Show me the honey.

[madasafish]

Interesting how the presenter has managed 15 years of beekeeping without ever getting stung? I barely manage a month without getting tagged at least once.

Replace "month" with "day" for me.

 

[WoodenBeam]

Re the 15 years of beekeeping…………..a keeper of bees or a beekeeper………..considerable difference & the ‘I've never been stung’ is a nice headline statement I’m sure we’ll all agree.
That said even though I won’t be watching and am overly critical of these types of things it does highlight bees & Honey etc so hopefully only be a positive influence on our craft/pastime/hobby/living.

 

[IndiBee]

You just know that everyone of your friends will now start a conversation with "Did you watch that excellent programme about bee keeping?" and go on to quote carp.

 

[Markthebuilder]

Looking forward to watching it with my two youngest, I’m sure that if they like it they will quickly be able to tell me what I’m doing wrong .6 year old watched me approach a mass of flying bees prior to trimming branches around a swarm and said “are you going in dad”
2 minuets later my 8 year old was in the thick of the flying bees pointing out the branches I needed to cut. Saying they are good bees dad they haven’t stung me once yet.

 

[bobba]

As a trainer my view is:
If a new beekeeper cannot keep coming to training classes every week, then the chances of them keeping bees successfully for any length of time is less than 10%.

(or more crudely, if they have not got the time to learn, they'll kill their bees)

I think official stats suggest the dropout rate is over 60% over two years

I never went to a single training session, nor did I have a mentor (because Covid). I learnt mostly online, from youtube and this forum. I read 1 bee keeping book.

I must confess I feel quite proud of myself for getting this far if the drop out rate is as high as you say. It has not been easy, and has required a huge amount of self guided learning. And I certainly would not have succeeded without the aid of the good peeps who find time to answer my questions.

But a word of advice to anyone thinking of keeping bees, and this is from someone who actually beet the odds and made it past the 2 year mark without any hands on assistance. Dont do it the hard way like me, find a course, join an association and try hook up with a mentor.

 

[enrico]

I never went to a single training session, nor did I have a mentor (because Covid). I learnt mostly online, from youtube and this forum. I read 1 bee keeping book.

I must confess I feel quite proud of myself for getting this far if the drop out rate is as high as you say. It has not been easy, and has required a huge amount of self guided learning. And I certainly would not have succeeded without the aid of the good peeps who find time to answer my questions.

But a word of advice to anyone thinking of keeping bees, and this is from someone who actually beet the odds and made it past the 2 year mark without any hands on assistance. Dont do it the hard way like me, find a course, join an association and try hook up with a mentor.

Me too. Never been to a course or taken an exam. In the days before the internet. The only book I read and understood was ' bees at the bottom of the garden' which became my Bible. Had a friend who helped me out a couple of times when I first started and showed me how to extract honey as I had no idea, and that was it. Kept bees for over 40 years. Only ever lost one colony through my own stupidity. Had foul brood once in the early years that was treated by the local inspector. No losses and I got the all clear. Just love my bees!

 

[Markthebuilder]

I think official stats suggest the dropout rate is over 60% over two years

That seams a horrendously high figure.. almost as high as dieting clubs,,,, but they apparently sign up again every year..
Do you know if anyone has ever bothered to follow up on the reasons people have droped out and whether they have actually given up bees altogether.

 

[madasafish]

That seams a horrendously high figure.. almost as high as dieting clubs,,,, but they apparently sign up again every year..
Do you know if anyone has ever bothered to follow up on the reasons people have droped out and whether they have actually given up bees altogether.

I suspect time pressures. Beekeeping takes a lot of time in holiday time.

 

[user 20297]

That seams a horrendously high figure.. almost as high as dieting clubs,,,, but they apparently sign up again every year..
Do you know if anyone has ever bothered to follow up on the reasons people have droped out and whether they have actually given up bees altogether.

Beekeeping is not easy and does not Instagram particularly well.

 

[bobba]

A lot of you dont consider this, but I suspect some of people quit because of the expense. If I did not get good honey last year, there is a good chance I would not have bees now. If you put a lot of money in early on and start with some bad harvests, it could all seem like a financial black hole.

But I expect its the amount of work, that must be done at particular times that gets people.

I for one imagined I would be macing up some frames on a quiet winter afternoon, doing some summer inspections and extracting some honey. I thought it all looked like it would be easy.

Then the reality of making frames at 1am because you needed them yesterday, mixing lots of syrup, treating veroha on a strict time table Backbreaking lifting of supers. Endless wood work needing to be done. And I only have 4 hives.

So I think the main reason for people giving up, is a miss match between perception and the reality of whats involved.

I personaly do not take a dim view of people that try and give up. For starers that could have been me. But when people realize whats actually involved, sometimes they figure its just not for them after all, or that they simply cannot spare the time to give it a proper go.

But I think a TV program that presents a rose tinted view of keeping could have bad consequences. So I hope this program trys to show what keeping is really like.

 

[bobba]

Me too. Never been to a course or taken an exam. In the days before the internet. The only book I read and understood was ' bees at the bottom of the garden' which became my Bible. Had a friend who helped me out a couple of times when I first started and showed me how to extract honey as I had no idea, and that was it. Kept bees for over 40 years. Only ever lost one colony through my own stupidity. Had foul brood once in the early years that was treated by the local inspector. No losses and I got the all clear. Just love my bees!

That is quite an achievement.

I could not have imagined trying with out access to online info and support.

So I take my hat off to you good sir.

 

[drdrday]

I noticed Show Me The Honey on iPlayer over the weekend, so thought I'd watch an episode or two.

So typical of beekeeping that two of the nucs the children were given to build up during the season swarmed in the first week or two and that another looks like it's got a drone laying queen.

Curtis (Local Honey Man), their beekeeping pro, also seemed to have a real battle hunting down a queen he wanted to mark. He found her straight away, but when he tried to mark her the ink wasn't flowing in the pen and she escaped his grasp then went on to elude them for quite some time.

My main takeaways from the show being a confirmation that bees rarely do what you expect, and that we all have problems finding the queen sometimes. Plus, the smilier and more relentlessly cheerful Maddie Moate is, the grumpier I feel

 

[Swarm]

Always charge the pen beforehand

 

[Loxley]

I thought they should have called it the Great British beek off

 

[krennie]

A lot of you dont consider this, but I suspect some of people quit because of the expense. If I did not get good honey last year, there is a good chance I would not have bees now. If you put a lot of money in early on and start with some bad harvests, it could all seem like a financial black hole.

But I expect its the amount of work, that must be done at particular times that gets people.

I for one imagined I would be macing up some frames on a quiet winter afternoon, doing some summer inspections and extracting some honey. I thought it all looked like it would be easy.

Then the reality of making frames at 1am because you needed them yesterday, mixing lots of syrup, treating veroha on a strict time table Backbreaking lifting of supers. Endless wood work needing to be done. And I only have 4 hives.

So I think the main reason for people giving up, is a miss match between perception and the reality of whats involved.

I personaly do not take a dim view of people that try and give up. For starers that could have been me. But when people realize whats actually involved, sometimes they figure its just not for them after all, or that they simply cannot spare the time to give it a proper go.

But I think a TV program that presents a rose tinted view of keeping could have bad consequences. So I hope this program trys to show what keeping is really like.

very true words.
I was encouraged to begin beekeeping by a fellow allotmenteer. It was lockdown and I had the time. It was the first year that they were allowed on our allotments. I did not until 6 months in realise how much it would take over my life - reading, learning, looking, and buying!
Sadly, I am now realising it is not appropriate on my half-plot allotment. Three neighbour were unhappy when stung. I have injured my back due to stupid lifting of hive. This programme is certainly only showing the rose tinted view. I have tried hard, have loved hearing and seeing the bees, and do not give up on things easily. I have had an allotment for 15 years, but realise that beekeeping may have beaten me sadly.

 

[drdrday]

I have tried hard, have loved hearing and seeing the bees, and do not give up on things easily. I have had an allotment for 15 years, but realise that beekeeping may have beaten me sadly.

It doesn't sound like it's the beekeeping that has beaten you, just the location you're beekeeping in.

Can you move your hives elsewhere? I can't imagine trying to keep bees on an allotment - surrounded by keen gardeners regularly spending hours so close to my hives - it's less than ideal! You're always going to get the odd guard or follower bee that is determined to see off a nearby threat and that will never end well with people around your bees that don't understand what the bees are doing.

My bees are in my back garden, albeit out of the way of the areas of the garden that we use the most and on the topmost terrace. I'm always aware that I may have to move them if they start to become a nuisance to neighbours.

It would be sad if you gave up just because you hadn't found the right site yet.

 

[Erichalfbee]

So I think the main reason for people giving up, is a miss match between perception and the reality of whats involved.

Like lots of things, marriage too?

 

[krennie]

It doesn't sound like it's the beekeeping that has beaten you, just the location you're beekeeping in.

Can you move your hives elsewhere? I can't imagine trying to keep bees on an allotment - surrounded by keen gardeners regularly spending hours so close to my hives - it's less than ideal! You're always going to get the odd guard or follower bee that is determined to see of a nearby threat and that will never end well with people around your bees that don't understand what the bees are doing.

My bees are in my back garden, albeit out of the way of the areas of the garden that we use the most and on the top most terrace. I'm always aware that I may have to move them if they start to become a nuisance to neighbours.

It would be sad if you gave up just because you hadn't found the right site yet.

Thankyou for your encouragement - but allotment rules are fierce! and we had to construct the L-shaped 6foot fence around the hive for some protection. We are not allowed to put them on another plot. They would have to apply to keep bees themselves. Added to this is the time constraint of work during the spring summer..
I won't 'drone' on and bore the rest of the readership. I will continue to be interested in bees for a long time I am sure.

 

[Swarm]

Thankyou for your encouragement - but allotment rules are fierce! and we had to construct the L-shaped 6foot fence around the hive for some protection. We are not allowed to put them on another plot. They would have to apply to keep bees themselves. Added to this is the time constraint of work during the spring summer..
I won't 'drone' on and bore the rest of the readership. I will continue to be interested in bees for a long time I am sure.

Work and other commitments can make your beekeeping a juggling act and even a chore if you had plans that the bees decide to change. Maybe some ground to retread in the future?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thankyou for your encouragement - but allotment rules are fierce! and we had to construct the L-shaped 6foot fence around the hive for some protection. We are not allowed to put them on another plot. They would have to apply to keep bees themselves. Added to this is the time constraint of work during the spring summer..
I won't 'drone' on and bore the rest of the readership. I will continue to be interested in bees for a long time I am sure.

I think the suggestion was to find an alternative site well away from the allotments rather than just move them within.