided that they would empty it all out and build their comb to the bottom. The colony died after many years and swarms so I’m thinking of refurbishing the hive. Do you think buying garden centre bark chipping’s and leaving them out for a period of time would do the same job as the oak? Thanks Liz
Liz, if you have any tree surgeons, tree removal companies near you, maybe you could call them and ask that they save a bag of oak chips for you -- they might do so, especially if you explain your interest/reason for wanting it. Pretty unique I think and they might be intrigued! A possible benefit from this approach is you don't know what you're getting in those bags you buy, or how it's been treated/handled...maybe it's ok, maybe not?
I had one more thought Phil, in your other video on the eco floor you put birch bark in the bottom, would the decomposed matter form a birch stump work as well?
Birch is a particularly interesting tree to me, given that it has a number of folk medicinal properties and supports the growth of several key medicinal fungi, including chaga, reishi and the birch polypore. I think it is a most promising source of medicine for bees. The bark contains an oil that is responsible for its use as a firelighter, and which has been extracted for human use for thousands of years. Decomposing birch will contain fungi that may be beneficial to bees. More research needed...
I don't like open mesh floors, and I don't think bees do either, given that they move up and away from them whenever they have the opportunity. If you compare them to what you usually find in a hollow tree, it's easy to see why. Even the relatively small areas of open mesh in polynucs create a draught, and I have begun to cover them with wood chips.
@@BarefootBeekeeper Thank you for this. I’m in a reliable swarming valley with many mature trees, mostly feral (I think) quite dark bees. I’ve found they won’t go into a bait hive with an open mesh floor of their own accord , however orientated or baited, but will, if it’s dark and cosy in there.
@@BarefootBeekeeper thanks Phil, we don't have to deal with the varoa mite yet here in Brisbane Australia. If I may ask how do you feel about the long Lang do you have building plans available, we already have your top bar hive plans.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏 😊 ❤I appreciate you!! Your videos are awesome. I love the top bar hive nuke idea! And all the top bar modifications and feeder suggestions!!!! Fascinating stuff
Thank you, kind sir for sharing your knowledge. Recreating the environment of a tree hollow certainly makes sense. I'll be incorporating this in my new hives to see for myself how it works. I believe I will make mine rather deep to provide for a better moisture and energy sink and therefore better regulate the internal temperature of the hive. The goal isn't so much to maintain temperature (even if there may be some heat from decay) but simply to help temper rapid changes of temperature in a short timeframe. This may be a case where more is indeed better. We shall see!
Completely new concept for me. Life is all about the breaking down into earth. This is a sound experiment. Be a good idea when going for firewood to take time and gather the sawdust. I believe bar chain oil is eco friendly.
You could try a miniature rain gutter. Perhaps have a float valve open in heavy rain to direct it away from the floor?
What one of your videos shows you adding a gutter to the bottom of your hive?
I've been reading about various mushrooms that seem to have both an immune-system boost for the bees and kills varroa. I don't think the studies are big enough to say for sure that this information is right, but suggestive. But anyway, one can very easily grow King Strophoria mushroom in wood-chip and that is one of the beneficial species. Perhaps something to play-with in an eco-floor.
Woodchip breaks down a lot faster if chipped with green material, ie leafs and new branch growth. After a few months a heap would be full of mycelium treads...Paul Stamets is a mushroom expert and beekeeper, he found out that when his bees were poorly that they started feeding on a type of mushroom that was growing on a near by woodchip pile, he is now trying to get this information mainstream
Yes indeed. I do follow Paul Stamets' work and I will be experimenting further with fungi.
On our farm we have an abundance of mulch. We clean sheep barns a couple times per year and produce 20 tons of compost annually. On the third year of composting we move the piles out to the fields as fertilizer…but after year one the poop has cooled off and lost the scent for which it is well known. I have started using this partially composted hay/straw/poop mixture and it has a nice earthy smell that the bees seem to be drawn to.
Hello again Phil. I just noticed that I wasn’t somehow unsubscribed. No wonder I have been missing your notifications. Resubscribed and now searching for what I have missed. I still feel that the compost would maintain it moisture more if it’s sitting on the ground.
A composting floor is definitely worth investigating.
If it’s gone through a chipper, will it have hydraulic fluid in it?
Hopefully not
I wonder if you can use eco floor over mesh floor vent in a (plastic Drum) top bar hive for better environment for the bees. Using a Plastic drum barrel cut in 1/2 the long way.
Hello Phil, Thank you for another great video. Im going to try your eco floor on my next hive. Just got a quick question. Do the Bees not burrow under the wood chippings and beneath the follower boards?
Many thanks.
Thank you Phil! I shall try this!
How about puting some sort of rain catcher on either side of the floor, like a small funnel and a bent pipe? And maybe a small hole halfway up the guttering to act as a overflow. Or abit lower as needs bee.
You could do that, as long as you have rain fairly regularly.
I was planning to experiment with something like that. My idea was to use a raised flower bed as a hive floor, and make the floor area bigger than the hive so that the rain gets on the sides of the floor and wets the rest of the floor material by diffusion.
I think that is an idea worth trying. I want to make a similar arrangement for a Warré give, which would be easier to do than with a TBH.
Hi Phil thanks for the updated info on the eco floor I have built both my hives with the eco floor in them, I wondered if you ever built the cathedral beehive you talked about in one of your videos?
I did actually discuss the idea of a "cathedral hive" (although I didn't call it that) and made up several versions of the semi-hexagonal frames about a year before the "official" version was launched, but have never actually built one myself! Maybe one day...
We need a lot more video’s I’ve taken on board a lot of ideas could you please tell me where to get black bees for my top bar hive
I can recommend Jo Widdicombe in Millbrook or Peter Little in North Devon
Question, would you consider that if you add dried out cuttings from lavender flowers, mixed with the wood chipping, help the conditions within the hive? (I mention the Lavender, because I've seen that if the honey bees collect from the lavenders, they seem to be more healthier when looking into the issues with the varroa mites.)
Will we see more videos on the quadratic hive?
I hope so.
Im new to beekeeping. Im curious about the eco floor idea. Is your hive base, solid wood or mesh? Doesnt solid wood impede ventilation? How do you manage your varoa mite population? have you heard anything about using yellow cedar for varoa mite control? Im building a yellow cedar langstroth hive at the moment to place beside my pine langstroth to see if it does indeed curb the varoa mites.
Hmm, how about if for the eco-floor, one dedicated an entire brood-box completely full of mulch and wood-chip etc? The sheer volume aught to be very helpful in maintaining moisture, and should watering be required it should be easier to do via a hole in the back, just the same as some hive entrances rather than having to disturb the hive.
I am getting crazy ideas about a circulatory system from a quilt-box back down to the eco-floor now, but I'm a long way-off having a fully formed plan lol
Just a thought on retaining moisture in the litter on the eco-floor, what about charcoal? I know that it absorbs water but it might slowly release moisture back into the litter. I recently burned a birch stump and root so will put some charred pieces into my just built, from your plans and books, TBH. I'll have to build a second as a control and leave the charcoal out to see if there is any difference. Mind you as I live in Ireland I imagine that the litter will always stay damp!
Excellent idea! It's pretty damp here in Devon as a rule, although we have just had 3 weeks of dry, cold weather and easterly wind, which is practically unheard of.
you also have experience with the predatory mite in the bee hive.
Hi Phil Im very new to Beekeeping and hopefully will catch my first swarm soon as I have made a 4 foot topbar hive plus 3 topbar swarm traps, I love the idea of the eco floor and have incorporated into my big main hive, should I use it In my swarm traps too??
If they are only for catching swarms, it's probably not worth the extra work.
Hi Phil. When I built my first tbh with an eco floor about six years ago I filled it with shavings. The bees decided that they would empty it all out and build their comb to the bottom. The colony died after many years and swarms so I’m thinking of refurbishing the hive.
Do you think buying garden centre bark chipping’s and leaving them out for a period of time would do the same job as the oak? Thanks Liz
They do seem to throw out lightweight shavings, but chips are too heavy unless they use machinery. Partly decomposed bark may well be a good material.
@@BarefootBeekeeper like these bees 🐝 🚜🐝 🏗🏗🏗. 😂
@@BarefootBeekeeper I’ve had them throw out all the top layer of lovely damp moss and willow bark I gave them.
Interesting... They tell us what they want, one way or another.
Liz, if you have any tree surgeons, tree removal companies near you, maybe you could call them and ask that they save a bag of oak chips for you -- they might do so, especially if you explain your interest/reason for wanting it. Pretty unique I think and they might be intrigued! A possible benefit from this approach is you don't know what you're getting in those bags you buy, or how it's been treated/handled...maybe it's ok, maybe not?
I had one more thought Phil, in your other video on the eco floor you put birch bark in the bottom, would the decomposed matter form a birch stump work as well?
Birch is a particularly interesting tree to me, given that it has a number of folk medicinal properties and supports the growth of several key medicinal fungi, including chaga, reishi and the birch polypore. I think it is a most promising source of medicine for bees. The bark contains an oil that is responsible for its use as a firelighter, and which has been extracted for human use for thousands of years. Decomposing birch will contain fungi that may be beneficial to bees. More research needed...
Wgat are your thoughts on varroa open floors on long hives and could you put chippings on it??
I don't like open mesh floors, and I don't think bees do either, given that they move up and away from them whenever they have the opportunity. If you compare them to what you usually find in a hollow tree, it's easy to see why. Even the relatively small areas of open mesh in polynucs create a draught, and I have begun to cover them with wood chips.
@@BarefootBeekeeper Thank you for this. I’m in a reliable swarming valley with many mature trees, mostly feral (I think) quite dark bees. I’ve found they won’t go into a bait hive with an open mesh floor of their own accord , however orientated or baited, but will, if it’s dark and cosy in there.
Hi Phil would hive beetles be able to hide in the eco floor
I have no experience of SHB as we don't have them in the UK (yet), so I cannot give you a definitive answer.
@@BarefootBeekeeper thanks Phil, we don't have to deal with the varoa mite yet here in Brisbane Australia. If I may ask how do you feel about the long Lang do you have building plans available, we already have your top bar hive plans.
I have a long National (Brit version of the long Lang) that I will use to populate top bars. Video coming soon...
@@BarefootBeekeeper thanks Phil will watch it for it
placing mulch in a bee box isn't patentable. thx tho.
True, but I could have trademarked the term "Eco-floor" and even created a patented filling material formula, much like Colonel Sanders!