We had to start somewhere, so here is our first post under Ohio Country Bees. We will be posting info that we hope you will find helpful or interesting. We haven’t been keeping bees for decades, so we don’t begin to claim we know everything. We will be open with what works for us, and we’re not ashamed to tell you about the mistakes that we make. Hopefully it may help you avoid repeating them.

When you start keeping bees you will soon discover, as those who have been doing so for any length of time already know, that beekeepers are some of the most opinionated people on this planet. You will meet people that will tell you there is only one way to do this or that. The next person will tell you something different about the same topic. You will learn that neither person is necessarily right or wrong. They have a process that works for them, but it may or may not work for you or someone else. That’s not to say that everybody wings everything. There are multiple established ways to do just about anything you need to do with bees. You need to find out what works for you and what you are capable of, and comfortable with.

If you are a new beekeeper, our suggestion is that you attend a beginners beekeeping class, and you find someone that can mentor you. If you haven’t done so already, join a bee club. Most are not expensive and some have reduced rates for seniors or students. Not only will you get exposed to a lot of information, but there should be some people in the club that would be willing to give you guidance as you get started. Many clubs put on beginner classes and some clubs even have a mentoring program that you can get involved in. Mentors can be a great asset when you are getting started, just don’t expect a mentor to be free labor and to do everything for you. The job of the mentor is to be a guide as YOU learn how to keep bees. Be respectful of the time they are taking out of their schedule to assist you and pay attention so you don’t have to ask them the same thing repeatedly. We (OK, my wife says I should say “I”) tend to jump into things with both feet, learning from our mistakes along the way. Some mistakes in beekeeping are minor, others are costly both in bees and/or money. We have made both kinds so far. We have had a mentor since shortly after we started keeping bees, although our relationship with our mentor may be different than other people and their mentors. We don’t happen to keep bees exactly the same way that our mentor does and that is OK (some mentors may have a different opinion, imagine that). We mainly get with him once or twice a year to have him look over our shoulder and let us know if he sees anything we are missing. He may suggest a different process, or another way to do something that he feels is better or more efficient. But otherwise he lets us learn how we want to keep bees. We talk over problems that have come up, or things we’ve observed that we don’t have an answer for. It usually results in more than one option for responding to the issue, and then we decide how to react. It’s good to have someone to bounce things off of in your early years (or anytime for that matter) or that you could call in a pinch for a second opinion. Depending on your experience level, you may need more attention early in your beekeeper life. Talk it over with your mentor and work out what you think you need from them, and they can tell you what they can offer you. They may suggest something (some particular reading, a specific class, etc.) other then them standing by your side. They can’t be there all the time. There will come a point when you just need to do it! When we got our first two packages, we had never been involved with installing a package of bees. Not our own or anyone else’s. We read about it, watched Youtubes, and talked through it multiple times. How hard could this be? It seems intimidating when you haven’t done it before, but guess what? We lived through it and so did the bees. Our first package install probably had more bees in the air than should have been, but we got it done. The second package went better and when we got around to installing our third and fourth packages it was old hat by then. We didn’t even have to think too hard about it, we just did it.

We will usually share our experiences from any classes we take or meetings we attend, and let you know of any good info we receive or presenters we find beneficial.

Please check back frequently and see what new odyssey we have started on. We will post as often as we have anything new or worth while to put on. Thanks for taking a look!