Beekeeper Cherie Sintes-Glover and her bees. (Photo: Bea Ahbeck/Lodi News-Sentinel)
If the idea of raising backyard chickens appeals to you, you just might be mulling over the thought, “Well, why not raise backyard bees, too?”
You may have listened to Episode 260 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, featuring urban chicken consultant Cherie Sintes-Glover discuss beginning a backyard chicken raising hobby. Cherie, besides being an urban chicken consultant, is also an apprentice Master Beekeeper. In today’s Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter podcast (above), she talks about how to get started raising bees. Her suggestions include:
• Although bees are available now (April-May), they are best ordered in the winter months, due to demand.
• Strive for ordering bees from local sources. Bees that are adapted to your climate have the highest success rate.
• Take local beekeeping classes in the winter, before you get bees. Learn about the equipment you will need, as well as learning about bee temperament. Check with your local bee supply company for class information in your area.
Cherie, a resident of San Joaquin County in Central California, is part of the Big Valley Beekeepers Guild, which is online at bigvalleybeekeepersguild.org. They also maintain an active page on Facebook. There, you can get a feeling for what’s involved with your new hobby!
Bees are one of the best pollinators to have flying around your food and flower gardens. It’s been said that bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food you eat. Today, we take attracting bees to your garden one step further: how about raising your own hive of honeybees? Besides a honeybee conversation with Cherie Sintes-Glover, we talk on today’s newsletter podcast with one of the world’s foremost bee authorities, Dr. Norman Gary, on how you can become a successful honeybee hobbyist. That just so happens to also be the title of his book, “The Honeybee Hobbyist”.
The book contains:
Detailed, practical instructions for hobby beekeeping
Bee anatomy, behavior, and reproduction
How to safely open a hive and use a bee smoker
How to monitor hive conditions, prevent swarming, and deal with bee diseases
Sting prevention and effective strategies for safe handling
Fun uses for your beekeeping hobby, including entertainment and education
Urban beekeeping, with updated information on beekeeping on rooftops and in city environments.
According to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources on-line publication, Bug Squad:
Gary, known internationally as "The Bee Man," holds a doctorate in entomology (apiculture) from Cornell University and served on the UC Davis entomology faculty from 1962 to 1994.
A beekeeper for seven decades and the author of Honey Bee Hobbyist: The Care and Keeping of Bees, he has written more than 100 publications, including scientific papers, book chapters and popular articles in beekeeping trade journals. He drew widespread acclaim for wearing a head-to-toe suit of clustered bees while "Buzzin' with His Bee-Flat Clarinet." (As a professional musician, he performs in area bands, but sans the bees.)
"The Bee Man" holds the Guinness World record for keeping 109 bees inside his closed mouth for 10 seconds.
You may have seen him and/or the bees he trained in action scenes in movies, television shows and commercials. His credits over the last 35 years include 18 films, including Fried Green Tomatoes; more than 70 television shows, including the Johnny Carson and Jay Leno shows; six commercials; and hundreds of live Thriller Bee Shows in the Western states.
Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.
Backyard Beekeeping Advice