I got the Barefoot Beekeeper book....

[Beekissed]

Anyone read it yet? I must say I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more comprehensive about overall beekeeping and that it was black and white pics.

I think I'm going to have to purchase a book that shows clear, good pics of what to look for in the comb when trying to determine what comb to harvest for honey.

I also think he missed a bet by not emphasizing natural selection more~as in letting bees susceptible to varroa and other parasites/diseases die out and encouraging the bees that are more hygienic or disease/parasite resistant.

Instead, he encouraged the use of the powder sugar, when most folks going towards natural beekeeping are getting away from this practice. He did expound on using sugar water for feeding but didn't seem to care about using the powder sugars.

For the money, it was a little disappointing but it was what it was.

 

[PamsPride]

Sorry!

The guy that came to my mom's meeting tonight raised bees and he said he had several (more than 40) hives and sometimes his bees would just disappear. Lots of them. Totally would be gone! No sign of them at all. He was a little discouraging on raising bees...pretty much saying it was not worth it.

 

[Farmfresh]

Sounds like the hives may have swarmed or something.

 

[bibliophile birds]

we lost a hive yesterday. last saturday they seemed fine and then yesterday they were all dead in the bottom of the hive. it's strange. the other 10 hives they are sitting around are completely fine. my grandfather has been raising bees for 15 years and hadn't ever seen anything like it. and that was after we lost 80% of our hives over the last few years to colony collapse.

anyway, i say this so i can then say: even with all that, keeping bees will always be worth it. they contribute so much to our farm in the form of pollination that i wouldn't care if they never made me a cent in honey.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Thanks for the head's up! I was considering that book too. The other book I want is called "The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture"

 

[Beekissed]

The people who are discouraging folks against raising bees because of CCD are missing the point. One needs to increase their beekeeping efforts because of this crisis!

If everyone stops raising bees because of this, then where does this leave the world? Does everyone know just how important honeybees are to the food production in this world? Well, let's put it this way.....bread and water sound good? Wheat crops don't need pollinated.....

NO. The answer is raising bees in a more natural way, allowing natural selection to develop the hardiest bees, stop trying to commercialize honeybees and stop using pesticides, fungicides and all the Monsanto "Gifts to the World" GMOs. Stop moving hives from crop to crop for profit, stop forcing bees to produce in a way that is more convenient to man and less convenient to the bees.

This book at least had that message correct....bees have been making honey and making it well for many, many years before humans started boxing them, "developing" them, forcing them to produce in nice square frames and to a prescribed comb size, etc.

The answer, I believe, for bees is the same answer Salatin is finding for livestock. More natural methods to encourage natural hardiness, natural disease and parasite resistance, lower yields if necessary, more emphasis on letting the creatures live, breed, eat in a more natural setting and manner....get back to how God designed them to live.

 

[Nikki28]

Thanks for posting this! We are planning on starting with bees this coming year and I had that book in my amazon wish list, I'll take it off now. I have The Backyard Bee Keeper which is a nice introduction.

What books would you recommend? I have been thinking of doing top bar hives.

We have had a few people ask us why we would bother trying to raise bees with the colony collapse and a few people even said that they would not come to our house because the bees could become "Africanized". It is amazing how fear can control people.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm just starting out myself and I really like the info I'm finding on the top bar hives for bee sustainability. I don't think I will be doing anything with Langstroth hives at all, after reading about the TBHs.

I particularly like the plans for making a TBH from a plastic barrel cut in half and plan to implement this come spring.

I am still searching for a good book on natural beekeeping but will probably have to use a few or several books to have a complete information on the practice.

Hmmmmm.....wonder if Joel raises bees?

Don't get me wrong, the BFBK book was some good info but I really need to know MORE!

 

[me&thegals]

The people who are discouraging folks against raising bees because of CCD are missing the point. One needs to increase their beekeeping efforts because of this crisis!

Exactly. One reason I got bees. They need some extra help! But, you and I probably aren't doing it for profit, right? I can see how commercial beeks would be discouraged. You just can't keep on getting hit like that. It IS making some people look at other ways of keeping bees, though, so that's one good thing about systems collapsing.

 

[Farmfresh]

more emphasis on letting the creatures live, breed, eat in a more natural setting and manner....get back to how God designed them to live.

Wow.

That is like saying God knows best. Talk about a revelation! Do you think the rest of the world will ever get it?