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First Time Beekeeping: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping - A Step-by-Step Manual to Getting Started with Bees
This indispensable beekeeping reference—packed with helpful diagrams, color photos, and easy-to-follow yet thorough instruction—gently guides you through setting up and caring for your first colonies.
Are you an absolute beginner when it comes to keeping bees? With First Time Beekeeping , help is at hand. Featuring the sage advice of Bee Culture editor emeritus and best-selling author of The Backyard Beekeeper Kim Flottum, this is your step-by-step guide to healthy, happy, and productive hives .
This complete resource features expert beginner advice
By following this advice, your colony or two of honey bees can pollinate the vegetables in your garden ; produce wonderful honey and other beneficial products; and help your local ecosystem thrive . What could be sweeter?
Each book in the First Time series distills how-to guidance and advice from an expert on a specific topic into targeted step-by-step instruction geared toward the absolute beginner.
Are you an absolute beginner when it comes to keeping bees? With First Time Beekeeping , help is at hand. Featuring the sage advice of Bee Culture editor emeritus and best-selling author of The Backyard Beekeeper Kim Flottum, this is your step-by-step guide to healthy, happy, and productive hives .
This complete resource features expert beginner advice
By following this advice, your colony or two of honey bees can pollinate the vegetables in your garden ; produce wonderful honey and other beneficial products; and help your local ecosystem thrive . What could be sweeter?
Each book in the First Time series distills how-to guidance and advice from an expert on a specific topic into targeted step-by-step instruction geared toward the absolute beginner.
128 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 2020
13 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 22, 2020
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
First Time Beekeeping is a reformat and re-release tutorial instruction guide for the people who want to get started with bees. Originally published in unabridged form in 2010, this edition is due out 11th Aug 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint. It's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.
This is a compact, well written, accessible guide to sourcing, choosing, and succeeding with beekeeping as a hobby. This guide presupposes no prior experience and covers all the basics including equipment, siting, getting started, and bees themselves. For a short(ish) book, it's quite comprehensive and will definitely provide enough good factual information to help new keepers avoid the most common mistakes. Sidebars throughout highlight important information keeping it easier to find. The photography throughout is clear and easy to follow. There's a good chapter on how-to perform the tasks necessary to keep bees healthy and (hopefully) happy and includes troubleshooting information on controlling diseases, inspections, and fall/winter management of the hives.
The book also includes a resource links list as well as a cross referenced index.
This would make a good selection for the smallholder's library or for anyone information-gathering before making the commitment to start beekeeping. I've been keeping bees off and on for 50+ years (I learned at my grandfather's side), and I still *strongly* recommend getting a mentor and finding like minded beekeepers to get off to a good start, but this book will definitely fill a gap and provide enough information to at least get started with beekeeping.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
First Time Beekeeping is a reformat and re-release tutorial instruction guide for the people who want to get started with bees. Originally published in unabridged form in 2010, this edition is due out 11th Aug 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint. It's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.
This is a compact, well written, accessible guide to sourcing, choosing, and succeeding with beekeeping as a hobby. This guide presupposes no prior experience and covers all the basics including equipment, siting, getting started, and bees themselves. For a short(ish) book, it's quite comprehensive and will definitely provide enough good factual information to help new keepers avoid the most common mistakes. Sidebars throughout highlight important information keeping it easier to find. The photography throughout is clear and easy to follow. There's a good chapter on how-to perform the tasks necessary to keep bees healthy and (hopefully) happy and includes troubleshooting information on controlling diseases, inspections, and fall/winter management of the hives.
The book also includes a resource links list as well as a cross referenced index.
This would make a good selection for the smallholder's library or for anyone information-gathering before making the commitment to start beekeeping. I've been keeping bees off and on for 50+ years (I learned at my grandfather's side), and I still *strongly* recommend getting a mentor and finding like minded beekeepers to get off to a good start, but this book will definitely fill a gap and provide enough information to at least get started with beekeeping.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
July 30, 2020
I just love beginner books and this one was no different! I’ve been reading about beekeeping lately and I’m interested in keeping bee’s solely for pollinating my garden and helping the environment. However this book delves into the care and housing a bee hive more intimately than my needs. Still it’s a very resourceful book.
What did I like? The pictures of sticking your hands into the beehive gloveless made me cringe. Wow, I envy your bravery. My interest in beekeeping are slight versus the author. So many unanswered questions.. my reality though is to find the nearest beekeeper with some knowledge and just go look. I don’t care how much you read, every farmers market has someone selling honey that’s local and seeing is what’s going to sell it to me.
Would I buy or recommend? Very good book with some great info but this could be quite dangerous if you’ve never been stung. This book delves a bit more into the hive and care of it than others that I have read which makes it a good buy. If your really serious though I’d encourage going to see one live and in person. I just don’t think that just a book will cover everything, and the author encourages joining a bee group locally.
I received a copy to read and offer an opinion. Four stars!
What did I like? The pictures of sticking your hands into the beehive gloveless made me cringe. Wow, I envy your bravery. My interest in beekeeping are slight versus the author. So many unanswered questions.. my reality though is to find the nearest beekeeper with some knowledge and just go look. I don’t care how much you read, every farmers market has someone selling honey that’s local and seeing is what’s going to sell it to me.
Would I buy or recommend? Very good book with some great info but this could be quite dangerous if you’ve never been stung. This book delves a bit more into the hive and care of it than others that I have read which makes it a good buy. If your really serious though I’d encourage going to see one live and in person. I just don’t think that just a book will cover everything, and the author encourages joining a bee group locally.
I received a copy to read and offer an opinion. Four stars!
May 26, 2022
As someone fascinated by beekeeping, I admit that I was blown away by this book. It is filled with excellent information and helps anyone curious about keeping bees learn about the process. I love the information and beautiful pictures that go along with the detailed instructions, making it possible for just about anyone to have a hive. I also think it is fascinating how they discuss having a colony no matter your situation, even discussing having one that looks like outdoor furniture for those living in a suburban setting. As someone who was always overwhelmed by the thought, it makes me want to have a colony once we have purchased our new home and have a little more land for everything we desire. Overall, I recommend First Time Beekeeping to anyone on the fence about keeping bees.
December 9, 2020
Are you thinking about trying beekeeping? Are you completely new to the beekeeping world? This is the book for you! The author, an expert beekeeper, has written a detailed and easy to understand reference that includes tons of full-color illustrations and photographs. From selecting a location for you hives and setting up your new colony to caring for your been and harvesting honey .... this book has it all.
I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
July 26, 2020
This is a great book for anyone new to beekeeping or interested in learning what it entails. Well written and full of tips to get you well on your way to being a beekeeper. It flows well and is packed with beautiful photos to illustrate everything from queen identification to disease and pests. Kim Flottum is a legend in his field.
December 1, 2023
3.5 Stars, very informative book, for people getting into the hobby, or just showing interest. Only main complaint is the price tag, $20 USD before tax. I'm not sure if this book is worth that for 120 pages, and only paperback, a bit flimsy like a magazine almost. But, overall full of good information.
August 18, 2020
*received for free from netgalley for honest review* My husbands family had bees for years and when I saw this book I wanted to read it to learn a few things, seems like a really good, practical, easy to follow book for bee keeping!
September 1, 2020
This book was very interesting and informative - the pictures were especially helpful since I am still trying to learn the names of some of the different parts of the hive, tools, etc. This truly is a beginner's step-by-step guide to the keeping of bees.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews