The Value of Freebies

I was adding a few items to the blog today. I realized there is quite a few items that would cost a lot of money when you add it all up. Here's kind of a summary of the things that didn't come right out of pocket for this new adventure.

First of all the hive stands, I was able to collect some used lumber, clean the old nails out of it, then cut it to size. I nailed them together with some generic nails I had in the garage. Sure, we could have found something to stack the hives on to get them off the ground. Stands help keep them higher and drier? If we didn't have the tools to use, we would have paid, possibly, a hundred dollars, or more, for the pair. We saved at least about twenty bucks on wood or cinder blocks as a stand.

Paint was another savings. Using a leftover gallon of exterior paint as a base coat saved us the added expense of purchasing everything finished. A gallon of exterior paint is running right at twenty bucks now. The brushes I used would have cost another four or five.

The Beek down the street offered to share some of the nutrient he had left over. Yes, Beek is short for beekeeper. I didn't make it up. The ingredients would have cost eighteen dollars, or so. A bottle of it from a supplier would have been more.

We did get several accessories along with our hives. Plan Bee threw in a screened bottom board, entrance reducer, entrance feeder, a j-hook style hive tool, and even a bee brush when we purchased the hives. I also cut a few more scrap wood pieces to make an entrance block-off and a reducer that would fit in with the feeder. All these items would nickel and dime a beekeeper until they gave up. 

Then there is a suit. I just used a pair of coveralls I already had. You could get one like it for nine dollars at the hardware store. If you would rather have the canvas beekeepers uniform with pockets and all, it would cost seventy dollars. Doris and Delores have some pretty docile colonies. I don't see needing to spend that much on a suit. Gloves and fancy veils run up the costs from there. 

All in all, I think we are doing pretty well, cost wise. I estimate we have started two hives for what it would probably have cost us to start one. Granted, It could have been even cheaper to start only one. It would have been half as much fun too. I will remain on the lookout for deals and steals when it comes to adding supers and other accessories. I have some ideas brewing for overwinter. That's a discussion for another day.

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