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Barnyard Buddies:  how to start bee keeping  |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4241 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4241 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 17 2008 : 07:05:43 AM
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Does anyone have any advice on starting out bee keeping? I look on web sites, and just feel kind of lost. So much there, and not knowing what direction I need to go to get started.
thanks
Michele |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4743 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4743 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2008 : 2:46:55 PM
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Good heavens, you really want to do that? Our old neighbor, (when we lived in the white farm house) was a beekeeper. He had 23 boxes at one time, my dad had to ask him to cut back. We were getting stung like crazy & no, the honey wasn't worth it! Good luck if you do it, but make sure you keep those boxes far from your house!
Dawn in IL |
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MaryP
True Blue Farmgirl
58 Posts
Mary
Coeur d'Alene
Idaho
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2008 : 3:09:12 PM
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Wow those must have been some angry bees! My neighbor had a bee box in his garage! and we never got stung.
I've seen some interesting books for sale on bee keeping. That is probably the best place to start. |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4743 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4743 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2008 : 6:57:17 PM
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I don't think they were angry really, just thirsty! They were always drinking the water on our pool deck carpet, so we were constantly getting stung by them. Also, 23 bee boxes is a lot! When they would swarm, they would cover the lilac bushes so completely that the 10' high bushes would fall over to the ground. Just to give you an idea how many there were!
Dawn in IL |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2008 : 4:38:24 PM
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Michele,
In my experience, beekeeping is fun and rewarding-and most beekeepers don't have many bad experiences with bee stings.
I just started beekeeping this past spring, so I'm almost through one full "cycle" of beekeeping. I LOVE it!! We now have 3 hives, and are probably going to add one more in the spring. Just in our first year we harvested 40 lbs. of honey and a large block of beeswax.
To get started, my boyfriend and I ordered a starter beekeeping kit from a local beekeeping supply company (Betterbee). The place offered a beginner's beekeeping class as well. After the class, the most helpful things to get started have been:
1) Reading LOTS of books! Some of my favorites are the "Dummies Guide to Beekeeping" and "Backyard Beekeeping".
2) A GREAT website is BeeSource (www.beesource.com). You can ask questions and get answers from people who have been keeping bees for a long time! Whenever we got really stuck, we would post the question and get lots of great advice. You can also just browse the site.
3) We joined our local beekeeping club. Through this club we have met a lot of great people who have helped us a lot, and gotten a lot of great advice.
And, to address some of the potential problems mentioned-there are LOTS of tricks for keeping bees out of the neighbor's pool-in fact, we use them to keep the bees out of our own pool as well!! And, if managed correctly, hives shouldn't swarm. We were brand new beekeepers, and my boyfriend was only stung once, and I have been stung twice. Neither time was a big deal, and were totally our fault (don't accidently squeeze the bees).
If you would like more info.,feel free to e-mail me directly, and we also have a blog about our adventures in beekeeping:
http://home.nycap.rr.com/mrfreeman/beekeeping/beekeeping.htm
Good luck!
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1948 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2008 : 5:00:44 PM
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I'll echo Jennifer's advice, with an emphasis on finding a local beekeeping club. We just started last year around this time, so we've just finished one "cycle" as well (like Jennifer too! I do, however, envy Jennifer for getting to live in Altamont!! The one near Rollins Pond?! Wow! )
anyhow, look for a bee club, the members are SOOOOO helpful and anxious to encourage others to begin beekeeping.
We're really enjoying our bees, although we didn't get honey from them this year (we got them late). |
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chickabella
True Blue Farmgirl
177 Posts
D. A.
Austin... ish,
Texas
177 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2008 : 03:47:22 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Woodswoman
(don't accidently squeeze the bees).
Off-topic, but ROFLMAO!!  "Don't squeeze the bees!" Gotta work that into a .sig somehow...
Farm blog: http://farmnatters.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dasparky
Heart of Texas Farmgirls Chapter; Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #275
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4241 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4241 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2008 : 07:36:35 AM
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thanks for all the helpful advice. will check to see if there is a local bee club, but somehow I highly doubt that one.
Michele |
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1948 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2008 : 09:57:49 AM
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| We have to drive about an hour and 15 minutes away to get to the "local" bee club, but believe me, it is DEFINITELY worth it!! |
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Maryjane Lee
True Blue Farmgirl
2195 Posts
Maryjane
CA
USA
2195 Posts |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2008 : 7:51:13 PM
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and..when you raise bees you'll have another excuse for planting plenty of wildflowers/flowers on your property:0)
I'm really hoping that we can have at least one bee box on our property when we get situated somewhere else.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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velvetcadi7
True Blue Farmgirl
54 Posts
Amy
Galva
IL
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2008 : 07:07:12 AM
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| My hubby and I looked into beekeeping also but have heard there is a lot of work involved and very expensive to start up. Is this true? |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2008 : 3:58:17 PM
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It's actually not all that time consuming if you only have a few hives. You aren't supposed to open the hives too often and disturb the bees. We spent probably a few hours a week-usually on one weekend day. During the winter, we do nothing with them. There is a learning curve-we've spent a lot of time reading and researching, but I figure that time investment will go down as we learn more. Same thing with extracting the honey-a few hours on a couple of weekends.
I think the cost depends on how big you want to go, how many hives, etc.
There are also quite a few "accessories" that you might be able to borrow from a club, etc., or buy used, such as an extractor.
These are links to some beekeeping supply companies if you want to check out prices:
www.betterbee.com
www.dadant.com
www.mannlakeltd.com
www.brushymountainbeefarm.com
www.GAbees.com
www.glorybeefoods.com
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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velvetcadi7
True Blue Farmgirl
54 Posts
Amy
Galva
IL
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2008 : 07:48:50 AM
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| Thanks for the info! |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
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Barnyard Buddies: how to start bee keeping |
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how to start bee keeping
