I'm going to be a beekeeper!

[Southern Gardener]

Last week I met with a sweet old man and his wife who keeps bees. He invited me over to chat and to show me his hives. He touched on the basics of beekeeping and he took me to one of his hives and showed me how to smoke the hive and open it up. It was very exciting! He has several flowering shrubs and many wildflowers growing - the bees were just buzzing around us, going about their business - it was just the neatest thing! He gave me several plant cuttings from his yard, some honey and a bee book to read.

After that visit I knew I wanted bees of my own so I orderd my hive and it will ship in a few days! My sis and I will be learning this together and we've been watching bee videos on the Brushy Mountain website. We're also going to attend the bee meetings each month. We can't wait to bee beekeepers!

 

[thistlebloom]

That's great Joan! That's something I am definitely wanting to do also. I had a near opportunity last year but it didn't come together.
Post lots of pictures for us!

 

[r4eboxer]

Congrats, it's a rewarding business to be a beekeeper and I don't mean financially. I took the beginners bee keepers course this Feb and will get my nukes next April. FYI if you have not put an order in for bees do so immediately as it may already be too late for this year.

I do recommend subscribing to one of the bee keepers magazines, there is a lot more to keeping bees than most people realize and can be quite frustrating and tricky at times.

Colony collapse can be heart breaking but with proper education and support your hives will thrive and you will harvest tasty honey 'mother nature willing'. sounds like you have a good mentor in your friend.

 

[lesa]

Wonderful news!!! I can't explain how much we enjoy beekeeping! Having a mentor is a huge help. Looking forward to hearing your updates...

 

[Smiles Jr.]

The more you learn about the honey bee the more amazing they are. Please take your time and learn as much as possible BEFORE you take the plunge. It can get expensive and not everyone is cut out to be a beek. I have had as many as 14 hives at one time and when you have that many it's more like work than fun. I now keep only 3 hives and I love it. I also build hives, nuc boxes, swarm traps, etc. for fun. I have already gone on two cut-outs (removing bees from houses) this year and we're just starting into spring. I give honey, maple syrup, and fruit preserves for Christmas presents.

Please let us know how it's going with your new friends.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There's probably a bee keepers organisation in your area. It might be worthwhile to look at joining. I went to a basic bee keeping course the local club put on a few years back. It was very educational. Many of those people have a true passion for what they do and several are glad to mentor new people. Having someone experienced can really help when you are inspecting your colony for mites or disease. You can sometimes get equipment pretty inexpensively too.

This club is also the people the local officials call if someone has a colony of wild bees that needs to be relocated. They have a waiting list of members that will get a free colony of bees when they find a wild colony that needs to be removed. They really like the wild colonies. Those are often pretty disease resistent or else they would not have survived on their own.

 

[Southern Gardener]

We do have a bee club in our area but I don't think they actually teach a beginners class. They have meetings once a month so I'll be attending those hopefully to meet someone in my area with bees that can help me out. I am afraid I've waited to late to get bees this year, I may have to wait until next spring, which is fine - that way I can learn as much as I can before I get them.

 

[vfem]

We found a few bee groups locally and hubby keeps wanting to join. With the hours we work however, we're exhausted and we end up sleeping or catching up on house (garden) work in between. He's missed all the scheduled meetings and its too late to get started again this year. Maybe 2013 will be the year for us?! :/