32wonderY
Since I think I'd like to keep bees soon, I'm beginning to educate myself. It's daunting. I thought my neighbor was going to go in partners with me, but he recently indicated that he will be gone for a length of time and I'm on my own. Bummer. I was to provide the funds and he was going to provide the bulk of the labor.
The hives were to go on my 5 acres in KY. But the more I read about year round care of the bees, this might not work out yet, as I only spend seasonal time there.
Any way, I want to keep a few notes here about reference materials I find.
Got two similarly sized and recent books from the library.
Teach Yourself Beekeeping was published in UK in 2006.
Beekeeping self-sufficiency is a 2010 publication in the US.
The second book is more appealing at first glance. It's a hardcover book, but after looking critically through it, that seems to be it' main strength. It has lots of illustrations, but they turn out to be mostly decorative, not instructive. And since the drawings are not clearly labeled, causes me some confusion. Some of the critical material such as diseases are passed over with too little information. This is not a book I would recommend.
The Waring book, though already broken at the spine, has much more valuable materials, including a section of color plates. The drawings and diagrams are much more to the point. It's not the be-all reference, but it's not a bad place to start.
I've watched two videos as well.
Randy Sue's Organic Beekeeping 101 is as straightforward as it gets. She makes it seem do-able. The strength and the weakness, is that she presents only one way of doing things. It's also a good start.
Ross Conrad's Natural Beekeeping is a whole course. !! I'm working my way through it and learning so much. Again, he offers lots of choices to think about.
The hives were to go on my 5 acres in KY. But the more I read about year round care of the bees, this might not work out yet, as I only spend seasonal time there.
Any way, I want to keep a few notes here about reference materials I find.
Got two similarly sized and recent books from the library.
Teach Yourself Beekeeping was published in UK in 2006.
Beekeeping self-sufficiency is a 2010 publication in the US.
The second book is more appealing at first glance. It's a hardcover book, but after looking critically through it, that seems to be it' main strength. It has lots of illustrations, but they turn out to be mostly decorative, not instructive. And since the drawings are not clearly labeled, causes me some confusion. Some of the critical material such as diseases are passed over with too little information. This is not a book I would recommend.
The Waring book, though already broken at the spine, has much more valuable materials, including a section of color plates. The drawings and diagrams are much more to the point. It's not the be-all reference, but it's not a bad place to start.
I've watched two videos as well.
Randy Sue's Organic Beekeeping 101 is as straightforward as it gets. She makes it seem do-able. The strength and the weakness, is that she presents only one way of doing things. It's also a good start.
Ross Conrad's Natural Beekeeping is a whole course. !! I'm working my way through it and learning so much. Again, he offers lots of choices to think about.
4varielle
You may want to check with your county extension office to see if there's a local bee keeping group that could help you out.
62wonderY
Well, 2016 didn't go as planned.
I've got a copy of Bees in America by Tammy Horn. Haven't started it yet, but may this weekend.
I've got a copy of Bees in America by Tammy Horn. Haven't started it yet, but may this weekend.
7varielle
I (or Santa) gave best beloved beekeeper aka samthepaintman, a copy of Beeswax Alchemy for Christmas. It seemed to make him pretty happy. He's been making candles and soap up a storm.
8varielle
I snagged an ARC copy of A Keeper of Bees: Notes on Hive and Home from Bookmooch. It had been on my want list for years and would finally turn up when we’re getting out of beekeeping.
