There ain’t no honey more local than the stuff being made at your house – so if you’re wondering how to become a beekeeper, read on.

In the spring of 2015, my husband Josh got his first two nucs of bees. By summer 2016, we were able to harvest our first fifty pounds of honey. There’s been a lot of learning along the way, and we owe a lot of that to the book First Lessons in Beekeeping by Keith S. Delaplane.

Now, when I say we… 

I mean Josh. 

They’re Josh’s bees, and he does 99% of the work. 

I get really nervous around bees. Because see… They’re flying needles. But I’m getting better. When I’ve got the full bee suit on, gloves and all, I’m getting to the point where I’m pretty calm out by our beehives. But as a beekeeper… I’m pretty much not. A beekeeper. At all. I’m more of the magician’s assistant.

With more clothes on.

Being a successful honey beekeeper hasn’t been read a book, get some bees, and go. Josh and I have gotten plugged in to the local beekeeping community as well. His work schedule is a little wonky, so we’ve joined two local beekeeping clubs that have different meeting days, and we get to whichever meetings we can make it to. Effingham County Beekeeper’s Association is definitely closer to us, but we’re members of the Ogeechee Area Beekeeper’s Association as well.

I realized as I got into reading books during my planning periods as a substitute teacher that I had never read THE go to book if you want to learn how to become a beekeeper. So I popped our copy of First Lessons in Beekeeping in my tote bag and worked my way through it over the past couple of months.

As I started reading, there was a ton of information that I didn’t know before – the section on different species of honey bees was really interesting – but what was really cool, is there was lots of things I read in the book that I knew already simply because I had been going to beekeepers club meetings. I may not have known the word integrated pest management before reading Keith Delaplane’s book, but I knew what it was, and reading this book really helped solidify concepts I’ve been picking up by hearing speakers come visit our beekeeping club meetings over the past year.

Summary – How to Become a Beekeeper

Learn, read, and learn some more. Get involved with a local beekeeper’s club if there’s one near you. Make all of that education an integral part of your beekeeping adventure before you buy your supplies and you’ll be set up for success. Or you’ll have a support system if something goes wonky.

What’s really exciting is getting ready for our second year honey harvest. Last summer we got about fifty pounds of honey out of 2 of our 5 hives. This year, we’re hoping that we’ll get honey out of all five. In preparation for that, we’re working on a really fun honey label… I can’t show you that yet but here’s a little sneak peek…

Are you an Effingham County local that’s interested in beekeeping?

Effingham County Beekeepers Association is planning a Beekeeping 101 class for the public on Saturday, March 4, 2017 – contact me if you’re interested in more info and I’ll make sure you’re in the loop as it gets closer to the date!