To Bee or Not to Bee

This website has nothing to do with TV personality Paul James, The Gardener Guy of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Home Latest Articles Article Archive NYTimes Articles Garden Visits People, Places and Plants Magazine Gardening Notes and Tips Sources and Venues Local Vendors I Like About Me / Contact Me!				To Bee or Not to Bee To bee or not to bee? That's a question I have pondered for the past 20 years or so - ever since I was given a beehive kit one Christmas. I haven't rushed into beekeeping, in part, because about the time I got the kit there was an epidemic of mites. The mites, foreign invaders without natural enemies here in America, forced beekeepers to believe that they must treat their hives with highly toxic chemicals or lose their bees. Since I'm an organic gardener, the kit has remained on a shelf in the basement all these years. Recently I met beekeeper Troy Hall in Plainfield, NH, who has been successfully raising bees organically (without using chemicals). Troy's approach to raising bees seems eminently reasonable to me: he treats his bees like living creatures, not as a cogs in a machine designed to produce honey for him. He tries to stay in tune with the needs of the hive, not taking too much of their honey, especially in the fall. Here are a few of the things I learned from him: First and foremost, you don't have to use chemicals in order to raise bees and get honey. Yes, your hives will have some mites, and some of your bees will succumb to the mites each year. Still, if you follow good practices you can get 50-60 pounds of honey each year from each hive you have. That's more than enough for me. Troy explained that, yes, he does get stung sometimes, but that honeybees are not naturally aggressive (the way yellow jackets are, for example). They can sense if you are afraid, nervous or distracted - and they become more likely to sting. In the fall, when bees are storing up honey for the winter they are a little more aggressive. Now that he is comfortable with his bees he rarely wears a veil or other protection against the stings. And he has become less sensitive to stings over the 5 years he has been raising bees. According to Troy, there may be some advantages to getting stung - your immune system reacts to the stings, he said, and it may get stronger from them. There are people who use bee stings as a way to decrease the effects of arthritis and other diseases. Evidence on this is largely anecdotal - I could find nothing definitive on this issue. But statistics indicate that beekeepers live longer than the average person. Starting a hive is not cheap: Troy recommended a company called BetterBee (Betterbee or 800-632-3379) for supplies. Their Web site lists complete beginners kits for $259-290. This includes the smoker, veil, gloves and the hive itself - everything but the bees to go in it. I spoke to someone at BetterBee who recommended polystyrene hives as opposed to wooden hives, saying they have a slightly better insulating value - warmer in winter, cooler in summer. Troy uses both, and does not have a strong preference. The cost of colony of bees might cost another $120 (that is what Troy sells them for). Not only that, he recommends that backyard hobbyists start with two hives because each colony differs a little in its "personality" and behaviors. This might be a nice project for a few gardeners who want to work together raising bees. Aside from raising your own food - honey - having bees can be beneficial to your crops. Many vegetables and most fruits need bees to pollinate their blossoms in order to produce. Mike Channel of Your Farm in Fairlee, Vermont is an organic farmer who uses some of Troy™≠s bees to help with pollination. "We have benefited by having Troy's bees, especially in our zucchini and squash (family) crops. We have a greater pollination rate, and I think we have a longer season of harvest because we have bees," he said. Pooh Sprague of Edgewater Farm in Plainfield, NH also has bees and agrees that they help with the squash family crops, but notes that honeybees are fickle - they stay in the hive when it is cold and rainy - even if needed by the fruit trees. He thinks our native bees are better in bad weather. Becoming a beekeeper is not rocket science, but it takes commitment and attention to detail. Troy read much on beekeeping before he got started as a 19-year old, but says the best is to find a mentor who is willing to show you how to do it and answer your questions. Of the books, the best he found is Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture by Ross Conrad of Montpelier, VT. (Chelsea Green Press, $35 in paper). I got a copy of it, and see that it offers lots of good, practical advice. Ross Conrad's book agrees with Troy that genetics are important when establishing a successful hive here in northern New England. Both suggest buying bees locally, as bees that have proven able to survive our winters are a better bet than bees from warmer climates. Troy believes that some strains of bees can survive mite infestations better than others - natural selection over time breeds better bees. The work involved in keeping bees seems reasonable, so I think I'll start building that hive from that kit that has languished so long in my basement. Henry Homeyer is the author of 3 gardening books. His Web site is www.Gardening-Guy.com. He may reached at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or henry.homeyer@comcast.net
Last update: Monday, February 22, 2010 at 6:35:34 PM.