Waiting for Spring

I’m thick in bee research, brushing up on what do do with our hive this spring, and remembering everything we did last year. In a lot of ways they say your first year beekeeping is the easiest. You start with a healthy package of bees and don’t often have to worry about swarming or disease or other similar problems until later years. So we skimmed along quite successfully our first year, but I want to be more prepared this year for the extra tasks that might be necessary.

I loved that Keeping Bees by John Vivian last year.  It was great down-to-earth information for a backyard-level beekeeper.  We even bought it for Jeremy’s dad for his birthday last year–he’s going to be setting up a hive this year which will benefit from and be great for Jeremy’s Mom’s lavender.  But I was also so excited to see that our Library got Ashley English’s Keeping Bees, as I’ve really been dying to get a look at her books.

I’m also curious of any great sources for more natural beekeeping ideas. I’ll be ordering a screened bottom board this year, and will leave it open to the ground for mite control. I’ve also read about periodically dusting the bees with powdered sugar for non-chemical mite control. I figured both of these would be a great start for this year to keep things under control, especially considering that we currently do not have any kind of issue with mites. If you have a favorite book or website with ideas, please share!