I agree it is a good idea to attend meetings and talk with other beekeepers, when you have the time. I heard a great talk by the FERA bee inspector, Andy Watton, called the 20 minute beekeeper, it was an excellent talk and shows methods to preempt the bees. For example, in an "out apairy" putting on not one super but two, the second super is placed above the crown board and one hole opened up in the crown board to allow bees through when they have filled the first super, this is useful in situations where you have not had time to react to their progress, i.e. in a good nectar flow.
This year I have experimented with just a wax strip at the top of the frames in my supers, three reasons:
a) allows me to include the comb in the honey, i.e. no foundation.
b) saves on foundation
c) keeps the bees too busy building comb, to think about swarming (not sure this is true!)
The downside of the above is that is cost more in terms of honey production for the bees to make their own comb, but I think they are calmer this year on balance. Has anyone else tried the above method in their supers?