Beginner beekeeper: where should I start??

We've had bees for just over two years and it feels like we have learnt so much about bees, but at the same time we are realising that there so much more to know about these amazing creatures. I was asked a question on one of my Instagram posts:

Where would we start when we decide to have our own bees? So much info out there. We are on 2 acres on the Sunny Coast and have a great bushy spot to keep the hives, just unsure what system etc we start researching? We love our Bee Pollen, is this another process entirely? Thanks :-)

I was not going to try to tap our a reply to that on my smart phone! As you can see from my post, that is a big question, and perfect for a blog post. Here's where I think you should start with bees, in no particular order you should do as many of these things as you can BEFORE you get your own bees.

Join a beekeeping club - we joined our local Barambah Bees.
Find a beekeeper (hobby or commercial) who will let you look inside a hive or two a few times (we met a beekeeper through the beekeeping club, and that gave us the confidence to look in our own hives)
Buy yourself a beekeeping suit and gloves (ok maybe do that before you do number 2)
Get EVERY beekeeping book from the library and read them, also watch youtube and read blogs, find out as much as you can (here's post about beekeeping resources)
If you're in South East QLD - Visit the Valley Bees Open Day near Gympie (usually September each year), if you live elsewhere, find a similar event
Buy the rest of the basic equipment that you're going to need - hive tool, bee brush, smoker - and learn how to use them (here's a post about the equipment you need)
Decide which type of beekeeping system you want to use - Langstroth, Top bar, Warre, Flow hive - depending on the amount of local support you're going to have, how easy/cheap it is to buy equipment and get bees for that system and which one fits your ethos (read more on the resources post above).
Make sure that you're not allergic to bee stings and that you don't hate having bees buzzing all around you (I kind of hate it, but I'm getting used to it, I can hear when they are angry, but Pete doesn't notice it the way I do, possibly because I spent a lot of time learning classical music I can hear the change in pitch of the buzz?)
Make sure that you have a suitable location for your bees, away from neighbours, and enough flora to support them (or plan to feed them when nothing is flowering).
Find out what pests may be a problem in your area and decide how you plan on treating/preventing them and how you will identify them. (Read more about controlling small hive beetle in our area here)

As for the bee pollen - when you learn how bees use pollen, you may be reluctant to take it from them, they use it to raise new bees, and more bees means more honey and pollination.

Does that help? Anyone else what to give some advice about where to start with bees?

Farm update - August 2017

Its been cold this month, and very nice to have the fire going every night. Here's a photo of my boy in his cape, great for late night woofing at things. Most of July we were either preparing for the butcher to come or putting meat away. Its always a big job, but its only once a year, and its all done now. My lovely neighbour came over to help, so it was fun to have the company and work together. Taz was a champion once again as she helped us to move cattle in the yards ready to load for the market. Gus is not at that level yet and had to stay home (he cries when he gets left behind, but he just gets in the way and scatters the cattle). We have had a few sprinkles of rain here and there, but also plenty of cold nights, so the grass is mostly dead and dry, waiting for the warmer weather to revive our summer-active pasture. Gus in his cape Taz after she helped to move cattle Food and cooking It was all about beef in July and we are v...

Cooking and eating beans

When I was growing up, my family never ate many dried beans, they just weren't something that was used much in NZ cuisine. If I did eat beans, it was always from a can (and most likely baked beans). And until recently I was still using beans from a can, but it can be difficult to get organic beans, and to find cans not lined with BPA. Then I had an opportunity to buy some organic dry goods in bulk, so I bought 5kg of kidney beans, 5kg of adzuki beans and 5kg of chickpea (garbanzo beans). I know, that is a lot of beans. And then I didn't really know what to do with them! Not just what dishes to put them in, but how to prepare them, I just didn't know what method to use. So I decided it was time to learn how to use all these beans that I bought, here's what I found out. I started with an excellent ebook called The Everything Beans Book , from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship, which has lots of bean recipes, but more importantly, an explanation of h...

Guest post: Is there a place for power tools in the garden?

One of my regular readers and commenters offered to write a guest post about a horticulture course, its quite a funny read, with some serious insights into our technology obsession. If you'd like to submit a guest post, email me at eight.acres.liz {at} gmail.com. While I am always happy to share links back to your blog or website, this contributor preferred to remain anonymous. I hope you enjoy their story.... -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- Just a few days ago our daily horticulture classes were interrupted by an invitation to review some new gardening gadgets. The idea was to open half a dozen of electric hand trimmers , test them and fill in some review about their goods and bads. As nothing is more dear to a student – even a “hort “ one - to escape routine and mess around till lunchtime, we opened the boxes and got down to business. What did we...

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