David Cramp tells us all how to keep bees
Beekeeping – the blurb
A complete how-to manual on the satisfying art of keeping bees and their practical day-to-day care. It guides you all the way from choosing and obtaining your bees, housing them and maintaining the hive through the year, to dealing with pests and diseases, and harvesting the honey.
To bee or not to bee
6 months in from getting chickens my attentions are now wandering to bees. Do we get them? Will they be OK around the kids? How ridiculous will I look in a beekeeping suit? Like I did before we ventured in to chicken owning I wanted to read into it more and was bought this as a present for my birthday. Oh how birthdays have changed!
The book is large (A4) with over 400 color photographs. It offers a fascinating insight into just how important bees are and how they have evolved. Seasons, flowers and even the uses of bee venom are all covered but having read it all I don’t feel like I am equipped to go and buy a beehive let alone a colony of bees. I was still struggling with the terms (brooders, supers) and had no idea whether I provided the wax for the frames or the bees did. Needless to say I think further reading is needed. The book did recommend I contact my local beekeeping association though which I have so all is not lost. To bee or not to bee? Watch this space!