Getting Going

[madasafish]

An hour a week?!

If only 1 hive.. Spring/Summer

Once you become proficient, you could inspect approx 5 hives in that time..

 

[hemo]

If only 1 hive.. Spring/Summer

Once you become proficient, you could inspect approx 5 hives in that time..

Ok if they are next to each other or in the same apiary.

 

[hemo]

7 - 10 colonies, two sheds and extracting and warming cabinet in the garage.

 

[charentejohn]

This is not a definitive introduction to beekeeping but later on when you ask yourself, why did I get into this ? the answer may be here

 

[North End Bees]

If only 1 hive.. Spring/Summer

Once you become proficient, you could inspect approx 5 hives in that time..

That's just the inspecting though and paints a bit of a rosy picture to those people who may be thinking of a weekend hobby after a busy week at the office or wherever (not saying the OP is btw!)

Hours spent making up equipment before the season, cleaning everything after the season... And not to mention the hours spent extracting and bottling (perhaps depending on what part of the country you live in).
Oh and a couple of hours on here a week

 

[Curly green finger's]

This is not a definitive introduction to beekeeping but later on when you ask yourself, why did I get into this ? the answer may be here

I love it! so true!

 

[madasafish]

That's just the inspecting though and paints a bit of a rosy picture to those people who may be thinking of a weekend hobby after a busy week at the office or wherever (not saying the OP is btw!)

Hours spent making up equipment before the season, cleaning everything after the season... And not to mention the hours spent extracting and bottling (perhaps depending on what part of the country you live in).
Oh and a couple of hours on here a week

I specifically mentioned it was for the Spring to Summer season. Where you HAVE to devote an hour a week.

Out of season repairs /cleaning can be done as and when the OP has time to do it.

If the OP is buying new equipment not much maintenance will be needed at first..

My message was to the point that you cannot go away for a month in May and leave your hives unattended.. or you can but they are likely to swarm - hopefully not in Year 1 but almost certainly Year 2.

 

[North End Bees]

My message was to the point that you cannot go away for a month in May and leave your hives unattended.. or you can but they are likely to swarm - hopefully not in Year 1 but almost certainly Year 2.

Yes, that is true.
Or April or June or July...

 

[Amari]

This is not a definitive introduction to beekeeping but later on when you ask yourself, why did I get into this ? the answer may be here

Worth watching Doff - but, contrary to video, don't start without wearing gloves. I still do - after 48 years! A good quality bee suit is also a must.

 

[madasafish]

Worth watching Doff - but, contrary to video, don't start without wearing gloves. I still do - after 48 years! A good quality bee suit is also a must.

I started without gloves and have the immunity against beestings to prove it.. Mind you, being a masochist helps.

 

[Amari]

I started without gloves and have the immunity against beestings to prove it.. Mind you, being a masochist helps.

You must come and experience my bees. Naked if you wish. Far more satisfying for a masochist than being flayed with birch twigs....

 

[understanding_bees]

Forget ordering bees, don't buy any kit ... Have a look for your local beekeeping association and join ..., one way or another they will almost certainly be holding some sort of beginners course - they usually start in January and finish around May - by which time Covid should be somewhere near being under control. Enrol on the course ... that will give you some basic knowledge to make some initial decisions.

Very often they will find you some bees after the course completes and before that you will be able to get hands on with some bees and see if you really do have what it takes to become a beekeeper. You would not be the first person to be put off when you see real bees in great quantity and the realisation of what you will be dealing with sinks home.

Use the winter to read up .. Bees at the Bottom of the Garden by Alan Campion, whilst not perfect, is a good starting point. The Haynes Manual of Beekeeping wiill guide you in lots of ways before you get bees and in your first year - again - not perfect but a really simple guide through the beekeeping year.

I'm not trying to put you off but if you find, after the course and an apiary visit or two that it is what you anticipated there is plenty of time to get your own bees and handle them through the season and into your first winter. Year 2 is where it all starts to happen.

But... starting in Beekeeping is an expensive business .,., several hundred pounds is a minimum and you won't see any real return on your investment for some years. We see so many enthusiastic new beekeepers who fall by the wayside when the reality of the huge commitment needed sinks home and whilst you can always sell unwanted kit and bees it really is better to be a little more certain before you spend any money rather than dive in headlong and regret it. Most of the regular posters on here are enhusiastic (indeed addicted !) beekeepers and we sometimes paint a more rosy picture than our hobby deserves ... we all love to see new entrants to the craft and we do what we can to guide and assist new beekeepers but ... beekeeping should come with a warning - it's hard work, frustrating at times, confusing and rewarding - often all at the same time. If you like it - you will wonder why you did not start sooner ...

It's great to hear your enthusiasm ... and hopefully that will see you on your way to becoming a beekeeper .. just tread a little cautiously.

Thank you Philip for a really constructive and helpful piece of advice.

 

[madasafish]

You must come and experience my bees. Naked if you wish. Far more satisfying for a masochist than being flayed with birch twigs....

I can sell you some queens which produce well behaved offspring if you really wanted

But naked beekeeping is not my style. My neighbours objected.

 

[Nannysbees]

First year having bees and it has been fascinating. We started with one hive but advised to get two which we did, right decision. It is quite a commitment but worth it. Very lucky to find an excellent mentor which we could contact easily, he was a godsend,as he has his own shop as well we build up the equipment as we needed it. Our two hives are at the bottom of the garden which has worked well as I can keep a daily eye on them rather than getting in the car to check on them.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Rh

First year having bees and it has been fascinating. We started with one hive but advised to get two which we did, right decision. It is quite a commitment but worth it. Very lucky to find an excellent mentor which we could contact easily, he was a godsend,as he has his own shop as well we build up the equipment as we needed it. Our two hives are at the bottom of the garden which has worked well as I can keep a daily eye on them rather than getting in the car to check on them.

There is something to be said about having a garden apiary, in the right place.
You can observe goings on that you wouldn't be able to otherwise.
Sounds like you have a good egg there in your mentor.
All I can say is if there is a specific way of beekeeping you want to learn, do it even if your mentor doesn't think it's advised.
After all there your bees.
And I've found one needs to learn from all angles.
Good luck for the new season.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

You can wait and hope to get a colony in summer; however if you decide to start early, especially with local bees, look around now and order them before the end of, say, January otherwise they could be gone.
You are right to consider next year now. Many new beekeepers think that they can just order a nuc just before a bank holiday weekend like they were ordering a tv off ebay and expect them to be ready and waiting on the day they want them.

 

[Apple]

I can sell you some queens which produce well behaved offspring if you really wanted

But naked beekeeping is not my style. My neighbours objected.

My reasoning why I will not put hives in apiary where I can see a house.... within sight of back door!

Nadelik Lowen

 

[Amari]

I can sell you some queens which produce well behaved offspring if you really wanted

But naked beekeeping is not my style. My neighbours objected.

I'll PM you

 

[Pembroke]

The book my local association usually recommends is this one;

Keeping Bees (Green Guides): Amazon.co.uk: Gregory, Pam, Waring, Claire, Peacock, Paul: 9781847869852: Books

If you join your local association you should also get benefits such as insurance both for the bees and yourself such as public and product liability. Also another way of getting bees would be to help collect a swarm. This would usually come via an association and they are usually the best place to find a mentor.

If you plan to put your hives in the garden make sure you ask your neighbours first. Some people are anti bee, or scared of them. Don't be surprised if they tell you they are anaphylactic even if they're not. It's an easy way of saying no.

As to handling bees before paying out too much money for them and the equipment my association has found in the past that it actually comes down to having an alien creature that can possibly injure you walking over you and especially on your veil or glove that is the test of if you're okay with bees or not. Some people can't manage it, others will do it without gloves.

 

[pargyle]

The book my local association usually recommends is this one;

Keeping Bees (Green Guides): Amazon.co.uk: Gregory, Pam, Waring, Claire, Peacock, Paul: 9781847869852: Books

As to handling bees before paying out too much money for them and the equipment my association has found in the past that it actually comes down to having an alien creature that can possibly injure you walking over you and especially on your veil or glove that is the test of if you're okay with bees or not. Some people can't manage it, others will do it without gloves.

Yes.... one of my work colleagues was very eager for his young daughter to come and see my bees .. she was only 7 years old but absolutely fascinated by bees and had been nagging her Dad to come and have a look. They came round one Sunday morning and (having suited them up and settled them a few feet away from the hive) I opened up one of my really pussy cat colonies. The little girl, within minutes, was knee deep in the hive - her nose almost up against the frames looking for a queen - totally unphased, I picked off a drone for her to have on her glove - just so calm and engrossed in what she could see ... and then I looked over at her Dad and he was absolutely ashen, sweating and I really thought he was going to pass out ... I told him to go back round to the patio and wait for us ... he didn't need any second asking. We were chatting over a cuppa afterwards and he said he was surprised at his own reaction ... he said that insects had never bothered him in the past but it was something about seeing thousands of them altogether that he reacted to. Despite the fact that he was several feet away and there were hardly any bees in the air ... and hadn't been that involved or been the focus of any stray guard bees - totally unexpected and there was me thinking that his daughter would be the one to be worried.

You really can't tell how people are going to react until you open up a colony and they are stood next to you.

I've seen beekeepers, new to the craft, completely lose it when they have come across a really agressive colony - it's not a regular occurrence but it does happen occasionally and there are people on here who have given up or been very shaken up by the experience of being engulfed in several hundred bees all trying to kill you. Beekeeping can be be a very daunting experience at times .. even those with experience will confess to being intimidated by a really unsavoury colony.