Hi,
Does anyone know where i can do a bee keepers course in Tamworth,staffs please
Your local beekeepers' association is South Staffs, but looking at their website and newsletter, I see that their beginners' course is oversubscribed.
I'm not too surprised. Beekeeping has become so popular in recent years that you need to get your name down months in advance for most courses.
http://southstaffsbeekeepers.co.uk/begin.html (http://southstaffsbeekeepers.co.uk/begin.html)
thanks,do you need to undergo a course?
Much better to get help and advice, there is a lot to learn!
Quote from: clackvalve on April 25, 2012, 01:08:02
thanks,do you need to undergo a course?
Even better than a course would be to find a friendly local beekeeper who would be willing to mentor you and show you the ropes.
But you can't really learn the craft simply from books. Without someone to guide you, you'll inevitably make mistakes whch will lead to your bees dying or absconding. And it's terribly sad (as well as expensive) to open up a hive and hear nothing but silence.
Try this very helpful and friendly forum for help finding a course or a mentor: http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/index.php (http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/index.php)
Hi
A course is not the bee (sorry) all and end all!! It will cover the basics and not much more, and will only be as good as the people responsible for running it. I know many people will disagree with me on this but this is my experience!
If you are keen you will already have spent many hours reading books and trolling through forums and the one mentioned by Melbourne12 is excellent. The book A Guide to Bees and Honey by Ted Hooper is the beekeepers bible.
There is no better substitute than to take the plunge and get yourself a colony ASAP, but, only if you have spent a long time doing your homework first.
If you get a colony this early on in the season they WILL swarm and you need to be able to recognise the signs and know how to deal with them. Another school of thought would be to wait till the swarming season is over and get the colony later in the year. This makes for a less severe learning curve, but you miss the chance of increasing your numbers.
A mentor is good to have on hand, but again, if they have got it wrong they will be teaching you nothing. I do think that it is imperative that you have a look inside a hive and get in-amongst the bees a few times before making any purchases as some people do not realise just how daunting a hive of grumpy bees can be.
For what its worth I hope it helps, best of luck!
some brilliant advice here,thank you so much to all of you