About the Author

Countryside Magazine Contributor

Articles by Countryside Magazine Contributor

It’s Harvest Time

Extracting, or the honey harvest, is going to befall almost every beekeeper if their efforts are successful and the site of those activities can vary from a garage or the family kitchen to large facilities specifically designed and built for handling the harvest. Many of the new hobbyists may quickly find that harvesting honey in the kitchen can be a test of spousal relations.

Read More
Successfully Installing Packaged Bees

Spring is one of the busiest times in beekeeping, as it is with much of agriculture, but it is also a very rewarding and intriguing time. In effect it is “planting time,” when the scene is set for the coming season, and what takes place in March and April can often have an irreversible influence on what comes over the next several months.

Read More
Candles Are One Way To Use That Extra Beeswax

Add to Favorites By Tom Theobald Traditionally winter was a quiet time for beekeepers. It was a time to visit friends, for northern beekeepers maybe a time to head for …

Read More
Supering up for a Honey of a Summer

In the beginning beekeeping classes, I encourage new beekeepers to go into their hives at least every seven to 10 days to see how things are going. While a healthy colony of bees in a healthy environment will follow a generally predictable course, growing in population as spring advances, swarming, building again, then capitalizing on the summer honey flows, there are a lot of variations on this theme and a lot can go awry in a relatively short time. Problems tend to propagate themselves if not dealt with early, a small problem uncorrected becomes a bigger problem, then an even bigger problem, then a disaster. The beekeeper’s role is to keep things on course.

Read More
Beekeeping with the Warre Hive: The Original Homestead Beehive

Add to Favorites By Ernie Schmidt, Washington – Beekeeping with the Warre hive, for me, is the easiest way to care for bees. The Warre beehive was developed specifically to be …

Read More
Adventures in Raising Honey Bees

Add to Favorites By D. Parnell, Tennessee – I am not a professional beekeeper in any way, shape or form. It’s been said that if you speak with 25 different beekeepers, you’ll learn of 25 …

Read More
How Disease Can Cause Bee Population Decline

With movable frame colonies, beekeepers discovered pests and diseases that they only superficially knew about. Honeybees, like any other animal, are subject to the frailties of this sometimes pale existence.

Read More
Why Are Bees Declining?

Add to Favorites By Deborah McSweeney – I am a long-time reader and love Countryside and Small Stock Journal  — it is one of the best! That said, I had to write …

Read More
[class^="wpforms-"]
[class^="wpforms-"]