Starting out Keeping Bees

Keeping bees improves pollination in your food garden in a big way, and it is great to harvest your own honey.  But where to start if you are a total novice?  I talked with Food Garden Group member and beekeeper Avril B, with the aim to help those interested in following in her foot steps.

Here are the questions I asked Avril, followed by her replies:

When you started, did you do a beekeeping course, or did you learn some other way? 

We originally started by talking to a friend who had done a course and then hit the books/internet and asked a few friends. Everyone was very willing to help. We did a course with the Southern Beekeepers Association (SBA) after we had set up the hive and bought a swarm. It was very useful, and gives newbies a lot more confidence to handle a hive. The course also provides tips on how to build the boxes and frames, which is really helpful, considering everything comes flat packed.

Did the SBA assist you in buying the hive and swarm, or did you do this independently? 

SBA is able to advise with purchases of equipment and swarms. They also run courses for beginners which is very useful. We already had a contact who sold swarms when available. There is generally a waiting period, and its not always possible to buy when you want one. Its best to put your name down with a few people. To purchase a swarm you will need to leave a box with all the frames, a travelling-strap and some foam, to block the entrance so the swarm doesn’t leave again. The person providing the swarm will give advice.

Did you buy equipment to process the honey, or is this done elsewhere? 

The honey is taken from the frame by a process called ‘spinning’. This equipment is available for hire from most of the places that sell bee keeping equipment.

What were your initial costs approximately? 

From memory two standard boxes and a couple of ‘ideals’ (the smaller boxes - see photo below), and few other bits, totaled about $500 all up.  I think the swarm was $250.

Are there any ongoing costs? 

Not much. Hire of the spinner perhaps twice over summer and some maintenance of your equipment.

Did you need permission from Hobart City Council? 

No, the Hobart City Council regulations now allow a limited number.  However I suggest you check your Council’s rules.  As a precaution we registered through the SBA. When setting up a hive, consideration must be given to the flight path of the bees, to make sure the neighbours are not impacted. There is a Code of Conduct available (see link below) to assist with choosing a suitable site.

How much time does your beekeeping take? 

Not much, maybe 5 hours a year for 1 hive – mainly checking and honey extraction during the warmer months.  During winter the hive is shut down to maintain a viable temperature for the bees welfare.

Do you have a mentor or someone you can go to if you have a question? 

Yes. The SBA can organise someone in your area. We have used our mentor a couple of times and always found everyone very enthusiastic and prepared to drop everything to help.

How much honey do you end up with in a year? 

In the first year probably 8-10 kg. At maximum production it can be up to 30 kg from one hive.

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Here is what Avril told me about her own bee hive at her home in a busy Hobart suburb:

The bee hive is kept in a corner of a balcony at 1^st floor level (see the photo below).

The glass balustrade protects it from the wind.  The opening to the hive (middle of photo below) is kept close to the gap between the glass and the decking.

This means the bees have a clear flight path under the glass balustrade, and then they fly over the roof of our shed.  From there the bees fan out horizontally keeping well above our neighbour’s heads.  I think this is the secret to ensuring the bees avoid contact with neighbours and not stressing the bees.

It can get very hot behind the glass balustrade.  A screen around the hive (photo below) gives it a little shade, stops kids getting too close, and can be slid away when needed.

I also grow a grape vine to cover the hive on a hot day.  The bees love the grapes on their doorstep during the later stages of summer and early autumn, when there aren’t many flowers available.

Thank you, Avril, for all this great info! With knowledge and good planning people now keep productive bee hives in places where in days gone by bees would not have been kept. 

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Below are two photos of a beehive on a property belonging to Serena and Richard, also members of the Food Garden Group.  I took the first photo in 2015, before bees moved in.  The second photo was taken during a second food garden visit in 2018.

A new beehive before bees took up residence in 2015

The same beehive in 2018 with three more layers ('ideals') added

In the 2018 photo you can see three additional layers ('ideals') added to the original two.

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Here is more information that might be useful to those interested in starting with bees:

About the Tasmanian Beekeepers Association

The Tasmanian Beekeepers Association provides assistance to both professional and amateur beekeepers.
Its Northern branch has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/beekeepingnortherntasmania that people can join.
Its Southern branch (known as Southern Beekeepers Association or SBA) has a web site at https://www.southerntasbeekeepers.org.au.  The SBA organises annual field days and runs one or two beginner beekeeper courses each spring. Annual membership is $35 (2018).
The Tasmanian Beekeepers Association also has a NW branch.

How about a managed hive?

Some Tasmanian beekeepers are happy to enter into arrangements with individual land owners whereby they put one or more of their hives on the landowner's land.  It is up to individual land owner to work out arrangements with the beekeeper.  This can involve sharing honey or learning beekeeping skills from this beekeeper.

 

The SBA provided me with the following information:

The Southern Beekeepers Association has a list of landowners who have said they are happy to have a beekeeper put his/her hives on their land: name, phone number, general location and sometimes the area of land.  This list is shown on the members-only section of the SBA website.  Then it is up to members who want additional hive site(s) to contact people on this list, and to make arrangements without further SBA involvement.

If you would like to host someone's hive(s), please request the email address of the secretary of the Southern Beekeepers Association via foodgardengroup@gmail.com.  The secretary has offered to add people's details the list mentioned above (thank you, Maurice!).  Alternatively, you may find it very useful to join the SBA, and then you can register your interest yourself.  

Putting your name on the list is no guarantee that you will be contacted.

Also worth checking out

• Code of Practice for Urban Beekeeping in Southern Tasmania at
  https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/Documents/Code%20of%20Practice%20for%20Urban%20Beekeping.pdf
• TasTafe's Short Course Beekeeping Basics at
  https://www.tastafe.tas.edu.au/courses/course/beekeeping-basics/
• Hobart relaxes urban beekeeping rules at
  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-06/urban-beekeeping-given-green-light-in-hobart/7817302  
• City of Launceston about bees at
  https://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/Public-Health-and-Environment/Animals/Bees  
• Natural Beekeeping Tasmania at http://www.naturalbeekeepingtasmania.com.au 

There is another blog post on this blog about bees
In Growing Honey, written in 2014, Food Garden Group member Belinda discussed her beekeeping.  This post covers:

• Would a beehive be successful in any garden?
• What tools do you need?
• What makes a good beekeeper?
• Do you need a permit?
• What is the process before you have honey in a jar?
• Where to find out more about beekeeping?

That blog post is now four years old, so not all info in it is up to date.  However, Belinda's comments are still completely relevant, and worth reading!



Upon seeing the final version of this blog post Avril commented ....
Bees improve your own garden as well as everyone else's garden in the neighbourhood.  
Bees are fascinating.  A beekeeper never stops learning!  
I sometimes think the world would be a much better place .... if we were all bees!