They include Natural Beekeeping books,
Recommend suppliers of ready built TB Hives if you don't want to build your own.
Top bar hive plans if you do and beekeeping in general
Once you have read my ebook Natural Beekeeping I would strongly recommend purchasing the Barefoot Beekeeper by P J Chandler.
The Barefoot Beekeeper is a revolutionary book about 'sustainable', chemical-free beekeeping, showing how it can be simplified and made accessible to all, including people with disabilities, as with this method there is no heavy lifting involved.
The author strips away all unnecessary complication and confusion, demonstrating that 'modern' beekeeping methods are largely to blame for the poor state of health of the honeybee and that the commercialization of beekeeping marked the start of the disease and parasite problems that honeybees have been trying to deal with ever since.
The author advocates small-scale, sustainable beekeeping, with minimal disturbance to the bees and more time spent observing and learning from them. This book shows how you can make everything you need to keep bees yourself, using recycled materials and simple tools: you do not need to buy any additional equipment at all, nor do you need synthetic medications or other chemicals.
This is the companion volume to 'How To Build a Top Bar Hive', which is available as a free, downloadable supplement to The Barefoot Beekeeper.
Barefoot Beekeeper discusses sustainable beekeeping using Top Bar Beehives in depth and is over 111 pages of useful information.
It can be read through or picked up as a reference book as and when required I highly recommend that you buy this book if nothing else!
It is available in ebook format for instant download: Click Here!
Ready Made Horizontal Top Bar Hives
If you don't want to build your own hive or you feel your DIY capabilities are a little 'lacking' then all is not lost. You can purchase a Horizontal top bar hive built and ready to go.
I recommend the Back Yard Hive ready made horizontal bee hive
You can purchase a couple of versions of their excellent hive from them complete will all the bars specially machined with comb guides. Their hives also come with an observation window so you can check on your bees without disturbing them. They sell many other items for the natural beekeeper including a useful DVD on keeping bees the natural way.
Their website is packed full of information for experienced and beginner alike and I highly recommend a visit.
Click Here to visit their website
Free Record Keeping System
One thing you should always do whether you are a natural beekeeper or a conventional one is keep records.
Even if you have a fully hands off approach it would be useful to note down what is happening at the hive entrance whenever you visit your hives.
You can of course keep records using a simple spreadsheet on your computer or even using an old fashioned card system, a card or file for each hive.
There is an alternative called Beetight which is a free (for your first six hives) online bee hive tracking and record keeping system.
I use this system myself and I have found it to be the best way to manage my hives and track them online. Using this system you don’t have to bother with the old notebooks and spreadsheets!
All hive types are supported, including Langstroth, WBC, Beehaus, National, and from our point of view most importantly Warre and Top bar hives.
Easy inspection records
• Easily record details of inspections and manipulations
• Record treatments and feeding
• Track colony temperament
• Record honey harvests, including records of nectar sources and batch codes
Apiaries
• See all apiaries and hives sites at a glance.
• Show locations on a map, and view current weather at each site
• Record primary forage at each site
Hive records
• View all details of a hive at a glance.
• Track colony sources and queen parentage
Smart hive labels
• Quickly identify your hives with printable labels
• Most smartphones can read the special barcodes using their built-in camera
• Pull up hive records instantly
• Unique short hives link for every hive
Click Here To Visit The Site!
If you have more than six hive then you will have to upgrade to a paid pro system but for the hobbyist with only three or four hives it would not be an issue.
Constructing A Vertical Top Bar Hive
If you decide have a go at keeping bees in a vertical top bar hive then please have a look at DIY Beehive by Nick Hampshire, who is a Warre Beekeeper and Beehive Builder
He has produced a step by step guide which takes you through building your own Warre hive from his plans.
The top bar hive plans and guide are in this instance not free but with his bonuses I think it is a worthwhile investment.
The Warre hive has one disadvantage (which for me was a killer!) It involves heavy lifting. To expand the hive and give the bees more space you put an empty box on the bottom of the stack. The bees natural instinct is to build downwards as they would do in a hollow tree. The Warre method of bee keeping works with this instinct.
(With conventional bee hives you add new sections to the top of the stack forcing the bees to expand upwards which is an un natural enforced response for them).
The disadvantage is you have to lift the whole stack to put the new box underneath. On the upside the Warre method is almost totally hands off so you more or less leave the bees to themselves.
With these instructions you will learn how to:
Choose the best materials for your beehive
Easily build your own hive parts
Quickly make either frames or top bars for your hive
Select and apply your preferred wood finish for your perfect backyard beehive
Choose a good location and install your finished beehive ready for your own honeybees!
Here's the best part. This is an all in one package...it has all the information you need to build a garden beehive in less than one afternoon!
So if you would like to consider the Warre method of beekeeping and constructing your own hive then I recommend to you the DIY Beehive
Click Here!
The World Of Beekeeping DVD Course on Coventional Beekeeping
While I advocate keeping bees as naturally as possible using top bar beehives I personally think it useful to learn how it is done using the conventional 'modern' hive.
While I personally cannot recommend some of the modern methods there is still a lot in common with the two styles of keeping bees.
Knowing about conventional beekeeping also enables you to make a more informed decision about which method you want to adopt. (And you can see for yourself what they are doing wrong!)
I would therefore recommend to you The World Of Beekeeping website (Click Here! for more information) where Ron Upshaw has produced a DVD called Basic Beekeeping. The whole video runs 90 minutes, and covers everything you need to be successful as a conventional beekeeper.
It is well presented and interesting. Being in video format you are able to see for yourself what it is like to handle bees and the old adage a picture is worth a thousand words is definitely valid here.
Below is a sample video to show you what I mean.
Basic Beekeeping DVD from Ron Upshaw Click Here! for more information
Some Conventional and Natural Beekeeping Books
Finally there are a few more books I found useful. Even thought a couple of them concentrate on conventional beekeeping they do contain some useful information on keeping bees in general. I also think it is useful to know how conventional beekeepers keep bees so you can judge for yourself what they do wrong!
You can purchase them from amazon here:
There are of course other books available. Some I have not read myself and some I have. Of the ones I have read most are pretty awful from a natural beekeeping point of view. Without exception they advocate far too much interference with the bees.
If you have read my Natural Beekeeping book you will of course know what I think of conventional beekeeping methods and too much interference!
PS If you find any other good courses or books that are useful or at least sympathetic to natural beekeeping methods then please let me know.