>>980138$60ish for veil and gloves
$10 for spray bottle and sugar or lemongrass oil
$100 for a homemade top bar
$100-150 for a 3lb box of bees.
That said talk to your local bee club they might have people with spare hive boxes that they might let go cheaply.
>>980146Sooner is better your bees need enough time to gather adequate honey to survive the winter, but not too soon that a cold snap happens and ices your bees. You typically cannot harvest honey during the first year unless you get an overwintered nuc. That said you can and will need to feed your bees of the winter more than likely anyway.
