My Review On Galena Farms Bee Hives
The most exciting thing for a beekeeper to buy is a new beehive. Depending where you live, you may not be able to get beehives locally. In that case, you’ll have to order your beehive online.
There are several online retailers that sell beehives, such as Amazon, or manufacturer websites. A new website that I recently tried is Galena Farms. This post will review Galena Farms, including a list of the pros and cons of ordering from Galena Farms and comparison of Galena Farms vs Amazon.
What is Galena Farms?
Galena Farms is located in the middle of Ohio. They sell 8 and 10 frame beehives, hive parts, foundation, and accessories. Galena Farms bee hives have been tested and approved to be of high quality, dependable, and competitively priced.
What sets Galena Farms apart from other online retailers is that they put a lot of care and effort into the hives they choose to sell. Other websites try to sell as many products as they possibly can, regardless of the product’s quality.
But Galena Farms prides themselves on only offering bee hives that they, themselves have used and would recommend. So, while they may not have as large of a selection as other websites, you know that each item they offer is a good, dependable product.
What Products Does Galena Farms Offer?
Galena Farms offers a selection of quality beehives, parts, and accessories.
The 3 brands of bee hives sold on the website are Hoover Hives, Busy Bees ‘n’ More, and NuBee. These 3 Galena Farms bee hives each have unique qualities that would appeal to different beekeepers.
Hoover Hives
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you already know that I’m a big fan of Hoover Hives. These bee hives look amazing and are well made. I also like their wax dipped wood. They dip all of their wood in 100% real beeswax, which is a natural way to protect the wood from the elements. Not only that, but wax dipped wood looks and smells great. You can read my full review on Hoover Hives here.
Both the 10 frame and the 8 frame beehives are available on Galena Farms website. The 10 and 8 frame complete beehive kit is quite popular. These beehives come with 2 deeps and 1 medium, as well as many other supplies. With this kit you will get a top and inner cover, queen excluder, entrance reducer, frames, foundation, and more.
You can see a list of what is included here. It is nearly everything you need to get started in beekeeping. If you don’t need the full kit you can also get boxes, frames, and parts separately.
Click Here to See Hoover Hives
Busy Bees ‘n’ More
Busy Bees ‘n’ More are Amish made beehives. Amish woodworkers from the Ohio countryside skillfully create each of these beehives. The Amish are known for high quality woodwork, and it definitely shows in these hives.
These beehives are made of responsibly sourced eastern white pine. Pine is an excellent choice for beehives as it is attractive, durable, and easy to work with.
Like Hoover Hives, Busy Bees ‘n’ More makes both 8 and 10 frame Langstroth beehives. Their kits are sold in different configurations such as 1 deep and 1 medium, and 2 deeps and 3 medium boxes. I like that there are a lot of options of how many boxes and the size of the boxes.
The Busy Bees ‘n’ More beehives come with everything you need to house a healthy colony. You get frames, foundation, a top cover, a screened bottom board, and even a bottle of Titebond wood glue.
Click Here to See Busy Bees ‘N’ More
NuBee
The last Galena Farms bee hive is made by NuBee. NuBee is known by beekeepers for producing high quality beehives for affordable prices. Their hives are made of a combination of fir and pine, resulting in a beautiful and strong design.
NuBee Hives, as well as Hoover Hives and Busy Bees ‘n’ More, are made using industry standard dimensions for Langstroth beehives. That means that these hive parts are interchangeable with other Langstroth hives.
Bee Hive Starter Kits
I really like bee hive starter kits because they include everything a beekeeper would need. That’s why I was really happy to hear that Galena Farms offers them. I have to say, a beehive starter kit is probably the best gift you can get for a new or aspiring beekeeper.
The starter kits at Galena Farms includes 1 deep brood box, parts, accessories, and the following supplies: gloves, jacket, veil, smoker, and hive tool. Most starter kits do not include a beekeeping jacket, so this is an exceptional kit at a really good price.
Galena Farms bee hive starter kits come with a hive of your choice – Hoover Hives, Busy Bees ‘n’ More, and NuBee. The NuBee starter kit even comes painted and nuc ready.
See Galena Farms Bee Hive Starter Kits Here
Parts and Accessories
Other than bee hives, Galena Farms also sells bee hive parts and accessories. You can get boxes, frames, foundation, covers, and bottom boards for any of the above mentioned brands. There are also several accessories available. Entrance reducers, queen excluders, and bee escapes can be purchased here.
Galena Farms Shipping
Galena Farms offers free shipping to all orders over $50 within the continental United States. When buying beehives it is extremely easy to hit that $50 mark.
Galena Farms beehives ship out of Central Ohio, usually within 24 hours of receiving the order. They ship using both FedEx and UPS. You can expect to receive your beehives in 1 to 4 days.
Pros of Ordering From Galena Farms
- Expertly chosen beehives – I like that every Galena Farms beehive has been tested and used by actual beekeepers. That way I know before buying, that the hive I choose will be a good one.
- Free shipping for orders over $50 – the $50 minimum is easily doable when buying beehives. And if you are close to the $50 mark, there are several small accessories you can purchase to get you free shipping.
- Fast shipping – Galena Farms ships orders out within 24 hours.
- Excellent customer service – Customer service at Galena Farms responds quickly and with utmost care.
Cons of Ordering From Galena Farms
- Smaller selection of beehives – Galena Farms focuses on 3 brands of beehives.
- Free shipping with $50 orders only applies to the continental United States.
Galena Farms vs Amazon
The big difference between Galena Farms and Amazon is that Amazon has a much larger selection. They have a ton of different brands of bee hives to choose from. Some people may like that, but personally, I find that having too much selection can make it difficult to choose what I want.
When searching for a beehive on Amazon, there are just so many brands and reviews to read up on, it can make your head spin. Pretty much anyone can put up a listing on Amazon, and the product can be complete trash.
Quality Bee Hives
But at Galena Farms, they have a smaller selection of hives, but you know that each one is dependable because it’s already been tested by beekeepers. This makes the shopping experience a lot easier and more enjoyable for me.
Fast Shipping
In my personal experience, Galena Farms has shipped my items faster than Amazon. Despite having Prime membership, Amazon does not ship my items out right away. Instead, the item will ship several days to even a week after I place my order. By the time I actually get my order, it’s been nearly two weeks.
However, Galena Farms ships their orders out within 24 hours. That makes a big difference because most customers receive their hives from Galena Farms within 4 days.
Customer Service
Galena Farms is also a much smaller company than Amazon. I find that is an advantage because the customer service is more caring and personal at Galena Farms. Plus, it’s nice to support a smaller business, rather than a behemoth like Amazon.
Galena Farms Coupon Code
It’s rare to find a bee hive sale, but Galena Farms is currently allowing the use of a coupon code for a discount. Use code COMPLETEBEEHIVES to get 5% off your order!
Summary
Galena Farms is a website that sells beehives, beehive parts, and accessories. The three beehive brands that Galena Farms carries is Hoover Hives, Busy Bees ‘n’ More, and NuBee.
All hives sold by Galena Farms have been tested and are recommended by experienced beekeepers. I recommend shopping at Galena Farms because they only offer dependable products, have fast shipping, and excellent customer service.
