Beginning Beekeeping
Before beginning beekeeping, first ask yourself : What kind of beekeeper do you want to be and why do you want to start beekeeping?
The reason you should ask yourself this question is that it may determine the kind of hive you decide to use, the practices you adopt, and even possibly the kind of beekeeping association you decide to join, depending on where you live in the world. To an extent, your own personal circumstances and living location may also play a role.
Also, those beginning beekeeping have a variety of reasons for doing so.
Certainly, in some countries such as the UK and USA, we have witnessed significant increases in the number of people wishing to keep bees.
Whereas in the past, it's probably true to say it was mostly for the honey and interest in the hobby itself, nowadays it is sometimes due to a concern for bees. There are also people for whom beekeeping is about self-sufficiency and the desire to produce one's own food, so they might also be keeping chickens, making chutneys and growing fruit and vegetables.
A number of different bee hives are available. You can even build your own, either from scratch or from kits.
Doing your research about beekeeping
There is a huge amount of information on line, as well as via You Tube, but I think it's very handy to have a book or two, carry out your research and take it from there. Opinions and philosophies vary, and it all depends on your views.
The book by Thomas D. Seeley - The Lives Of Bees provides very interesting information based on years of his own research. Tom himself is a beekeeper, and studied wild honey bee nests to discover what made the colonies successful, and what beekeepers could learn to help ensure their own colonies thrived.
Dr David Heaf, author of 'The Bee Friendly Beekeeper' has many years experience in beekeeping, researching and comparing different hives. You can read an interview with an interview with Dr David Heaf.
If you are on a budget and have some carpentry skills, it may cost you less to build your own top bar hive, but make sure you do your research first. See Plans for top bar bee hives are available and free to download.
An author who is very active in the top bar beekeeping field is Phil Chandler. He has written a number of books, such as 'Managing The Top Bar Hive'.
Phil advocates that chemicals (specifically, insecticides) should be kept out of the hive, and promotes natural products to deal with and protect bees from pests. Read interview with Phil Chandler.
More information:
- Beekeeping Associations - The Value Of Joining A Beekeeping Group Beekeeping Associations can be great places to meet and learn about beekeeping, share tips and advice, news, chatter, promote good practice and more
- Using A Honey Refractometer Honey refractometers measure moisture content of honey to help avoid problems like fermentation. Here's how they work, along with a video demonstration.
- The Lives Of Bees – by Thomas D. Seeley - A Book Review Book review: The Lives Of Bees – The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild; by Thomas D. Seeley
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