Building a Box Pile Hive...

I am building a box pile hive for Apis cerana... I should have bought planed lumber!

Lesson #1:  Before making any cuts, make sure the lumber board is planed and squared!

Skewed board + poor carpentry skill = lots of hand planing, and I don't know how to use a hand plane!
I made a simple hand plane jig... it helped a lot together with some giant clamps!  2 down, 2 more to go.

Finished the Top Grid that will be used by the bees to build their honeycomb (well, hopefully)... I made this first, so I am sure I am going to make some adjustments to fit the box.










This is how it will be assembled.  But I must make 2 more boxes and some additional parts like the entrance, top cover, roof, and bottom board.  These hive will not use any hive frames.

Variegated Yellow Bamboo and Guyabano Seedlings...

Variegated Yellow Bamboo (not 100% sure), the one in a black plastic bag (center) is alive and well.  Several long branches have already developed and two shoots emerged from the left side of the culm.  The cutting was planted March 15, 2014 during the bamboo propagation seminar at Carolina Bamboo.  When I planted the cutting it has no leaves whatsoever!  And this is just a little over a month.

On the lower right is a Hedge Bamboo which I will use for border fencing.  Got 5 of them.  Quite excited to transplant them at Amadeo, Cavite.  But I have to wait for the rainy season to arrive!









Also planted some guyabano seeds a few weeks ago and they have sprouted.  They are a bit leggy but I think they are ok. I think one is developing a set of true leaves.

Some seeds just beginning to sprout...

Sting-less Bee Apiary at Tayabas, Quezon

Honeybees!!!

Beekeeping Seminar at UP Lost Baños... Day 1...