Dawn Lift on the Tote Stand
First light, a bee in the air, and a hive on an IBC tote cage. The truck crane is there because Gulf Coast supers are not a job for your back.
Read moreGramps Bees
Our colonies sit on IBC tote stands — four feet up, out of the wet, the fire ants, and the Gulf Coast grass. Backyard beekeeping in Brazoria County: a public notebook and Standbot in the works. Honey is through Wild Bloom Honey.
Browse the photo gallery · hives on tote stands, frames, and yard days
Brazoria County · Gulf Coast
This month in the yard
Open the month-by-month yard work page if JavaScript is off.
From the yard journal
Real notes from the hives — stands, nucs, field trips, and what the bees teach next.
Honey Supers, Extraction & the End of Flow (Brazoria County)
When supers fill and the bees ease off bringing in nectar, the main honey flow is ending in Brazoria County. That is when I pull capped frames and extract.
Read more
Yard Photos & First Nucs Video
I moved a set of yard photos and an early nucs video onto the site. To avoid the same pictures showing up in every post, the full set lives in one place. See all twenty photos on the Photo Gallery — first nucs, inspections, elevated stands, honey jar, swarm day, and more. Related: Honey supers, […]
Read more
Start Here — Welcome to Gramps Bees
Start here New to Gramps Bees? This is the short path through the yard journal. 1. Why I keep bees — browse the About page for the short story. 2. First colonies — My First Two Nucs and My First Two Hives — Setup. 3. Equipment that survives the coast — Beehive Stands That Last […]
Read more
Mississippi Bee Run
Going to Coy’s Bees in Miss. couple weeks. Picking up a truck full o bees.
Read more
Bee Yard Entrance
My first bee yard entrance. Very cool to go in there quiet and work with the bees!
Read more
Making Nucs with the Club
My first time working with the bees. The Brazoria County Beekeepers group came together to help Steve Brackman make nucs (will explain nucs later). Great Day!
Read more
Come On, Girls — Let Me In
Most of the bees in a hive are girl bees. Drones (boy bees) only get to come around when the queen needs them then they get kicked out on their butts.
Read more
Beehive Stands That Last
These were the first stands. They were from some crates. Brazoria county weather with the humidity, rain, and sun, destroyed these in a about 3 seasons. One of those beeboxes can easily weigh 40lbs. There are 3 and the honey boxes are not even on which can weigh 30lbs apiece easily placing 3 during the […]
Read more
Hives Four Feet Off the Ground
Keeping your hives elevated off the ground — like on those sturdy pallets with the wire cages around them — is one of the smartest moves in beekeeping, especially in a humid, buggy place like coastal Texas. Here are the main reasons it matters so much: Moisture control — Ground contact is the enemy of […]
Read more
My First Two Hives — Setup
Purchased 2 Italian nucs. I purchased all used equipment. I used mild bleach and a heat gun on the inside. I never purchased used equipment again. Not worth the possiblity of problems. This setup was already hard $$ @ about 400.00. So beekeeping is a shock instantly $$. This was in 2017.
Read moreMy First Two Nucs (May 2017)
A “nuc” (short for nucleus colony) in beekeeping is a small but complete and functional honey bee colony. It’s essentially a mini-hive designed to start a new colony quickly and successfully.What typically comes in a nuc?A standard nuc (most commonly a 5-frame nuc) usually includes: These are housed in a smaller box (nuc box) that’s […]
Read more
BaBB — Bad Ass Bee Box
The top 2 white boxes are honey boxes. The green box below is a modified Lazutin beehive. I will discuss different boxes later.
Read more
Propolis
What is propolis?Propolis is a natural resin collected by bees to protect their hives from bacteria and fungi. At Gramps Bees, we carefully extract propolis into tincture form, preserving its beneficial compounds while keeping the process simple and transparent. 🐝⚗️It’s hive science, done right.
Read more