How To Produce Your Own Honey By Simple Beekeeping At Home
If you are looking for a rewarding and therapeutic hobby, you must consider beekeeping. Surely, it would take some extra effort on your part, but you might be surprised at how fun and easy it could be especially when the time comes that you get to eat honey you produce at your own backyard, garden or jamb runs reservoir.
However, beekeeping at home is not for everyone, especially those who are not that familiar about it. If you intend to soon get into this unique but rewarding hobby, you have to be familiar about it and learn the basic. Surprisingly, it would not be as difficult and as tedious as you may think it to be.Before getting into the task, find out if there are existing local and city codes that regulate beekeeping at homes. You may not be aware yet at this point but there could be a limit imposed by the authorities on the number of beehives allowed in your neighborhood. If the city does not allow keeping of beehives, you may ask friends or farmers in nearby areas where you could be allowed to put beehives on their properties sans the restrictive limits.
Preparing for beekeeping
As you get into the steps to realize your goals, you have to address the challenges in the planning and preparation stage. The first concern would be the equipment to be used. Fortunately, there are now commercially and readily available equipment for bee farming.
Begin with new hives along with new frames. Opting to buy the new equipment as you start into the hobby will spare you from unnecessary and unexpected headaches in the future. Used or second-hand equipment could be cheaper or could even be taken for free but take note that those may also come with problems that beginners may not be able to instantly recognize and fix.
Then, invest in protective gear. Check out this list of gears that you must buy before you get into bee farming. A bee suit must come complete with gloves and hood when you buy a set. Beehives must have boxes, bottom boards, covers, supers, frames that come with patterned foundations for wax. Also invest in a hive tool for waec expo 2023 and a smoker.
When to start
Another consideration to take note of is the timing of your entry into the bee farming hobby. It is not advisable to start just any time you want to do so. That is because spring time is the best time to start beekeeping. This is strategic because the season is the time that bees start to get really busy collecting honey.
You should aim to start them up immediately when the weather warms up. This is the time when they could also take more than enough time to accumulate or build up their hives strong. Then, put their hive in an area where they would take an open and undisturbed flight path. Expect to have thousands of those bees coming in and going out of their hive. Be sure the hive is at least 15 feet away from your house.
Buying your bees
Of course, beekeeping at home would not push through without the bees. You can actually buy bees you would grow into hives in your own backyard or garden. Some people prefer to go out to catch a live swarm. But for beginners, that is not advisable. Instead, order a ‘nuc,’ a queen bee with actual bunch of worker bees. They would be enough to start a massive honey-producing bee colony.
When in the market to buy bees for the hobby, be sure to specific purchasing Italian bees. They are somehow a standard in the U.S. and other countries, especially for hobbyists and bee farmers. These bees easily accumulate honey, produce other worker bees, and are quite easier to handle compared to all other bee species. If you need assistance and guidance in choosing the right bees, you could always ask experienced beekeepers you know for recommendations and insights.
Taking care of bees and harvesting honey
After you have set everything for your bee colony, you do not have do anything to take care of them because they would do it their selves. Just be sure the hive is not disturbed and is not easily reached and played with by kids. You may also occasionally check on your beehive to see if they are doing well.
When the hive has gotten too big for its frame and you see that honey is already dripping, take it as an indication that harvest time has come. You could actually harvest honey any time of the year, but ideally, the activity is best done during fall. To take honey from the hive, simply scoop out the honeycomb and return to its original position to enable your bee colony to work on it again.
Buying your bees
Of course, beekeeping at home would not push through without the bees. You can actually buy bees you would grow into hives in your own backyard or garden. Some people prefer to go out to catch a live swarm. But for beginners, that is not advisable. Instead, order a ‘nuc,’ a queen bee with actual bunch of worker bees. They would be enough to start a massive honey-producing bee colony.
When in the market to buy bees for the hobby, be sure to specific purchasing Italian bees. They are somehow a standard in the U.S. and other countries, especially for hobbyists and bee farmers. These bees easily accumulate honey, produce other worker bees, and are quite easier to handle compared to all other bee species. If you need assistance and guidance in choosing the right bees, you could always ask experienced beekeepers you know for recommendations and insights.
Taking care of bees and harvesting honey
After you have set everything for your bee colony, you do not have do anything to take care of them because they would do it their selves. Just be sure the hive is not disturbed and is not easily reached and played with by kids. You may also occasionally check on your beehive to see if they are doing well.
When the hive has gotten too big for its frame and you see that honey is already dripping, take it as an indication that harvest time has come. You could actually harvest honey any time of the year, but ideally, the activity is best done during fall. To take honey from the hive, simply scoop out the honeycomb and return to its original position to enable your bee colony to work on it again.