Do you know Money’s Honey? If you don’t, you should! Kristen and Joe Money are the dynamic duo of beekeeping, and their bees’ honey is incredible! As you can imagine, they get LOTS of questions about what they do. So many, in fact, that they have started classes on their farm. For more information about their products, where to buy them, and their classes, see their website: www.moneyshoney.com
The Money family supports the mission of Shaome Cooperative, so we recently asked them to share a little about their beekeeping journey, and how other people might get involved in beekeeping on their own homestead.
How did you get started in beekeeping? We did not personally grow up in the agriculture industry. Through the years we have understood the importance of being able to grow and/or harvest our own food so we can have confidence in the quality of what we consume! We have always loved honey but we were scared of the bees until one day we found an existing hive in our fixer upper home over a decade ago. Joe nervously asked the beekeeper to bring him an extra suit so he could help safetly remove them from our home. After being waist deep in bees and sticky honey, he was hooked! It took me (Kristen) a bit more time to come around but if you know Joe, his excitement is contagious! A few years later, we started our first few hives and have been thirsty for knowledge ever since!
Is it hard to keep bees? I wouldn’t say it is impossibly hard, but there is a BIG learning curve. There is a common misconception that bees are low maintenance. Honeybees are unlike any other animal in that you can feed them and give them a safe place to live, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will stay alive and give you honey. Because of diseases and pests that were introduced in the late 80s, honeybees have a very hard time surviving on their own, which is a major cause in recent declining populations. Honeybee colonies have to constantly be maintained by feeding and treating during certain times of the year. Beekeeping is very complex but it is by far the most rewarding hobby you can do!
Is it expensive? Yes. There are a bit of upfront costs that can range between $700-1,500 for the equipment and bees. Many times you can purchase used equipment, which is what we have done to keep costs as low as possible. Yes, you can sell the excess honey, but usually that doesn’t cover the cost of equipment. As with most hobbies, the benefit of having bees outweighs the cost.
How much time do you have to devote to keeping bees? The amount of time you spend inspecting them depends on how many hives you have and what time of year. The more hives you have, the more time you have to spend with them. In the springtime, you need to check them 1 to 2 times a weeks to make sure the queen has enough space to lay eggs, because she will “swarm” (leave the box) if she feels too crowded.
The colonies should also be checked once a week/biweekly in the summer and fall to make sure the hive is still healthy and free of diseases and pests. The hives also need to be inspected periodically on warmer days in the winter to make sure they are fed (if they have consumed their honey) and are healthy as well.
Do all honeybees make honey? I wish I could say YES to this! But it all depends on the health of the hive. If you had three hives in your yard and you gave them all equal care and made sure the queen is laying eggs and then set a honey box on each one in the spring time, you would expect all three hives to bring in the same amount of honey, right?
Well, imagine you go out a week later and check your hives. hive #1 has filled up the top box with honey and you are excited! You add another box on top in hopes they will fill it up in a few days. You check hive #2 and see they are bringing in some honey but not quite as fast as hive #1. You will leave it alone and check back in a few days. You look into hive #3 and you are dismayed because the honey box is empty and they haven’t made any honey. You recheck the colony and examine the queen again. You don’t see anything noticeably wrong so you close the hive to come back and check again later.
When it comes time to harvest honey, hive #1 has made 4 boxes slammed full of honey, hive #2 struggled to fill up 2 boxes, and hive #3 only brought in a small amount of honey that isn’t even worth taking from the hive so you leave it for the bees. This is the mystery of beekeeping that maybe a scientist will have an answer for one day! Until then, it is best to have more than one hive!
There are so many different opinions/options on how to keep bees. Where do I start to learn? We started by attending a local bee club and asking lots of questions! In our area, we are a member of Heart of GA Beekeepers Association that meets once a month. You can find more information about them at hogba.org.
We understand very well the overwhelming feeling that comes with wanting to learn a new skill and feeling unsure how to start, so we are now occasionally offering beekeeping classes for beginners. We designed our classes to talk about all the options and opinions that have flooded the beekeeping community and we discuss the pro and cons of each style. We share our knowledge that we have gained through the years by working alongside hobbyist and large commercial beekeepers. We are confident you will leave our class feeling well prepared and ready to start your own backyard bee colonies. If you are interested, head over to our website www.moneyshoney.com and sign up for our newsletter to be notified when another class will be offered in the fall.
These are good places to start but honestly learning is never over. I encourage you to continue to read literature and watch educational videos because you can never learn too much! We are still learning ourselves! ~ Kristen Money