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The Practical Beekeeper: Beekeeping Naturally
This book is about how to keep bees in a natural and practical system where they do not require treatments for pests and diseases and only minimal interventions. It is also about simple practical beekeeping. It is about reducing your work. It is not a main-stream beekeeping book. Many of the concepts are contrary to "conventional" beekeeping. The techniques presented here are streamlined through decades of experimentation, adjustments and simplification. The content was written and then refined from responding to questions on bee forums over the years so it is tailored to the questions that beekeepers, new and experienced, have. It is divided into three volumes and this edition contains all Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced.
670 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 6, 2012
The Practical Beekeeper gets five stars for content, but three stars for format, so I settled on four. Let me complain first:
* The book has no index. Even though it's over 600 pages long, lack of an index wouldn't be so much of a problem if the tome wasn't split up into three books, with the same information presented in different levels of intricacy in all three sections. Meanwhile, the table of contents is *too* in depth. So, to find information a certain topic, I have to read the forty page table of contents, and then flip to three different parts of the book. I think I'll probably be making a quick index for myself on the inside of the back cover.
* The book is too long. I'm not saying I would have left out any of the information (well, not much of it), but I would have reduced the font to a more normal print size and at least cut out the sections where paragraphs were repeated, word for word, in different sections.
* The book meanders a lot. I understand wanting to have a "beginner" section at the beginning of the book, but I think that The Practical Beekeeper needs to embrace what it really is --- an in depth guide for the intermediate to advanced beekeeper. If all of the information on foundationless frames, for example, were in the same part of the book, it would be much, much easier to read.
Complaints aside, the book was well worth the price tag. I've been perusing Michael Bush's website for years, and am thrilled to have all of the information in book form so that I can peruse it at my leisure. His book begins where most beekeeping books stop, answering all of the questions you come up with after raising bees for a year or two. Meanwhile, Bush proves that you really can raise bees without chemicals! Although less polished, The Practical Beekeeper is a better choice than Natural Beekeeping for those of us wanting to raise bees as naturally as possible.
* The book has no index. Even though it's over 600 pages long, lack of an index wouldn't be so much of a problem if the tome wasn't split up into three books, with the same information presented in different levels of intricacy in all three sections. Meanwhile, the table of contents is *too* in depth. So, to find information a certain topic, I have to read the forty page table of contents, and then flip to three different parts of the book. I think I'll probably be making a quick index for myself on the inside of the back cover.
* The book is too long. I'm not saying I would have left out any of the information (well, not much of it), but I would have reduced the font to a more normal print size and at least cut out the sections where paragraphs were repeated, word for word, in different sections.
* The book meanders a lot. I understand wanting to have a "beginner" section at the beginning of the book, but I think that The Practical Beekeeper needs to embrace what it really is --- an in depth guide for the intermediate to advanced beekeeper. If all of the information on foundationless frames, for example, were in the same part of the book, it would be much, much easier to read.
Complaints aside, the book was well worth the price tag. I've been perusing Michael Bush's website for years, and am thrilled to have all of the information in book form so that I can peruse it at my leisure. His book begins where most beekeeping books stop, answering all of the questions you come up with after raising bees for a year or two. Meanwhile, Bush proves that you really can raise bees without chemicals! Although less polished, The Practical Beekeeper is a better choice than Natural Beekeeping for those of us wanting to raise bees as naturally as possible.
October 29, 2019
Very informative book... But yeah, you will only find it interesting if you have interest in beekeeping.
January 30, 2016
This is a good book for learning some basic information from one long term beekeeper's perspective. I really like his ideas on natural beekeeping. Definitely worth the read.
August 5, 2023
The well articulated minority opinion of beekeeping.
February 15, 2021
I took a slow start on this one, but once I got over halfway in, I motored right through to the end. A beekeeping friend bought this for me to add to my arsenal of bee books. I like most of what Michael Bush has to say about keeping bees and plan to try to implement what I’m not doing already in the coming months & years. Recommended for the open minded beekeeper that is not set in their ways too much.
August 25, 2017
Excellent resource for keeping bees naturally.
September 22, 2020
Michael Bush knows Bee's. This is a good book to keep around if you have bees or have an interest in them. Great resource.
March 3, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book on alternative beekeeping, can't wait to try out the methods described here. I suppose I can only judge its wisdom, truly, after implementing Mr Bush's advice and comparing my experience with what he's describing - still, it makes a very convincing case, and since it was recommended to me by the lovely, and knowledgeable, Brenna Major I don't think I'll be disappointed...
The one missing star is for structural reasons alone, because it's not at all easy to navigate due to the fact that this is a compilation of various original texts that would have benefitted from some editing, quite a bit.
The one missing star is for structural reasons alone, because it's not at all easy to navigate due to the fact that this is a compilation of various original texts that would have benefitted from some editing, quite a bit.
March 20, 2013
Based on his popular website: www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm, Michael Bush examines modern beekeeping and looks at natural choices for managing bees. As a new beekeeper, I have found his posts interesting and it's good to get the hardcopy in one place for the overall picture. Of course, he is known for his advocacy and explanations of small cell size beekeeping and says with these methods it's possible to deal with one of the major problems of modern beekeeping--varroa mites, and keep in mind other illnesses that bees are more subject to when weakened by varroa mites. It also should be noted that his observations are particularly applicable to conditions in Nebraska,U.S.A. Beekeeping, like farming, is necessarily different depending on location. I give this book only 4 stars, because there are small issues of formatting that are perhaps due to it being published by a small unknown publisher. The typeface is too large for my taste, more on the style of a large print book. I would prefer an index to the extensive table of contents.
September 3, 2014
I had read most of his stuff on his website already, so I was familiar with his basic premises. A lot of the info wasn't directly applicable to me as it focused mostly on Langstroth hives and I have a top-bar one, but it was interesting nonetheless. I skimmed a lot of the more advanced stuff like rearing queens. Mostly he advocates for natural cell size (not using foundation), which is what happens naturally in a TBH anyway, no treatments, introducing feral bees' genetics into your queen rearing or bee yard, and using damp granulated sugar as a last-resort feeding method (vs. sugar syrup). It contains an excellent glossary. There was quite a bit of repetition and copy errors, so that was a little frustrating, and the pictures were poor quality with the captions in wrong spots, etc., so it was hard to see some of the details he was talking about. Better editing would have helped those flaws immensely. Good info overall, glad I read it, I feel more confident as I wind up my first year of beekeeping.
October 9, 2012
The author gives a detailed, matter of fact overview of beekeeping based on his many years of beekeeping experience. When he began keeping bees, he used the commercially available treatments for bee pests that are recommended to help alleive issues with varroa mites, nosema, tracheal mites etc. However, he found that he still lost hives and looked for another answer. He describes how chemical treatments upset the balance of the hive by killing beneficial bacteria, setting up an environment that is more favorable to many of the nuisance organisms that invade the hive, and end up causing long term problems. In addition, he details how the conventional treatments are used, in case the reader decides to pursue that route with their own apiaries.
Bush also filled this book with practical tips for feeding bees, constructing bee hives and accessories to bee hives, keeping the hive parts to a physically manageable weight, and general bee husbandry. Very informative.
Bush also filled this book with practical tips for feeding bees, constructing bee hives and accessories to bee hives, keeping the hive parts to a physically manageable weight, and general bee husbandry. Very informative.
October 26, 2016
This is a reference book. I vastly prefer a printed tome to searching an Internet forum. Michael Bush has the same beekeeping philosophy that I do. It's a pretty bee-centric approach. I was fortunate enough to have him come out to my farm and do some hive maintenance with me. The book is quite literally like having him stand next to you, answering your questions. He is a calm, considerate, quietly opinionated and highly experienced beekeeper.
As he will readily tell you, everything in his book is available on the web. For me that has never been a reason not to purchase a printed book.
Beekeeping is, like other agricultural exploits, not something that can be learned from books. But this is an excellent reference manual for when you get into some kind of pickle or mystery.
As he will readily tell you, everything in his book is available on the web. For me that has never been a reason not to purchase a printed book.
Beekeeping is, like other agricultural exploits, not something that can be learned from books. But this is an excellent reference manual for when you get into some kind of pickle or mystery.
February 19, 2016
Clear, top level view of various approaches to beekeeping. Easy to read and large print. More information is available on Michael Bush's website. Mr. Bush has a broad intellect and is a keen historian on Apiculture. Very highly recommended as a good book with which to start.
February 24, 2012
A great beekeeping book. Definitely a different approach than other writers/beekeepers out there, and worth a read. Enjoyed the different perspective.
January 30, 2013
A book someone looking into beekeeping should own. My only problem with it is how the book is layed out. Can be a bit hard to find things, but the content is excellant!
January 29, 2014
Truly, it is a wonderful reference book I have come to rely on.
March 12, 2015
I have a lot of respect for Michael Bush, and I'm glad that this was the first book I read on my road to being a newbee beekeeper. If you are interested in beekeeping I highly recommend this book!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews