Free beginner's guide · PDF
How a hive works, how to get your first bees, and what your first year looks like. Read it in one sitting, keep it for the season.
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What's inside
Beekeeping has its own language. The guide explains it plainly, so the first time you open a hive you know what you're looking at.
Cedar and Stuart Anderson invented the Flow Hive in their family shed. Cedar still answers beekeeping questions live every week.
The queen, workers and drones, and what each one does.
Brood box, super, queen excluder and frames, labelled and explained.
Sun, shelter, flight paths and checking your local rules.
Packages, nucs, splits and swarms, and when to order.
What to wear, how to approach the hive and what to do if you're stung.
When a hive is ready and how much to leave for the bees.
Your first year
It's spring, the season most new colonies are started.
Read the guide and get comfortable with how a colony lives.
Pick a spot in the garden and put your hive together.
Order a package or nuc, or collect a swarm with a local club.
Once the colony is strong, turn the Flow key and fill your jar.
Why people start
Fruit trees, vegetables and flowers all do better with a colony working the garden every day.
Citrus blossom in one season, lavender in the next. Raw, unfiltered and from your own yard.
Flow Frames let honey run straight into a jar, with the bees left on the comb.
I had no idea bees were going to provide as much food through pollination as they have. I wish I had done this 10 years earlier.
Joh Griggs · Better Homes and Gardens
Questions
Bees rarely move into an empty box on their own. Most people buy a package or nuc from a local supplier, take a split from another beekeeper, or catch a swarm. The guide covers each option, and this article goes deeper.
Usually, yes. You need room to reach the back of the hive and a clear flight path in front of it. Check your local council or city rules first. Tips on where to put a hive.
A hive inspection takes around 20 to 30 minutes, a couple of times a month in the warmer months, and much less in winter.
Plenty of families keep bees together. A good suit and a calm approach go a long way, though every beekeeper gets stung eventually. Read our beekeeping safety guide before you start.
Free PDF
Keep your own bees and taste honey from your own garden.
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