If The Barefoot Beekeeper was the harbinger of the 'natural beekeeping' movement, then this is the workshop manual. Together with its companion volume - Balanced Beekeeping I: Building a Top Bar Hive - this book will lead you gently into a fascinating relationship with the most engaging of nature's workers: the honeybee. The author draws on 15 years of experience with many types of hive in the both amateur and professional beekeeping contexts. You will want this book beside you for years to come!

Top-Bar Beekeeping is an offering designed to encourage beekeepers around the world to keep bees naturally by providing beekeeping basics, hive management and the utilization of top-bar hives. In recent years, beekeepers have had to face tremendous challenges, from pests, such as varroa and tracheal mites, to the mysterious but even more devastating phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Yet in backyards and on rooftops all over the world, bees are being raised successfully, even without antibiotics, miticides, or other chemical inputs. More and more organically-minded beekeepers are now using top-bar hives, in which the shape of the interior resembles a hollow log. Long lasting and completely biodegradable, a top-bar hive made of untreated wood allows bees to build comb naturally rather than simply filling prefabricated foundation frames in a typical box hive with added supers. Top-bar hives yield slightly less honey but produce more beeswax than a typical Langstroth box hive. Regular hive inspection and the removal of old combs helps to keep bees healthier and naturally disease-free. Top-Bar Beekeeping provides complete information on hive management and other aspects of using these innovative hives. All home and hobbyist beekeepers who have the time and interest in keeping bees intensively should consider the natural, low-stress methods outlined in this book. It will also appeal to home orchardists, gardeners, and permaculture practitioners who look to bees for pollination as well as honey or beeswax.

The Barefoot Beekeeper is a book about chemical-free beekeeping, showing how it can be made accessible for all including those with disabilities. No heavy lifting is required. The author advocates small-scale, low-impact beekeeping with minimal disturbance to the bees and more time spent observing and learning from them. He shows how to make everything you need to keep bees yourself using recycled materials and simple tools.

Top bar beekeeping really is 'beekeeping for everyone' - including people with mobility problems, bad backs, or a general reluctance to lift boxes: there is no heavy lifting once your hive is in place, as honey is harvested by the comb rather than by the box. Top bar hives are good for bees, good for the beekeeper and good for the environment. In this book, I will show you how easy it can be to build your own hive from scratch, using new or reclaimed timber and a few simple tools. If you can make a decent job of putting up a shelf, you can build yourself a fully functioning hive that bees will be proud to call home. By the author of The Barefoot Beekeeper.

Presents detailed instructions on constructing housing and other equipment for beekeeping, including information on installing electric fencing, building hive stands, and making swarm-catching kits.

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

Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping provides a wealth of information for backyard beekeepers. Practical techniques are combined with an analysis of the threats posed to pollinators by climate change and industrial agriculture, rounded out by a vision of restoring bee populations through organic farming and chemical-free beekeeping.

A collection of short essays by the author of The Barefoot Beekeeper about his philosophy of natural beekeeping.

Common Sense Natural Beekeeping teaches aspiring as well as experienced beekeepers how to keep their bees healthy and productive without depending on unnatural chemical or human intervention.