DIY Beekeeping: The Baeumlers Share a Beginner’s Guide to Beekeeping in Your Backyard

As some of you may already know, Bryan has recently created a bee farm in our backyard. I want the record to show that this was not my idea, but I also would like to state here that I love it. There is something very rewarding about watching bees work and make honey. The extraordinary process is not only a great way to produce honey for you and your family, but it has also been an amazing opportunity to teach our children about how pollination and the life cycle of animals and plants work. I wanted to share some pointers on how you and your family can become DIY beekeepers, too!

First and foremost, do your research. Like owning any animal, beekeeping requires a lot of work and dedication. Do not begin the process if you are not fully committed to it and without having an idea of what the process entails.

If you have watched some YouTube videos and done some reading on the topic and are still interested in becoming beekeepers, then I would recommend looking into one of the many companies out there that offer all the equipment necessary. We used Flow Hive and have been very impressed with the service and quality of the equipment we received. They have an extensive number of resources on their website and is a good source of reference when planning your bee farm.

It is a good idea to start with more than one hive. Having two or three hives can allow you to see how much work it takes to care of a hive, but will also give you the opportunity to compare the hives. It’s also important to have a couple of hives in order to survive the winter. You may find that your bees reduce in numbers over the winter and having more than one queen will increase your chances of keeping your hive going.

Once you have planned out your hives and have decided on where to order the equipment, your next step should be to check the bylaws in your area. There are various rules and regulations that it is important to abide to, as having a bee farm requires much responsibility. In terms of responsibility, I would also strongly suggest that you check that you and the people who will be near the hive are not allergic to bee stings, and even if you all are immune, have an epipen on hand, because you never know.

Once you have the hives up and running, it can be helpful to keep a journal or some sort of notes, this will help you to track the production of honey throughout the year and allow to plan for future years. There are some apps that you can download that will help guide you through the frequent inspections of your hive that you will have to do, this can make the record keeping a little easier.

If you are thinking of starting your bee farm, then start saving jars right now. If everything is setup correctly, then your bees will produce a lot of honey and you need to store that somewhere. There is no doubt that the honey produced in your hives will be the best honey you’ve tasted, and you will suddenly be the honey source of all your friends and family. I highly recommend doing this if you are committed to it, it has been great fun for us and a great source of entertainment and learning for us all.