The Bee Keeper... October's Journal

  The Bee Keeper

Want to get started keeping bees? If you're thinking of keeping a hive or 2 (or 2 dozen) then now is the perfect time to begin your preparations. During the month of October the bees are gathering the last bits of pollen and nectar that will help to see them through the coming winter, and October is the month beekeepers, or potential beekeepers, begin preparing for next spring.

First, I recommend picking up some books and doing some online research. For beginners I recommend The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping by Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer. This guide will teach you the basics of the hive and bee biology and walk you through your first year. But that's just the beginning and the tip of the learning iceberg. A really good online resources is BushFarms.com where Michael Bush publishes a wealth of information. You can also watch online videos like my video diary series on Youtube.com/TheBeeVlog. Not a how-to series, but more of an over-the-shoulder view into my beekeeping activities.

Second, if you haven't already you should attend my next Backyard Beekeeping class. October 23th I'll be repeating Beekeeping 101. In this introductory course I cover topics of what is killing the bees and how we can help, what goes on inside a beehive, and where to get your bees.

After you've learned some of the basics it's time to decide what type of hive you want to use and to start buying or building equipment. Most of the little white boxes you see out on the farms are called Langstroth hives, but that's not the only option. In reality, bees will build a home in pretty much any empty cavity you give them, but your beekeeping goals and philosophy will play into your choice in hives. Have you heard of a Top Bar hive or the Warré hive? These are a couple of the other popular options out there.

You'll also need to start planning for where you will get your bees. Catching swarms is a great option, but can be challenging for first-time beekeepers. If you're going to buy your bees then October is a good time to start researching local breeders and suppliers and placing orders. If you want to bait hives then it's time to start learning and preparing for that too.

If you want to keep bees but aren't allowed to have them on your property then you should start asking around with friends and neighbors to see if they'll host some hives for you. Sometimes honey sharing arrangements can be made or some people just love to have them around. Start asking and see what you can find. But I do recommend keeping them as close to home as possible to make things easy on you.

Even though the honey is all harvested and the hives are tucked in for winter, October is still an active month for beekeeping preparations.