Beekeeping...for those interested!

[the simple life]

Thanks Drake!
Here are a few off the top of my head, some are natural beekeeping and some are just good books to read about beekeeping.

Natural Beekeeping by Ross Conrad

The Buzz About Bees by Jurgen Tautz

ABC XYZ of Bee Culture by Dr. Shiminuki

The Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell ( a good read) and I recommend her book the A Country Year as well.

The Queen Must Die and other Affairs of Bees and Men by William Longgood.

Beekeeping for Dummies by Howard Blackiston

Robbing the Bees by Holley Bishop (she spent a year following around a commercial beekeeper, funny and interesting story)

The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum

A Spring Without Bees by Michael Shacker and Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobson are both about the colony collapse disorder(read pesticides) and the agricultural fallout and our food supply.

ABC of Beekeeping Problems and Problem Beekeepers by William Dullas

Bad Beekeeping by Rom Milksha ( a good story in there of an ususpecting beekeeper)

The Barefoot Beekeeper by Phillip Chandler

Lots of beekeeping guides are out there some are better than others. They all address the basics, equipment and management. If you want to do chemical free these guides usually don't do that but they are still good for the basic concepts.
The school uses one
Beekeeping A Practical Guide by Richard E. Bonney that is pretty good.
I have read some that were not worth being written but the majority are pretty good.I have read some others but don't recommend them.
If you join a beekeeping association some of them have a lending library, one of mine does. They have an entire table of books for you to choose from each month and it will save you money.
I bought mine because I like to reference my books over and over but there are some that I will borrow that I would like to read but don't need to own.

A couple of good magazine subscriptions to get are
American Bee Journal and Bee Culture.

If I remember any more books I will let you know, I will have to check my stack of books later on.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Wow! That is a pretty extensive list, thank you!

Did you find the Barefoot Beekeeper book worthwhile? The author's philosophy is along the lines of my own hopes and interests in keeping bees, so it is at the top of my list right now.

I must say I am really thankful for all the information here and all the input from you other SS members. I was a little put off when I first looked into beekeeping, but now I know there is more than one way to go about it, and you guys are such great enablers to boot!

 

[the simple life]

It was definitely a good book, not a long one though but its worth a ready, especially if you are starting out and don't have any bad habits to break.
You can order the downloadable version as well.
Where are you Drake? Are you in Mass?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

No, I'm on the opposite coast . . . the greater Seattle area of Washington state. Wish I was closer (minus your weather).

Thanks for your review of the Barefoot Beekeeper, I may just start my reading there.

 

[FarmerChick]

OK here comes a newbie stupid question Natalie!

if you crush the combs, then don't you "screw up" the hive. I mean they fill the combs with honey.....so if you crush the combs, that means the bees have to rebuild the wax combs....doesn't that make them work too hard then???? and slow down production???

That is just a guess...HA HA HA

It seems to me it would be more productive not to destroy the combs. Or maybe have 2-3 hives where you would use the combs for the wax but keep some hives in tact.

(does any of that make sense?---cause I just don't know beekeeping...lol)


Also I just didn't realize the full scope of production from a hive....from selling bees, to honey, to use of the combs. Good line of money making possibilities there!

 

[FarmerChick]

that is interesting Drake

I didn't know a 2 mile radius was optiumum to keep the hive in good working order.

then yea, you need to plant all season flowering plants.....something blooming in every season....well at least 3.

What do bees do in winter if nothing is blooming...just fly around by rely on their honey to survive until the next bloom??????

I never thought about it.....HA HA

 

[DrakeMaiden]

It depends, FarmerChick, on where the hive is. I think your weather is a lot like the weather we get here and supposedly the bees will come out on so-so days and see what they can forage on -- I know we still have some dandelions flowering here and there. But in colder spots and in general during the winter I think the bees stay inside and eat whatever stores they have -- I think that means honey(?).

 

[FarmerChick]

UT OH
they want to eat your profit! ? Heck NO --OK?
HA HA HA

yea being in NC we do have flowers and such in the pastures still....not much, but you can find stray things to gather pollen from around here. Plus our season is short....the hyacinths and tulips etc. will come up end of feb/early march...so there isn't much down time for bees here I think.

I didn't know you were so into bees either.

If you guys have success and the work involved isn't too hard, then maybe for me? Maybe? LOL---I love new projects but want to see how you guys do before I leap. and I need to learn tons about it first.

 

[the simple life]

Karen,
You are right, they do have to rebuild their combs.
That is why some beekeepers choose to reuse their combs after each extraction, sometimes for many years, they recommend that you don't go longer than 5 years though.
Those combs can get black and nasty.
I plan on doing alot of cut comb, take it out of the high cut it with a square cutter and box it up to sell.
Nothing purer.
I will also do the crush and strain and I can use that wax for other things.
The bees do have to rebuild it but to me its cleaner and less chance of beatles, mites and wax worm moths taking up residence.
It isn't as big an issue for them to rebuild comb as alot of people think.
With a strong colony they can bang out a super full of wax in a week.
Some think that you will get more honey by extracting it and putting the combs back, others who do the crush and strain method each harvest say they see no difference.
I of course would like to have the honey but I am not out to have huge amounts if it, not that I wouldn't mind it but that is not my goal.
I am more interested in the whole concept of beekeeping and their contribution to our survival.
I know it sounds like it would be counter productive but building combs and storing honey is what they do.
As long as you don't take more than you should and don't stress the colony it works.
I will leave them with more than they will ever need.
There may come a time that I try extraction but its just not in my plans at the moment.
The best laid plans can always go awry but I am committed to staying on my path for at least 2 years in order to give it enough time to evaluate.

I have bought some nucs of different bee races 2 of each and plan to do side by side comparisons on different methods of keeping them.
Just slight differences, I am still not doing chemicals or feeding them corn syrup and only plan to do sugar feeding in an emergency.
But I am going to try different management techniques to see how they do.
Yes, in the winter they do only stay in the hive and form a winter cluster, which is their way of staying warm to survive.
You leave them as much honey as you think they will need to get through the winter, if you leave more than enough you can always collect it in the spring.
Even with honey in the hives, colonies have been known to starve to death because it was too cold for them to break their cluster and they starve because the honey is out of reach.
Some beekeepers will take all of their honey in the fall and feed them sugar water all winter.
The bees don't come out for weeks sometimes, only leaving the hive to relieve themselves, bees will never deficate in the hive.
The first sunny days where the temps are above 50 they take their cleansing flights.
Winter bees are different than summer bees, they change physiologically.
Most summer bees only live 6 weeks or so where the winter bees need to live for 6 months to keep the colony alive until spring.

You are right about the scope involved in hive products.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yes, I definitely want to limit the amount of work I'd have to do on keeping bees, without neglecting them, of course. I'll let you know if I end up keeping them along the lines of what the Barefoot Beekeeper author suggests. He seems to advocate a simpler approach. But he did say that it isn't the best method if you want lots of honey. So it may not be what you are looking for, FarmerChick, however at the same time having honey around would be a good thing, in my opinion, even in small quantities, and especially with as little work as possible. Ha, that was a long and convoluted sentence! LOL

Mid-march is about when our daffodils come up here and the tulips are a little later. I read that our first major flow of honey comes from our maple trees, the next big flow is from the blackberries, and then lastly the fireweed. I found that info on a local beekeeping association's website . . . you might look to see if that same info is available to you, just to give you an idea of your major flowering resources (other than what you are growing on the farm).