Mike Barkley

Pete nailed it. Good answer.

Alarm clocks would be destroyed. It will be too hard to comply with the daily nap requirement with alarm clocks.

Insulating board might be your best bet then. Perhaps a space blanket too.

I'm curious how you have a nuc this late in the season.

Minus 30 is very cold for bees. Some people do use insulating board & in Europe there is a type of hive that is made basically like an ice chest. Made of styrofoam or something like that.

I think the chips are probably helpful unless they attract pests or absorb water. What I would probably do is sandwich the nuc between the other 2 hives & surround them all with hay bales. Top and sides. Keep their entrances open. That works pretty good. Don't know how well that works in minus 30 though. That's harsh.

Here's pix from the same victory garden about a month later. It did very well with zero attention after planting. It's almost done for the season now except for one pumpkin & some sweet potatoes.

Are you submitting this for BB certification? If so, it needs to be posted in that particular thread. Looks great! Except the burn. Ouch.

Congratulations everyone!!!

I'd generally orient it east to west. That way there's good southern exposure (sunlight) all during the day & the other side will be a bit shadier & cooler for things that prefer that. It seems the taller it is the more micro climate effect there is.

Fava bean leaves are edible? Woohoo! A nice big batch is being planted here sometime this week. Will try some leaves.

Broccoli & other brassica leaves are edible too.