Beginners course worth the money?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

With this weather I think we all may join you

Yea ... go on then, off you go... leave us to it to go and tame African bees and train their beekeepers ...any excuse !

Knowing my luck, I'll get there and the rainy season will have started early!

 

[Russel]

As we speak, I have e-mailed the local groups for programmes of their courses

Hello Eve,

Look for a course that runs over several weeks/months and the more practical sessions the better.
eg Gwent BKA's course is £62 inc membership, runs Feb to July/August. consisting of 8 classroom theory, 1 of which includes making frames, boxes, etc and 8 apiary hands on sessions, plus normal apiary days where students are given more help. At under £4 per class including handouts, use of our kit, instructors time, venue costs etc it's not bad value for money!
Your more likely to find a mentor too.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

You can learn a lot of theory from books and good stuff from forums. However it's not the same as handling bees. That's a MUST and a good course is definitely worthwhile. Touch them, smell them, feel their anger and learn from them and learn their ways.

An example is this:-
You might be able to do the accounts for a football club, know the offside rule, be able to kick a ball and be fit and be able to run around a lot and have a nice pair of boots as well. However it takes more than that to be able to play the game.

Enjoy beekeeping when you get them!

 

[beeno]

Hi Sean & Eve,
Welcome to the wonderful world of beekeeping. Are you buying the bees as well or hoping for swarms? If you are buying the bees I would personally only get one colony for starters. The reason being is that you will most probably go straight into year 2beekeeping with a hive heaving with bees and swarming issues. Whilst if your association has a swarm list you get a bit of a breather to see them build up and get used to handling them. A lot of people lose their first bees. You don't really need his and her bees. You can take it in turn to inspect and write the hive records. I would certainly join an association, but up to you if you take the course. Lots and lots of luck!

 

[psafloyd]

Hello everyone!

We plan to join our local beekeeping association for help and support, we see that they are running a beginners course but we are not sure that we will benefit....we have read up A LOT...we would rather put the £75 into getting our equipment. I know that the course includes £20 subs to WBKA

You cannot beat practical experience from an experienced beekeeper showing you the ropes. Like as not they will become your mentor.

Our beginners' course takes place for 2 hours every week for about 12 weeks (about 4 practical the rest theory). If your BKA is doing something similar, that represents astounding value. If only an afternoon, I am not sure I would bother and just get some experience from a beekeeper before you buy your own bees.

All those who go on our course also get bees DIRT CHEAP, ie for nothing or to cover a bit of petrol and trouble. Based on last year's rates, you'd be hard pushed to get a strong nuc for £150.

 

[thorn]

I want to fly a helicopter. I've read a book on how to do it. Bearing in mind how much a helicopter will cost me, I think I'll save money and not bother with lessons.

Okay, it's an absurd comparison, but you can't simply buy a hive, source some bees, put them in the hive and hope that your books and this forum will prepare you for what you're going to meet. Spend the money.

 

[psafloyd]

Thank you for your pointed opinion!

Absolutely right. You really don't get full understanding. I had read about six books cover to cover several times before the first time I opened a hive.

It was then I realised how little I knew, despite being fully versed in the theory.

 

[itma]

We have an option of 3 beekeeping associations so we are quite lucky I suppose! I shall have to look into the course contents of each closely

Look at the Associations as well as the courses. (Some spring courses may already be fully booked!)

Being a member (sometimes a year can be included in the course fee) is particularly important at the beginning.
You will need spare equipment, buying everything day 1 (or even year 1) becomes silly expensive - and the less you know, the more expensive your mistakes will be!
There are intangible benefits too. The people resource for one. I'm of the opinion that the best way to accelerate your learning is to get your eyes (and hands) into as many different colonies as is reasonably possible. And Association membership is the easiest route to that.

Join one as a full member - getting the magazine, the insurances, etc through them. Not cheap but worthwhile.
AND consider joining both the others as 'friends' or 'associates' - to get access to the Association and its people.
You will discover (well within the first year) where you feel most at home.
And cheaper membership for couples (so sharing one magazine, etc) is another saving most (all?) associations offer.

Ask around at the Associations about the health of their mentoring programmes.
Having someone specific and local that is knowledgable and that you can turn to (without always worrying about taking up their time), and who knows you and your setup ... well it could make all the difference between success and failure.

 

[Sean&Eve]

Hi all,

I wanted to clarify that we ARE going to join an association and gain some practical experience before investing in equipment or bees.

We just wanted peoples opinion on the beginners courses and any recommendations for local BKA...

Thanks,
Eve & Sean

 

[itma]

Books - be picky about what you spend money on. Borrow from the library (and the association library?) before buying.
Read books from different authors.
There is no one true way - appreciating that (and that some choices hang together) is half the entry-level step.

The forum books section has some comments and suggestions for what to seek out and what to avoid.

 

[madasafish]

Hi all,

I wanted to clarify that we ARE going to join an association and gain some practical experience before investing in equipment or bees.

We just wanted peoples opinion on the beginners courses and any recommendations for local BKA...

Thanks,
Eve & Sean

An excellent decision

 

[Sean&Eve]

Thank you everyone for your input.

I have e-mailed all of our local assoc and asked for details on their beginners courses. One group is holding a talk in a couple of weeks, so we can go and visit them

I have also has a couple of PMs from local Beeks offering help, what a great bunch you are.

Thank you again,
Eve & Sean

 

[itma]

I wanted to clarify that we ARE going to join an association ...

And I want to clarify that I was suggesting you have the opportunity to join all 3 without costing you much more ... and that often beginners' course fees include some form of association membership. Even better value!

 

[alldigging]

Now lets think. You are going to spend at least £400 on equipment and presumably spend money on buying bees but think that learning how to handle bees in real life is not worth £55...
.

Does the course offer them hands on experience?

 

[bontbee]

For what it's worth, I think that getting your hands in a hive is the only way to learn how to look after your bees. Books are great, and I spend hours reading them, but you won't know how you will react - and I mean to the whole activity, not (just) to the stings - until you handle bees.

Try to speak to the tutor/s - not only will you get an idea of the course content/teaching style etc, you will also get an idea of whether you click - not essential, but it may help your learning.

(I think I was lucky; the course I did started in early September, so I got into a hive before knowing a thing about honey bees. Needless to say, that was it, I was hooked. Why was I so unprepared? I'd been looking for an evening class in a different subject and a just happened to stumble across beekeeping in the prospectus.... I bumbled along one evening, thinking it would be some sort of semi-academic natural history class, and that was that. Oops giving my age away now - when I was a boy, natural history was a subject!)

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hello everyone!

My partner and I are wanting to get 2 hives this year.

We have read lots of book and watched LOTS of YouTube and now we feel ready to take the plunge

We plan to join our local beekeeping association for help and support, we see that they are running a beginners course but we are not sure that we will benefit....we have read up A LOT...we would rather put the £75 into getting our equipment. I know that the course includes £20 subs to WBKA

Do you think this is silly of us to think this way?

Does anyone have any recommendations for starter hives from suppliers? There is a huge difference in price out there and some kits state that the wood has 'defects' or of 'second' quality. Any experiences?

Thanks,
Eve

Being a Yorkshire man among other Yorkshire men and women we watch our brass somewhat closely. My association runs hands on training through the season on Saturday afternoons free to members. Theory training is run in a local hall during winter evenings running up to spring. OK the membership fee is higher than some being £31 this year but thats a deal which I consider has value.

 

[Black Comb]

I agree with all of the opinions above.
£75 is cheap, ours is more than that and does not include membership.
Are you both planning to do the course? If so it will be £75 each then.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Getting two hives is a good idea.
Two hives are as "easy" to look after as one and you have back up should something befall one of the colonies. You have brood to share in an emergency.
I got a free nuc from Kendal BKA and I bought another to keep it company when I first started.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Getting two hives is a good idea.
Two hives are as "easy" to look after as one and you have back up should something befall one of the colonies. You have brood to share in an emergency.

less chance of it all going pear shaped and ending up with 'nil colony'. and if you like beekeeping, you'll want moe anyway!

 

[beeno]

Getting two hives is a good idea.
Two hives are as "easy" to look after as one and you have back up should something befall one of the colonies. You have brood to share in an emergency.
I got a free nuc from Kendal BKA and I bought another to keep it company when I first started.

Hi Ericha,
Not if you are lousy at swarm control, then two will be double the trouble! Some people have got themselves in a real pickle on this forum.