If you want to start beekeeping but concerned about the space, don’t be. There are lots of solutions out there, you can even try my favorite, DIY mason jar beekeeping. You’ll just need a couple of supplies to get started, some wood, the bees, and you guessed it, mason jars! So scroll on and check out what the steps are so you can get started on beekeeping the easy way.
Materials Needed for your DIY Mason Jar Beekeeping:
- 1 – Piece of 2″ x 12″ x 6′ wood (cut 2 pieces for the sides to 22″)
- 1 – Piece of 2″ x 12″ x 6′ wood (cut 2 pieces for the front and back to 18″)
- 1 – Piece of 1″ x 1″ x 6′ wood (cut 2 pieces for the top frame left and right sides to 22″)
- 1 – Piece of 1″ x 1″ x 6′ wood (cut 2 pieces for the top frame front and back to 18″)
- 1 – Piece of thick plywood (cut to 16″ X 20″)
- 1 – Bottom beehive kit (for the bees to enter and exit)
- 12 – Big mouth quart sized mason jars (for honeycomb)
- 1 – Box of wood screws (size 1″ screws)
- 1 – Can of wood stain (use a dark wood stain of your choice)
- And, lastly, your bees.
Step 1: Cut a piece of thick plywood to 16″ x 20″
First get a piece of thick plywood and cut to 16″ x 20″.Then measure and center for 12 holes and drill the pilot holes.Next, drill 12 – 3 1/2″ holes with a hole saw (for the jars to fit into).
Next cut 2 – 22″ pieces from a 2″ x 12″ x 6′ board and 2 – 18″ pieces from a 2″ x 12″ x 6′ board.
Then screw everything together and stain the wood with dark wood stain (or whatever you choose).
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Get your 12 wide mouth mason 1/2 gallon size jars (or a normal quart sized jar).Then arrange them and make sure they all fit properly over the holes.
Here is the 12 beehive jars arranged and installed in our backyard beehive.
The jars sit with the screw lid on for less than 1/16″ gap between the jar and the beehive hole.
You may need to add some shims to support the weight so it won’t sag with the weight of the honey.
Another view of our DIY backyard beehives in a jar project.You can vent and screen this chamber if there is excess heat or put the beehive where it gets late day shade.
The bottom wooden piece we purchased as a kit and this is where the bees enter and exit the beehive.
The bees are seen here after we added them to the jars, they are now ready to make organic honey.
After much time, here is what the honeycomb jars look like filled with honey.
The Best 3 Life Lessons We Learned From Our Grandparents. How far have they come? Survival Things We Lost To History!
MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT BEES IN A JAR ? PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW…