Beginners course worth the money?

[Amari]

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.

If you have a single colony and it goes wrong you have lost your hobby for a year.
Also: Joining BBKA gives you 3rd party insurance
Does your local association have an apiary? Ours has monthly apiary meetings with free attendance for members

 

[Gilberdyke John]

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.

Until you get burdened by sheer numbers multiple hives are good insofar as you have spares of both hardware and software (bees), plus you only need one set of ppe and tools (subject to hygiene practices). Always have an extra empty hive available to deal with swarms. If you are moderately skilled at wood butchery knocking up plywood hives is no big deal and a cheap way of expanding. They may not be as aesthetically pleasing as cedar perhaps but the bees don't care. 9" x 18" x 4" breeze blocks on pavers or firm ground make excellent hive stands at low cost. If you buy at spring or winter etc sales setting up costs can be significantly lower than using retail sources through the season.
Be aware that prolific bees often need more room than a national brood box offers. Others may prefer different hives but I chose to start with 14 x 12 and have no problem with this as a brood size.

 

[psafloyd]

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.

That said, these are excellent:

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Bees-Honey-Selling-Beekeeping/dp/1904846513/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390321399&sr=8-1&keywords=Ted+Hooper"]Ted Hooper[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Manual-Beekeeping-Potential-Apiarist/dp/1905862237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390321460&sr=8-1&keywords=David+Cramp"]David Cramp[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Beekeepers-Bible-honey-recipes/dp/0007279892/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390321488&sr=8-1&keywords=Beekeepers+bible"]Beekeepers' bible[/ame]

 

[mbc]

That said, these are excellent:

Ted Hooper

David Cramp

Beekeepers' bible

The two in bold are debatable.

 

[psafloyd]

[/B]

The two in bold are debatable.

Debate away. I have found Cramp's approach very useful as an alternative approach to Hooper and de Bruyn. It's a pretty no nonsense approach that I like and the copy is written very clearly in general.

The bible is patchy, but it is a big book and there's something for everyone in it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Not if you are lousy at swarm control

Well, time to learn then - that's the whole point. Like saying no point in preparing my bees for overwintering as i'm lousy at mixing syrup!

[/B]

The two in bold are debatable.

Cramp is an O.K. read, but that's about it.

 

[Roola]

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.

haha yes, i remember in June last year poor Steve was on here every other day telling us his bees had swarmed again... he ran out of equipment to put them in! Was always a fun read.

 

[clv101]

I can only speak from personal experience, but the two day course + following practical sessions run by my local association were definitely worth it!

 

[beeno]

Jenkins, I am only trying to save people the pain of losing their bees -financial and emotional. What is it now £240 per colony? Not to mention the dizzy mental state that goes with it. Learn to walk before you run - I would have thought you and a lot of the oldtimers on the forum would approve.
If you cannot mix syrup then sure as hell you cannot be a beekeeper! There is more to beekeeping than meets the eye, as we all know. So, buying ambrosia would only be a quick fix.

 

[mbc]

Debate away. I have found Cramp's approach very useful as an alternative approach to Hooper and de Bruyn. It's a pretty no nonsense approach that I like and the copy is written very clearly in general.

I'm sure its been done on a book thread so lets not hijack this one.

But you're showing yourself up by rating that cramp drivel IMHO

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Jenkins, I am only trying to save people the pain of losing their bees -financial and emotional.

Well why not just tell them not to bother keeping bees at all then - save the course fees, kit and bees 'just in case they die'.That's a chance everyone takes with each colony.
I think it's bad advice to tell people not to keep two colonies from the start. it's not essential, but advisable or better if possible for the rerasons that Erichalfbee gave earlier.

 

[drstitson]

aside from the educational value of theory (and practical) courses there is also the fact that many associations only provide swarms or nucs to their own.

 

[Apple]

Well boys!
( Seems most bee keepers are!)
I have been given a wonderful book called The Barefoot Beekeeper by P J Chandler, I thought it was definitely written by a Lady and was quite surprised to find the P was for Phillip!

A revelation to me was that there are some bee keepers who actually want to keep bees in a more natural way and not force the poor things into boxes so that you can steal all their honey.
Doris agrees with me and she is sending me on a couple of courses this year to find out all about natural bee keeping.
So much in my life is purely academic and it would nice to try something that is practical.

We went to look at the little pigs, not for me, I think they would need too much looking after, and make more mess than our digger and driver!

Thanks for posting this thread, answered a lot of questions I was afraid to ask, after being made to feel so silly with our last one.

Still do not know what I will do if a bee stings me, but I have read that if bees are kept in conditions they are happy in they do not sting. Is that so?

 

[madasafish]

Well boys!
( Seems most bee keepers are!)

Still do not know what I will do if a bee stings me, but I have read that if bees are kept in conditions they are happy in they do not sting. Is that so?

I wish it were so. An old wives tale I am afraid.

Either that or every hive I have ever seen is full of grumpy bees...

 

[drstitson]

"Still do not know what I will do if a bee stings me"

important part of the learning at 1st practical session.

 

[VEG]

Get real you WILL get stung just get used to it

 

[Swarm]

Incorrect. You will only be stung if you try to steal all their honey.

 

[drstitson]

Getting stang off of a bee or two is part of the fun.

 

[Apple]

Incorrect. You will only be stung if you try to steal all their honey.

SO funny !

I googled bee sting therapy to be given this warning!

"Bee sting venom can cause anaphylactic shock which can cause sudden death. The risk of shock is unacceptably high to try bee sting therapy without the supervision of an allergist"

But my digger driver's brother says that you can get an injection against bee stings and he has a special "apiary pen" Doris says she thinks they are pulling my leg and is Cornish humor reserved for us hemmets!

I will have to look into this as I believe that there is a lot of leg pulling going on at the moment and do not know what to believe!

 

[drstitson]

believe us here - despite most of us being from over the Tamar.