Newbie seeking advice -

Good day!

I am new to permaculture and learning / planning a retirement situation. I think bees should be integral to my plan for nut trees, fruit trees, berry bushes, etc. Also, honey is great.

Any recommendations on my first few questions?

1. Reading material to get started with bees?
2. How many hives per acre? (I understand what I plant on that acreage makes a difference. Just looking for a starting point.)
3. Do I want honey bees only, or is there advantage to different types?
4. Are the commercially available hive kits on Amazon a decent place to start?
5. I am looking at Zone 8. Should I berm the hives or otherwise insulate them to protect the bees during winter?

Probably seems random, but those are the things that sprang to mind. I appreciate any responses. Have a great day!

R
David

Hi David,
I don't have any experience with honey bee keeping, but I liked your comment about more than just honey bees. There are many plants that are pollinated only by other kinds of bees or are pollinated better by other kinds of bees. I would encourage you to set things up to help as many different kinds of bees on your property as you can. Both the local and solitary bees as well as honey bees.

The number of hives per acre to pollinate crops depends on the crop & how many "wild" bees are in that area. In the US the number is typically between 2 to 7. I suggest checking with your state ag extension for specific advice.

No need to berm or use other extreme measures for hives in zone 8. Many large northern beekeepers bring all their bees down south for winter. The main thing to prepare for winter in the southern US is to make sure they have enough food stored. I recommend not harvesting honey until after the winter is over. In my opinion too many people harvest too much honey too early so they have to feed sugar water to get bees through winter. That just seems wrong to me.

I suggest buying supplies from https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ &/or https://www.dadant.com/. They are both reputable, have quality products, & will correct any errors immediately.

Some good starting points for reading about bees ... https://americanbeejournal.com/category/columns/beekeeping-basics/ and https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/pollinators/honey-bees. This book is excellent advice for cold climates in particular but also has a lot of good general info https://permies.com/wiki/140839/Keeping-Bees-Smile-Fedor-Lazutin.

A very experienced beekeeper name Michael Palmer has excellent videos. Overwintering in Vermont & many other subjects. I don't think he has his own YouTube Channel but many people post videos of his speeches & classes. Here is one example.  

Forgot to mention. True story. I started keeping bees because I wanted better squash pollination. Hand pollinating just wasn't feasible. So I started keeping bees. Then I realized that honeybees usually aren't interested in squash. Bumble bees seem to love them. I never stopped keeping honey bees until I moved out of state though. Moving many millions of bees out of state is a huge pain. It requires official inspections & other special precautions. So I gave several apiaries to a friend & will be starting from scratch next season.

David,
As a beekeeper, I may be a bit biased, but I think beekeeping would be an excellent addition to your retirement plan!

I will say many people think that bees will be an easy set it and forget it type thing and it used to be, in the 90's before some invasive pests moved in (Namely the Varroa Mite). So there is a bit of a learning curve but nothing you can't handle, just need to know it's there AND get the basics to get started.

The HUGE pro that bees offer is that honey has a built in market. People know its value and seek it out. This can draw people in if and when you want to sell other products also, the honey will be your gateway product

With that said, I would recommend not cutting corners on your equipment (I'm cheap so I get it) because this can lead you to having to replace the item soon after. Specifically cheap bee suits are a bad idea. What I did and many many beekeepers do is buy a cheap cotton/canvas suit then discover they are super hot and not very sting proof and replace them within about a month of having them, so money wasted.  Here is a good comparison of the different  types of bee suits.

Also, many new beekeepers buy a full suit and within a few months realize a only jacket would be nice (as it is a lot faster to put on). If money isn't an issue get both, but If you are not wanting to overspend I would suggest getting a jacket and pants combo this way you can have full protection when needed (first starting out and when bees get feisty...and bees do get feisty)  but when you are comfortable with your bees and they are happy the jacket will be all you need (along with jeans of course).  This company has a New Beekeeper combo  where they include the pants and jacket together and include a beekeeping course so you can learn what you need to get started, worth checking out.

The last piece of advice....Winter is the time to have a plan, order bees and equipment so everything is ready for spring. Lots of new beekeepers get excited in the spring to get started but struggle to get what they need, especially bees, so start now if you haven't already.

Hope this helps, beekeeping can be a deep topic, don't get overwhelmed. Learn the basics and jump in, you will learn much more along the way!