Keeping bees - our new blog

Alison Benjamin

19 January 2012

If you're interested in keeping bees, look no further. Starting today I'll be bringing you a month-by-month guide to the beekeeping calendar.

Keeping bees is mainly a fair-weather pastime, but there are things that beekeepers can do all year round.

In January bees stay mostly in the hive, keeping warm and eating honey. But for the new beekeeper, there is no better time to enrol on a course.

Your local beekeeping association will probably run an introductory day, answering such questions as 'Do I have enough space?' and 'What about the neighbours?'

If, like me, you're hooked after your taster day, you can order equipment and bees ahead of the spring rush when suppliers are inundated.

A course also gives you plenty of time to read up on your new-found passion and to book the next stage - a more practical course in the spring, before your own bees arrive.

Next month: Beekeeping kit

Alison Benjamin is co founder of Urban Bees with Brian McCallum. Their latest book is "Bees in the City: The Urban Beekeepers' Handbook" (Guardian Books, £12.99). To buy a copy, visit our Shop.

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