10.11.2008

i want an apiary.


This morning I went to a local beginning beekeeping class.  The president of the Utah County Beekeepers association taught the 5 hours introductory course for free, simply because he loves it and wants more people to get involved.  It was so great.  Definitely worth getting up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday for.  Among many, here are a few things I learned:
1. To get set up to start beekeeping with one hive for the first year costs about 300.00
2. The best type of honey bees to keep are Golden Italians. 
3. You start with about 14,000 bees in a hive
4. You only go to visit and take care of them every 14-21 days, and you never open the hive if it is windy or cold
5. Beekeeping is an impressive skill

5 comments:

Heather said...

So I THINK this is on your side of the family (my mom's, your dad's), but did you know that our great great great.....grandfather? Uncle? I'm not sure what, was a beekeeper? Ask my mom about it. She knows all. You should do it! You'd be really good at it!

shelly said...

Actually, this is on Rick's side of the fam. Benjamin Franklin Johnson was the ancestor -- his descendant -- distant cousin of yours, Heather, lives in Alpine Utah (Annie's neighbor) and still does this! Passed down from father to son for generations. It's fascinating!

diana palmer said...

been there done that. just kidding. but i did get to help a bee keeper one summer for a month or so with my best friend. so hard. so sticky. so sweet.

darcie said...

fascinating! have you seen bee movie? some food for thought on the subject. really deep stuff. eheheh.

Lisa Rivas said...

This is FASCINATING. Good Job!