Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

If you choose the last option, Why  :-D



I took my Beginner's Course at Rutger's Agriculture Extension in the Spring of 2005. Since then, I have worked on building on that foundation attending several seminars, Conferences, Beekeepers meetings, lurking on Beemaster, Beesource, and MB's website. The Learning and the Changes never stop.  :-D

Hosted by my beekeeping Club. was sponsored by the state ag, and I had a mentor.

Lots of folks start without a class but it helps. If nothing else to see basic equipment, choices, etc.

Well, I had a mentor of sorts.   I don't do well in a classroom situation. I am very much a dedicated self learner. 

While  I have my formal education in computer technology, that ended my classroom style training.  If anything  I learned from school is that  I learn on my own much better.

Not to say  I don't or can't learn from others,  I do all the time, I am just better suited to learning one on one or in a small, hands on group.

I read voraciously and college training did teach me how to study and research.

I look to all you folks on these various web forums as mentors.  Even the newest of new, because it is through the new person eyes we discover and through the 'veteran's eyes we experience.  At least in my opinion.

I think constant educating of ourselves, no matter how it works best for each of us individually, is an important thing.

Big Bear

I had to vote yes from Beemaster.com due to I only read one book that came with the beginners kit. Everything else learned came from the forums, videos, and other things all the people have posted on this site.

Shawn, that's how my vote went too.   Got the kit, got beekeeping for dummies with it.   Hived my bees and realized I was lost, then found the forum and got a much needed education. 

@ Shawn & charmd2,

It looks like a trend.  No classes, mentors, or forums.  Just me, 2 colonies, &  'Beekeeping for Dummies' all standing in the backyard.  The 'Dummies' book is factual but not intuitive or in context to what a novice is seeing.  The problem, for me anyway, is that a novice doesn't know what they're seeing in the first place.  The bee club & the forum at BEEMASTER have taught me more in 3 months than I learned on my own in 15 months.  Just the ability to talk to others changes everything.

I voted 'YES, Beekeepers club' since I'll be taking the beginners class in February/March.  I'm a beginner taking a beginners class.  Right?  If I knew of the class in May of '08 when I got my bees I would have taken it then.

My hands on beginner's course was doing a cut out with only a veil and gloves and no experience... quite a learning experience...  A mentor would have been wonderful.

My beginners course was a cut out at my house where we decided to keep the bees. Had a local beek help and all bees from that hive left. I know why and I will leave it at that. I need to get that video posted. I then went to a school and removed a small hive (with no help) queen and all. I used the first experience as a model of what not to do. I also discovered Michael Bush's website and drank a gallon of his kool aide! This hive is getting bigger and this forum has helped greatly.

Not planning on taking any courses any time soon. Busy trying to feed myself!

The bees would like to thank everyone for saving them from me ;)

Billy

Thirty some years ago, I hooked my semi tractor up to a 45 foot flatbed and the owner loaded 500 plus hives on it. 1350 miles later, he unloaded them and I went back to do the same 4 more times. After a few seasons of that, I had my own bees. The rest is history.

i took a one-day course several months after i'd gotten my first package.  i continued to read various books / beeks for dummies and early this year had a local guy who didn't fight back to much, er, has somewhat adopted me (and others) as a student.

his tutelage and beemaster.com have been an immense help -thx to everyone here who participates.

hal

I took a short course at Better Bee last March. I Joined a local group about a year ago. I've learned more here following the experiences of the Beemaster mentors. There is a local beek I know of but I havn't seen him since Spring (he was having trouble with beers at the time).

I choose the last. I'm a 3rd generation beekeeper

    Club sponsored but was conducted by one of our state inspectors.  Assisted in another that was sponsored and conducted by another club I'm also a member of

I voted "by private beekeeper" , but really it was the local dadant distributor - just didn't fit into a category well. 
Glad I took the course, it was barely a beginning of things to learn, but some questions were answered and it gave me more enthusiasm.
(now if I could get those bees to read the same books I read :))

I knew a beek from the club who went to the bee school. I had more knolodge than him from reading books,forums,w watching videos, and other stuff.

Took a beginner's course a year after having bees.  Have a mentor of sorts that I could call.  But I mainly learned from reading a lot on Google searches and then asking other beeks on Beesource.  A lot of times I just used common sense (at least to me) and it turned out to be the right thing to do.  Guess I was using George Imire's advice to "Think like a bee"!

In 1976, I was managing a couple crews in a commercial plant nursery.  One of the women said that her husband had a hive of bees for sale and wanted to know if anyone was interested. 

I asked around, and found someone that wanted to buy the hive.  I agreed to get the hive.

A couple evenings later, I went to the house of the bee man.  He was a carpenter and build his own hives.  I paid $25 for a homemade hive. This was a 1-piece deep cedar hive body with a bottom nailed to it and a 3" slot cut out for a entrance.  It included a homemade inner cover and outer cover.

The beeman stuffed a bit of cotton into the opening and told me to pull it out, once the hive was in the new location.  I was a bit nervous driving home with a hive of bees on the back seat of my car. 

When I got home and called the buyer that I was ready to deliver the bees, he said that he changed his mind.

I was out $25, but I now had a hive of bees. 

My 1st veil was an onion bag.  My hive tool was a screwdriver.
I was hooked.

Quote from: BoBn on November 28, 2009, 10:11:23 AM
In 1976, I was managing a couple crews in a commercial plant nursery.  One of the women said that her husband had a hive of bees for sale and wanted to know if anyone was interested. 

I asked around, and found someone that wanted to buy the hive.  I agreed to get the hive.

a couple evenings later, I went to the house of the bee man.  He was a carpenter and build his own hives.  I paid $25 for a homemade hive. This was a 1-piece deep cedar hive body with a bottom nailed to it and a 3" slot cut out for a entrance.  It included a homemade inner cover and outer cover.

The beeman stuffed a bit of cotton into the opening and told me to pull it out, once the hive was in the new location.  I was a bit nervous driving home with a hive of bees on the back seat of my car. 

When I got home and called the buyer that I was ready to deliver the bees, he said that he changed his mind.

I was out $25, but I now had a hive of bees. 

My 1st veil was an onion bag.  My hive tool was a screwdriver.
I was hooked.

Nice Story  :-D How about a photo of you with said Onion bag and screwdriver  :evil:

                      8-)  more votes  8-)  :lol: RDY-B

Cool 71 Votes, I like to see 100  :-D

Anyways, just to clarify the Poll, the Mentor vote is a one on one scenario, 1 Experienced Beek teaching a Newbee.

My dad told me how to get them in the hive and everything else I learned was from here and skimming through a couple books.  I did take a queen rearing course but I have yet to put that to use.  That'll happen next year.  :-)

Quote from: BoBn on November 28, 2009, 10:11:23 AM

My 1st veil was an onion bag.  My hive tool was a screwdriver.
I was hooked.

That's a lie.  Everyone knows that you can't start out with less than $300.00 worth of stuff.

;)

My 'mentor' is a guy who works for our construction company in the winter months - he's an ex-con- keeping bees was the only job he could get when he was released - ever try to get a job with a felony record??  We are complete opposites - he has over 500 hives.  We are good friends.  He sold me my first hive sevaral years ago.  People call us "ms gena and the beeman".  lol - Gena