# Greenhouse beekeeping question



## rickd203 (Sep 11, 2005)

As part of my plans for starting a homestead, I want to have a 20'x100' hoop style greenhouse. I am hoping to extend my growing season and possibly try growing vegetables in winter. Several of my favorite vegatables need to be pollinated. If I put a beehive in the greenhouse, would they do the job?


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## leaping leon (Jun 10, 2004)

I've thought about doing something like this myself, but I don't have any concrete information for you.

My thought was to put the beehive in one end of a greenhouse and let them fly through the greenhouse to get outside...past the plants that need to be polinated. This way I wouldn't need to provide them with sugar water for food, at least not as long as there's something blooming, which is most of the year in north Florida...

edited: you'll want to research beekeeping (if you haven't already)...it may actually be better to hand polinate your veggies, especially if you don't want the bees for themselves, so to speak.


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## beeman97 (Jul 13, 2003)

Rick
I note that you are in Ct. your plan to have bee's in winter up there is going to be a very tricky thing to do. as with your plants you know they need specific temps & certian amounts of sunlight your bees will also need both in the winter up there. so unless you are planning on heating your greenhouse with constant realible heat your going to have a hard time of it.
It will not be possible to keep the hive outside with a tube running in during the winter because of the outside temps in your state. keeping the hive inside the house may very well confuse the bee's & cause large #'s of them getting killed trying to get out. bee's, & other insects for that matter have a very hard time negociating glass or plastic. As im sure you have seen the fly on the window endlessly trying to go through the glass instead of around. I do suspopse it would be possible but there are many things your going to have to work with in order to get it set up right for your situation
Good Luck
Rick


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## rickd203 (Sep 11, 2005)

Thanks for the good advise. I am thinking about trying this after I move to the midwest. The winters are a little more mild there. If it doesn't work, I will just have to settle for vegetables that don't need pollination or try to do it myself.


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## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

Ok first thing that I would like to mention is that any and all flying insects that get inside my hoophouse which is only 24 feet long, die trying to fly up to get out. They can't find the door except by dumb luck. Most die. The other point is that conneticut is alot warmer than where I live in Western NY, and people have bees and leave them outside all winter here.


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## John Schneider (Sep 9, 2005)

I am not sure that I completely understand your question...but the bees will over-winter fine if they are properly looked after in the fall. Feeding them 2:1 sugar water as soon as the last forages are done up until it gets down around 40 degrees on a regular basis will ensure that they have good reserves in their two brood chambers. Then you will need to wrap them with insulation until quite late in the spring when you will have to feed them again until the blooms start. Assuming that blooms in your greenhouse will be earlier than the bees will be awake...I can't see how you could make it work. I keep bees here in central Alberta where it is pretty darn cold in the winter. I wrap my bees in October and unwrap them in May.

Keeping your bees are cold makes sure that they are relatively dormant and utilizing as little feed as possible. As soon as you heat the hives in any way their food consumption will rise and they will starve.


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## rainesridgefarm (Dec 1, 2002)

there are several greenhouses doing this now in the northern states.


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## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

Do you know who they are or where?


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2005)

seaweed said:


> I'm not a bee person yet but I did read a book the other day about bumble bees that mentioned using them as pollinators for crops in greenhouses. May be worth looking in to. I know they go out & forage in much cooler conditions than honey bees can.


Unless they've bred some gentle breed of bumblebee, I wouldn't even try that. Ever been chased by bumblebees? It's no fun!!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i have heard those big b-52 bumble bees do not sting. is this true? they sure can chase you.


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## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

Yeah but their legs are so small.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

MELOC said:


> i have heard those big b-52 bumble bees do not sting. is this true? they sure can chase you.



Well, I don't know if the B-52s sting, but they can SING!

"Love shack is a little old place where 
We can get together..."

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. Totally punchy today. 

Pony!


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