Growing the Apiary: Seven New Nucs Join the Bee Yard

It’s another big step forward for Desert Farms Apiary as we welcome seven new nucleus colonies—or “nucs”—to the bee yard, bringing us to 12 active colonies heading into winter.

The new colonies will be installed into 10-frame single-deep Langstroth hives using drawn comb that came with our recent apiary acquisition. Having drawn comb available gives these colonies an important head start. Instead of having to spend valuable time and resources producing an entire box of new comb, the bees can immediately begin using the available cells for brood, pollen, nectar, and winter food stores.

Building Strong Colonies Before Winter

With fall approaching here in the Tri-Cities, the priority for these nucs is simple: build strong colonies with adequate food stores before winter arrives.

Each nuc will be transferred into a single deep and supplemented with additional drawn frames. We’ll immediately begin feeding sugar syrup to encourage the colonies to occupy their new equipment and build the stores they’ll need for winter.

Going into winter in single deeps means we’ll be paying particularly close attention to colony strength and food reserves. The goal isn’t to force rapid expansion this late in the season. Instead, we want healthy, well-fed colonies with enough bees and resources to make it successfully through the colder months.

Throughout the fall, we’ll monitor their progress and adjust feeding based on how quickly each colony is adding weight and filling available comb.

Single Deeps This Winter, Double Deeps Next Spring

The single-deep configuration is our starting point—not the long-term plan.

Assuming the colonies overwinter successfully, our spring management plan will focus on expanding each of these colonies into a double-deep configuration as brood production and population growth accelerate.

Once a colony is strong enough to use the additional space, we’ll add a second deep and allow the bees to expand upward. This should give each colony substantially more room for brood production and food storage as we prepare them for the 2027 nectar flow.

The drawn comb inventory acquired along with our existing beekeeping equipment will continue to be especially valuable during that expansion.

Twelve Colonies and Growing

Adding these seven nucs brings Desert Farms Apiary to 12 colonies going into our first winter at the new bee yard.

It’s exciting to see the yard filling out, but this time of year is less about colony numbers and more about preparation. Over the next several weeks, our focus will be feeding, monitoring colony strength, maintaining adequate winter stores, and giving every hive the best opportunity possible to make it through winter.

If all goes according to plan, these small single-deep colonies will emerge next spring ready to grow into full double-deep production colonies.

For now, though, the objective is straightforward:

Get them established. Get them fed. Get them through winter.

Then we’ll see what spring brings.

— Desert Farms Apiary
West Richland, Washington