When You Start Beekeeping - ADD THESE 5 SKILLS

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Subject: When You Start Beekeeping - ADD THESE 5 SKILLS

When You start Beekeeping This Happens...

Being a veteran of beekeeping, I had NO IDEA WHAT I WAS IN STORE FOR when I began the journey to start beekeeping... Read below.

Take your decision to start beekeeping and mull over it... That's how I started. Easy? Ja!

Then I discovered all the other roles I had to learn in order to wear my beekeeper's hat - PLUS GLOVES AND SUIT!!

What Do Honeybees Need To Thrive?

Doing bees for 20 years provides some perspective for the long term.

Thinking back, I recognise at least 5 skills I did not know I needed until I learnt from the bees themselves over time.

TODAY, you get to benefit from my insights no matter if you are doing bees as a hobby or building a honey business...

I asked myself this question frequently: What do the bees need to thrive?

Turns out, they need food.

Quite a lot. Variety is the spice of their life. Finding sites that provide year-round food sources proves to be quite easy if you are just looking after 2-5 hives.

You can always move your colonies to meet their food needs over the calendar year
You can plant food for them that will provide sources of nectar and pollen
You can find sites that already offer a mix of food sources that overlap throughout the seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter
You can supplement their food needs by relocating your colonies within seasons

1) You Become a Botanist

When you become a beekeeper, you MUST take responsibility for building your plant knowledge.

Identify Your Apiary's FOOD Needs: The Kirstenbosch Gardens have compiled a list here for the Western Cape of plants that provide food for bees.
For A List Of Western Cape Plants and Flower Season in Cape Town!
Get a copy of the Blue book - it provides a list of and rating section of South African plants that benefit honeybees.
Watch the Bee Plant Videos on our YouTube Channel

2) You Become a Game Warden

I learned that when moving my colonies to provide them with consistent access to food, that I may have to also build in systems for protecting them from wild game.

BABOONS: I had to use tie-downs. Then cages and locked bar CLAMPS.
HIPPOS: As I have sites along the crocodile river, I have had stands rubbed up against or bumped them completely over. Relocate and adjust.
SNAKES: They like warm dry spots during the winter - I raised my hives.
- Eyewear for spitting cobras.
BEARS: Not in Africa... But in USA, Canada and some Eurasian Countries
HONEYBADGERS: Hive houses and fences can help. Cages work. Please refrain from terminating the honeybadger. Rather get it rescued and relocated.

3) You Become a Project Manager

I learned, through trial and error, that there are common and repetitive tasks to beekeeping every time I visited an apiary, started a new apiary and went from a hobby beekeeper to a commercial operator.

Seasonal planning for pest and colony management
Seasonal for production management such as making splits and removing supers.
Handling honey production harvesting and bottling, labeling and selling
Finding sites, negotiating with landowners and transportation
Feeding, split management and queen bee management
Selling your honey

4) You Become a Carpenter

I had done some woodworking at school. But once I became a beekeeper I had to learn about fixing frames, nailing and building hives and weatherproofing them for the bees to ensure they stayed in good condition to outlast the elements and time.

Fixing broken frames especially in the super chamber
Repairing floors and lids
Maintaining hives where the joints have come loose
Annual maintenance of nuc and catch boxes, plus bee hives

5) You Become a Marketer

I was a technical support agent at the early stages of WiFi and the Internet back in the day... If you had problems with your internet connection 1998 - 2000 using dial-up or even T1 broad band lines back in the day - you could very well have had the pleasure of me rescuing you or possibly your parents from the nightmares of modem connectivity!

When you get honey, you want to bottle and label it
You may also start needing to sell what you don't give away as gifts
You then need to sell the rest to willing buyers somewhere!

Key Takeaways

1. Always bee learning

Learn colony management techniques that result in honey production and survival.

Understand the power of good planning and hive placement to access food sources for your bees.

2. Site Management: Plan to move your bees.

If circumstances require it, be prepared to relocate your colonies for a short period or for a flowering period to a warmer and more suitable site location.

ALWAYS be prepared to support your colonies with extra super chambers, ventilated floor boards or cut outs and usable frames to ensure you and your bees have a great season and all concerned can bee their best!

Get Started Today!

Take advantage of the seasonal secrets of beekeeping and plan for your best bee season with happy bees and more honey!

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