The Beginner’s Corner
Bill Miller
Step 1: Taking the Plunge
Welcome to beekeeping – many years of fun and honey await you. Where do you begin?
The first step is to find out about your local beekeeping association. All the state beekeeping associations have Web pages and these Web pages will have links to their state’s local beekeeping associations. Most local associations do offer beginner beekeeping classes which are either free or at a very nominal cost. By all means get into your local beekeeping course. Beekeeping is very much tuned to the local conditions, and your local association will teach you about these local conditions.
That said, you’ll still want a beginning beekeeping book. My personal choice is First Lessons in Beekeeping by Keith Delaplane. Delaplane’s version was published in 2007, and includes most of the recent beekeeping problems (e.g. mites). Sadly, most of the beekeeping books you will find in your local library (including older editions of First Lessons in Beekeeping) will be way out of date, and thus won’t include the more recent beekeeping problems.
Next, you will need a site for your colonies. The books all describe the “ideal” bee site, but you may only have your own back yard available. No matter- Bee colonies take up little space, and a quiet corner of your back yard will do. I would like to keep at least 20 feet between the colonies and a children’s play area or property line, but that is not a set rule. A colony can go right in the middle of a garden, and you can mow a lawn right up to a colony. City beekeepers even keep colonies on apartment verandas.
As to the equipment required, I strongly recommend you start with all new equipment, as used equipment can be infected with bee diseases. All of the bee equipment suppliers have beginner’s kit specials which contain one basic hive and the equipment needed to work it. These kits go for about $140, and are well worth it. A 3 pound package of bees to populate the colony will go for about $70 delivered (and you can frequently get club deals on those to cut the price). Order early – you will want to start your colony about a week before the last frost in your area.
Incidentally, if you can swing it, you should start with two hives so you can compare the hives to each other as the season progresses. You will find that each colony will require about 1 hour/month of attention when you start, and this will go down as you gain experience.
Legal requirements – you are required to register your colonies with your state Department of Agriculture. For Alabama, the registration information is at http://www.alabees.com/organization.htm#register; similar information for other states is available on the Internet.
How much honey will your colony give you? I advise beginners not to take any honey from a colony in its first year. Every year thereafter, a well managed colony in South Alabama where I live will produce about 60 lb. of honey.
So now you are ready to take the plunge into beekeeping. Bees have had over 3000 years experience training beekeepers. They can train you too.
END of file 11/14/08