Beekeeping basics: A simple beginners guide

Bee farming isn't capital intensive, especially if you are a beginner. It would be best if you started small and gradually increased your beehive. The simple truth is that you can not learn everything about beekeeping at once; it's a gradual step that requires paying attention to details and practicing things you are learning to get the hang of the whole process. There are two crucial things you need to do to have a wonderful experience as you start beekeeping and here are they:

Get a book on beekeeping

A beekeeping book contains easy to follow steps with appropriate pictures to make the whole process easy.

Contact an experienced beekeeper

An experienced beekeeper is equally vital in your beekeeping journey. Regardless of much you may read from books and watch online, reaching out to someone who currently runs a honey bee farm is necessary. Now, let's get familiar with some terms you will come across when reading books and learning about bee farming.

Terms in beekeeping

A beehive

A beehive is simply a place where honey bees live. It's a human-made structure for housing bees. Aside from housing the honey bees, a beehive helps harvest honey and put bees near plants for pollination. In the wild, honey bees have their nest in caves, hollow trees, and enclosed spaces within the rocks.

Honey bee farm

A honeybee farm contains multiple beehives. The farm must have plants with lots of flowers, exposed to sunlight, and some parts should have shades. Additionally, a honeybee farm should be shielded from the wind. A honeybee farm can be in your backyard. Now, let's move to the essential steps to take when starting a honey bee farm.

Important beekeeping basics

Beekeeping basics are essential before taking it on either as a hobby or business.

Contact local authority for permission

Before purchasing beehives and honey bees, it's imperative to request permission. There may be local laws guiding the running of a beehive farm, which you must follow since not everyone in the community will be comfortable with the idea of rearing bees.

Reach out to beekeeping organizations

Also, by reaching out to local organizations around you, someone may serve as a guide to give needed details to succeed in bee farming.

Purchase supplies and honey bees

After taking the steps above, you need to equip yourself with beekeeping supplies and beekeeping equipment. Next, purchase honey bees to get started. A honey bee hive can accommodate up to 11,000 bees. Visit a local honeybee seller to get your bees.

The take away

In beekeeping, the processes should be learned gradually. As you learn from books, also reach out to experienced beekeepers and local bee farming organizations near you.