Beginning your Beekeeping: An Intensive 2-day course

£198.00

An intensive course to get you started, explaining all about the honeybee, helping you choose your hive and equipment, how and where to set up your apiary, the bees management, and pests and diseases. Not forgetting when and how to extract that lovely honey.

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    This is an advance order, we will contact you when the hens are available for collection.

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    Available Dates

    Sat 15th and Sun 16th February 2025
    Fri 21st and Sat 22nd March 2025
    Sat 26th and Sun 27th April 2025
    Fri 9th and Sat 10th May 2025
    Sat 28th & Sun 29th June 2025
    Sat 19th and Sun 20th July 2025
    Fri 5th and Sat 6th September 2025
    Sat 11th and Sun 12th October 2025

    Programme

    Two days: 9.30am - 4.30pm
    1. The Honeybee. The bee colony, biology, and life cycle
    2. Equipment and Costs. Hive equipment, frames, wax, tools, personal protection
    3. The Apiary. Apiary layout, siting the hives, responsibilities, and safety
    4. Managing Honeybee Colonies. Inspections, swarm control, uniting and moving colonies
    5. Beekeeping health, hygiene, pests and diseases.
    6. The honey harvest
    7. Winter preparations
    8. The Importance of Plants. Requirements of honeybees and other pollinators
    9. The beekeepers year
    10. Sources of Information, help and support

    What to Expect

    An intensive but enjoyable 2 days learning all about keeping honeybees; to give you enough knowledge to set up your own beehives.

    Where the bees and the weather allow, this day will include an inspection of a hive. A bee-suit will be provided.

    What to Bring

    Please bring a packed lunch. Refreshments will be provided, including a homemade cake.
    Parking is available at the entrance to our farm and our training room is just a short walk down our track.
    Bring yourself, confirmation of your booking, a notebook and any questions you may have.
    Bring gloves (washing-up type gloves are fine) and wellies/boots for the visit to the apiary.
    Please arrive 15 mins before the start of the course for a prompt start

    Cancellation Policy:

    To ensure all attendees get the best experience from their training we only run our courses in small groups.

    We therefore must operate with a strict cancellation policy:  Refunds (or booking transfers) are not given for cancellations made within 2 weeks of the course.  If a cancellation is made with more than 2 weeks notice but within 6 weeks of the course date, then we will try to re-sell your tickets, if we are successful then a refund will be issued for the full amount less a £10 administration fee.  If a cancellation is made with more than 6 weeks notice, then a full refund will be issued.

    Click here to view our Terms & Conditions or contact us for further details.

    Jill Sales

    Tutor

    Jill has been teaching professionally for many years and helping new beekeepers enjoy this skill. She keeps several colonies of bees and is the training coordinator for Hastings and Rother Beekeeping Association. Jills kind, engaging and professional teaching style is perfect for beginners to gain a basic understanding of this complex subject.

    Mike Cullen

    Tutor

    Mike is a Master Beekeeper. He has been keeping honeybees since 1972 and these days manages multiple apiaries.  He is the ex-chairman and current President of the Hastings & Rother Beekeeping Association, a member of the BBKA examination board and an examiner for the BBKA Basic and General Husbandry examinations.

    Enquiry Form

    We are always happy to help, just complete this enquiry form to reach us. We have also gathered lots of information in our Grapevine help and advice and frequently asked questions pages.

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