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BEEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS . . .

• BEFORE YOU SPEND A SINGLE PENNY: Join the local Beekeepers Association (bbka.org.uk) and enrol in an introductory course for beginners. Get a mentor and take their advice.

• APPROXIMATE COSTS: £500 for a hive and clothing; £180 for a five-frame nucleus of bees; £150 for a honey extractor. Try bbwear.co.uk

• TIME COMMITMENT: One hour per hive per week (approximately) in summer months (the usual honey harvest time is August); then 15 minutes a month in late autumn and winter.

• A CHEAPER AND LESS TIME

CONSUMING ALTERNATIVE:

Support local bees by planting flowers and plants in your garden, allotment or window box. Bees love lavender, ivy and wallflowers. Or buy honey from local beekeepers to support them.

• POTENTIAL HARVEST: There are strict regulations on labelling and selling honey, so make sure to refer to the BBKA. But a good hive can produce more than 40 lb of honey to jar, so you could recoup the cost of setting up within a few years.

But your bees might get ill, die, or some might swarm and leave, reducing your stock. Beekeeping and selling honey is not a predictable endeavour.

INSPIRE

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2021-07-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

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