keeping-bees Archives - Backyard Beekeeping

8 Ways to Be a Courteous Backyard Beekeeper

October 8, 2021 · Angi Schneider · Beekeeping 101

Being a good beekeeping neighbor is something all backyard beekeepers should be concerned about. When we started talking about keeping bees we knew we’d have to be careful since our property is only 1.5 acres and we’re surrounded by neighbors.

Raising Honey Bees with Pets and Livestock

October 8, 2021 · Angi Schneider · Health & Pests

When we decided to start raising honey bees, one of the things we needed to consider was the safety of the other animals on our property. If we had a large property where we would be able to put our hives away from our other animals it would be easy, but we don’t have a large property.

Setting Honey Prices, Labeling, and Marketing Homestead Honey

October 6, 2021 · Angi Schneider · Honey & Beeswax

When we first started keeping bees, many friends and family wanted to buy honey from us. In the beginning, we didn’t have any extra, but after a while, we had more than our family could use and we decided to sell some. But we needed to make sure we were selling the honey legally and had a competitive honey price.

Bee Bucks – The Cost of Beekeeping

September 23, 2021 · Countryside Magazine Contributor · Hives & Equipment

Keeping bees isn’t free and so I’m often asked, “What is the cost of beekeeping? If I’m looking to start a honey bee farm, what is the expected initial investment?” Let’s find out together!

Succession Planting With the Best Plants for Bees

April 21, 2021 · Angi Schneider · Plants & Pollination

Add to Favorites Even before we began keeping bees, we tried to garden in such a way as to not harm bees and other pollinators. Now that we are keeping …

Top Bar Beehives vs Langstroth Beehives

April 2, 2020 · Angi Schneider · Hives & Equipment

Not long after our teenage son started raising honey bees, a family friend built him a top bar beehive with an observation window using beehive plans from a homesteading book. It was such an amazing gift.

8 Ways to Be a Courteous Backyard Beekeeper

July 9, 2019 · Angi Schneider · Beekeeping 101, Hive Highlights

Add to Favorites Being a good beekeeping neighbor is something all backyard beekeepers should be concerned about. Be respectful and thoughtful of our neighbors by following good beekeeping practices. Know …

What To Know As Spring Unfolds Into Summer

February 5, 2019 · Countryside Magazine Contributor · Beekeeping 101

If April is the beekeeping equivalent of planting time, then May is when our efforts start to germinate.

It’s Harvest Time

February 5, 2019 · Countryside Magazine Contributor · Honey & Beeswax

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.

Supering up for a Honey of a Summer

February 5, 2019 · Countryside Magazine Contributor · Hives & Equipment

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.