A beginner's complete guide to keeping bees in top bar hives, and why.

What's the buzz about the growing popularity of backyard beekeeping? Providing habitat for bees, pollinating your garden, and producing honey for your family are some of the compelling reasons for taking up this exciting hobby. But conventional beekeeping requires a significant investment and has a steep learning curve. The alternative? Consider beekeeping outside the box.

The Thinking Beekeeper is the definitive do-it-yourself guide to natural beekeeping in top bar hives. Based on the concept of understanding and working with bees' natural systems as opposed to trying to subvert them, the advantages of this approach include:

• Simplicity, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness
• Increased safety due to less heavy lifting and hive manipulation
• Chemical-free colonies and healthy hives

Top bar hives can be located anywhere bees have access to forage, and they make ideal urban hives.

Emphasizing the intimate connection between our food systems, bees, and the well-being of the planet, The Thinking Beekeeper will appeal to the new breed of beekeeper who is less focused on maximizing honey yield, and more on ensuring the viability of the bee population now and in the coming years.

Mother Earth News Books for Wiser Living Recommendation

"You'll find information you need here that's not available anywhere else. Both you and your bees will benefit from Christy's approach, advice, and philosophy." --Kim Flottum, editor, Bee Culture Magazine

"A unique and exceptional resource for the beginning beekeeper." --Marty Hardison, top bar beekeeper, educator and international developmental beekeeping consultant

Author: Christy Hemenway
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 01/01/2013
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 8.90h x 7.50w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780865717206

About the Author

Christy Hemenway is the owner and founder of Gold Star Honeybees, a complete resource for all things related to beekeeping in top bar hives. Before her conversion to bee-vangelism, she mastered such varied careers as computer systems engineering and professional alpaca herd-sitting. A chance encounter with a conventional beekeeper launched her on the road to natural, chemical-free beekeeping. A passionate advocate for bees and the pivotal role they play in our food supply, Christy is a highly sought-after speaker, helping audiences to understand the integral connection between bees, food, human health and the future of the planet.