The best advice I can give is always the same.  

Join a local club. 

Make friends, and not just the noisy folks, or the sort of folks that share your prejudices. 

Visit their apiaries in all seasons and look over their shoulder(s)

Copy the most successful one(s).

Be careful about combining pieces from one successful system with another.  It is not always clear what is the secret.  Remember, gramma may share her fabulous cookie recipe but the secret may be in her equipment, her oven, the brands she uses or something else that does not show in the recipe.  Be observant.  Not everything can be put into words.

What works is local and even  as little as 10 miles can make a big difference.

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