Plan Bee - Problem Solving for Beekeepers

Attendees are invited to submit questions in advance and we will discuss them on the day.

At FarmED our philosophy is to work with our bees to make their lives as stress-free, healthy and productive as possible. We want to give them all they need to flourish and in return they not only give us large quantities of honey, but offer an opportunity to learn about their fascinating lives.

Topics will include:

• The art of observation – how to understand what’s going on inside your colonies with minimum disturbance to the bees
• Keeping things simple
• Producing delicious honey for sale – from nectar to market
• Building a honey crop
• Extracting and bottling your honey
• ‘Difficult’ honeys - oilseed rape, phacelia or ivy
• Runny, set and comb honey 
• Labelling ideas and regulations
• Why bees die in winter and how to prepare colonies in the autumn to minimise winter losses
• Evaluating your hive site
• Spring management
• Why bees swarm and what to do
• How to look after brood and honey combs, and when to replace them
• Why, when, what and how to feed your bees
• Pests and predators – mice, wasps, varroa, brood disease, and the Asian or yellow-legged hornet

There will be plenty of time for questions and more general discussion.

Weather permitting, the day will include inspections of FarmED bee colonies. Please bring a bee suit if you have one. If not, we have plenty of spares.

For any questions you’d like to submit to be discussed on the day, please send to alex@farm-ed.co.uk

The course fee includes tea and coffee in the morning and afternoon breaks, as well as a delicious lunch in the FarmED Cafe.

About the speaker

Course tutor Tony Yarrow has been keeping bees for over fifty years and is keen to help each attendee along the path to becoming a competent, confident beekeeper. Your questions are encouraged and we’ll do our very best to answer them!

Arrival & timings information

Please arrive at 9:45. A farm to fork lunch will be served at 13:00. The course will be expected to finish at 16:00.

Tiered Pricing

Delivery of our mission is a collective effort and our values embrace inclusivity and diversity. We don’t want price to be a barrier to anyone visiting FarmED or attending our events. Read more about our tiered pricing policy here.

If cost is a barrier to you attending, then please do ask us for financial support. The FarmED Bursary offers free or subsidised places to those that will benefit most.

Cancellation Policy

We understand that there may be times where you need to cancel your booking. Our cancellation policy is outlined here.

We like to take photos and occasionally videos of our events to use on our website and social media, please let us know if you do not want to be photographed.