Beekeeping Today Podcast - Presented by Betterbee
April 25, 2022

My Long Langstroth Beehive Journey Begins

My Long Langstroth Beehive Journey Begins

I suppose I am like most beekeepers. I like bees. I like to watch them and marvel at their beauty – in function and form. I can (and have) spent hours just watching them.

I also like to tinker. I am not over the top, but I like gadgets and experimenting. So, when I started reading about Long Langstroth (LongLangs) Hives, my curiosity was piqued. I found some instructions on the Internet for building one. Then one day last winter, I was talking with a neighbor who is an avid woodworker, about what I was looking to do. He said he was interested, in fact, very interested in helping.

He did not have to say that twice.

Several days later, I took him the plans. “Whatcha think, Gene?”

He said, “You know, I have most of this lumber laying around here.”

"Even the two-by,” I asked?

Taking Shape“Yes! Take a look at this.” He took me into a back storage area of his shop and found several old and weathered 2x boards. “I’ve been wanting to do something with this wood I salvaged from our house when we replaced part of the roofline. Will this work? There is more than enough…”

And that was the start of my LongLang journey.

My intent was to help Gene on weekends and after work in the afternoons. But he, being retired, jumped right into it. He’d send me phone messages occasionally, stating… “I hope you don’t mind; I did some work today. I was bored and needed something to do in the shop…”

I’d answer a texted question or two along the way. I’d stop by and make sure the dimensions were right on the bee space and even held boards while they were being cut on the table saw, but I didn’t even have to pick up a piece of hardware from the corner big-box store. He was “there anyways and got what was needed.”

In placeWhen the time came for deciding where to place the entrance… I did decide I wanted to do an end entrance and make it one colony instead two side-by-side colonies with entrances on the sides. We were talking about how fun it would be to add a unique opening. Something other than a small landing pad. That would be boring. I am not sure who’s idea was a gargoyle… but I really liked it and found one, “Ralph the Gargoyle”. THAT I did order and Gene mounted it to the end of the hive.

A few days later, Gene, his wife Amanda, and another neighbor, Gary helped to move it to my bee yard and set it in place.

This past weekend, I installed the nuc and we are off and running.

As I said earlier and if you listen to the podcast regularly, I like gadgets. So, it goes without saying “Ralph” is wired with temperature sensors and sits on a scale. You can take a look at the current readings, here: https://mybroodminder.com/share/hive/4e37d52e45f247029c4cb547763a8741 

I will be writing about my LongLang journey here in the blog. I am certain I will find things I’d change, management practices that I need to modify… things I cannot even begin to imagine. But it’s been a fun start.

Thanks to Gene, Amanda, Gary and Paul.

If neighbors and friends were gems then I am surrounded by a crown. I am grateful.

In to the mouth of the gargoyle

Equipment
Jeff OttProfile Photo

Jeff Ott

Cohost, Producer, Editor & Audio Engineer... Chief Cook, Bottle Washer, Errand Boy

While in 6th grade, Jeff’s interest in all things flying and crawling turned to honeybees. He enlisted his father’s help to buy an A.I. Root observation hive. Jeff’s honeybees resided on his second-floor bedroom desk in Lakewood, Ohio. He spent much of that boyhood summer enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the observation hive. After buying his own home Hinckley, Ohio as an adult, he picked up on his interest in beekeeping. He purchased three colonies from a retiring beekeeper and his interest continued to grow.

Jeff grew his operation from a hobbyist into a small sideliner business selling honey and beeswax and providing local pollination services. He joined the Medina County Beekeepers Association and the Ohio State Beekeeper’s Association so he could continue to learn from others in the business. Jeff was president of the Medina organization and was a director of the Ohio association. He also created Medina County’s first newsletter: The Bee Herder.

While active with the Ohio beekeepers’ organizations, Jeff met the editor of Bee Culture magazine, Kim Flottum. Kim recruited Jeff and they created a regular column called the Weekender. The column provided practical advice for hobbyist beekeepers. Kim invited Jeff to attend the annual American Beekeeping Federation conference in Kansas City. While there, Kim introduced Jeff to Sherry Jennings, an executive with the National Honey Board in Longmont, Colorado. Sherry and Jeff are married.

Jeff relocated to Colorado to be with Sherry. He reestablished his beekeeping operation there and kept… Read More

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