mn_newbee · Minnesota, US · Beginners · Oct 21, 2026

Everything's wrapped, fondant's on, guards are fitted — what does a beginner actually DO between now and March?

Minnesota, first year, two hives. Thanks to this forum I've done the whole list: mite treatment finished, fed to weight, frames rearranged so the stores touch the cluster, eke and fondant on, insulation above, mouse guards fitted, roofs weighted, stand levelled. I opened my notebook this morning and realised I have nothing left to write in it for four months, and I don't know whether that's correct or whether I'm about to make a beginner's mistake of neglect. So what's the actual winter job list? The things I can imagine: walk past after storms to check nothing has blown over or been knocked; listen at the side; check the entrance is clear after a thaw and refreeze; heft occasionally; watch for a mid-winter warm day and see if anyone flies. And presumably at some point I need to check whether the fondant is going down. What I don't know is the frequency, and how to do any of it without becoming the person who opens hives in January because they're bored. I'd also like to know what I should be doing that ISN'T at the hives — gear, reading, ordering, planning.

#winter-management#beginners#planning#minnesota

▲ 13 votes 💬 4 replies ✅ Solved

4 replies

QuebecBees · Oct 21, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer

Quebec. At the hives: a walk-past after every big storm, clear the entrance after a thaw-freeze, and one heft a month. That's it. Fondant check on the first day above about 5°C — lift the roof, look, don't lift frames. Away from the hives: order your spring equipment in January because everything sells out, build an eke and a nuc box, read one proper book rather than fifty videos, and decide now whether you want three hives or five next year, because that decides whether you're making splits in May.

VTBeeHannah · Oct 21, 2026

Vermont, second year. The listening thing is genuinely useful and free — put your ear on the side wall and tap once. A healthy colony answers with a short buzz that dies away. Silence in January doesn't always mean dead (they can be tight and cold), but it tells you which hive to worry about first in February.

GeorgiaWes · Oct 21, 2026

Twenty-two years: the most valuable winter job is writing up the season you just had while you still remember it. Which hive was grumpy, which swarmed, which needed feeding, what you ran out of, what you promised yourself you'd do differently. mn_newbee, you've got the notebook open already — that's the winter work.

mn_newbee · Oct 22, 2026

That's reassuring and less than I feared. Writing up the season this week and ordering an extra brood box in January. Also putting a reminder in my phone for after every storm.

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