It's normal to be excited and full of enthusiasm when you first start beekeeping. We know from experience that this only builds as you progress further into this amazing interest...yes it's addictive and hard to stop once started!
There are a few steps to take to increase the chance of success when taking on beekeeping as a hobby.
Before starting beekeeping you should:
👉 Read a Beekeeping book
There are plenty to choose from. Find out what everyone else is reading and get a copy. There will be someone who probably has a spare copy that they are willing to lend you. Ask around.
👉 Join a Bee Club
In recent years there have been more and more bee clubs popping up to meet the demand of an increasing number of new beekeepers. These are a great resource to meet other beekeepers in your area and learn a thing or two.
The Hive Buddy Online Bee Club is an easy way to get started without leaving your own home.
👉 Watch YouTube videos
There are thousands of hours of beekeeping videos on YouTube and these are filled with great information. Be careful though, there are many opinions and different techniques. Use YouTube with some caution.
An easy way to do this is check out the Hive Buddy On Demand Video library. New topics being uploaded regularly. Join Hive Buddy for free.
👉 Participate in a Beekeeping course
This is by far the most important step in the process. You MUST take part in an introductory to beekeeping course. This course will hopefully be hands on and open up some bee hives (weather dependant). This will set you up really well on your beekeeping journey.
Check out Hive Buddy members area for free and paid programs
👉 Find a mentor
Success in beekeeping comes down to experience...but what if you don't have much experience? In this case you're relying on two things, either good luck or good advice
Something inevitably goes wrong, maybe not in the first season, maybe not in the second, but at some point your experience will be challenged and you'll be stretched in ways that can be really uncomfortable. After all, no beekeeper wants to cause the death of their own hives.
So how do you get ahead of the issues and stay current and up to date with seasonal conditions and tasks?
You get a mentor!
But here comes your second problem! A good mentor with spare time is as rare as hens teeth. But you don't have to be alone.
Hive Buddy offers online mentorship groups for beekeepers with high quality mentors at a fraction of the cost of in person mentoring. The mentor meetups occur online twice a month and will keep you updated and informed and help you work through any issues you face. Best of all you have a whole group to learn from!
You can learn more about our mentorship programs here.
