Workshop: Backyard Bee-Keeping

Did you know that you can keep bees in your backyard?  Most normal-sized yards can play host to a hive of honey bees, and the folks who tend them enjoy honey, beeswax, royal jelly, and of course, the bees themselves.  In fact, a healthy hive can produce several gallons of lovely, local honey every year. 

These pollinators can be marvelously helpful by making fruits and vegetables more productive.  Here on the farm, we keep bees not just because they help produce richer crops, but also because they are tremendously beneficial insects that are good for our neighbors and surrounding environment. 

Come learn what it takes to keep a busy, productive hive of bees happy!  Learn where to get your bees, how to set up and maintain the hive, and how to protect it from pests and disease.  This is a beginner’s course, so you won’t need to bring any special equipment or supplies. THIS CLASS IS HELD AT LOVE APPLE FARMS' nursery location: 5311 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, CA.  

ALL CLASSES ARE HELD RAIN OR SHINE AND ADVANCE REGISTRATION
 

February 12, 2023 (Sunday) 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  SOLD OUT

March 18, 2023 (Saturday) 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. $99 << Click to register (gift certificate holders register by emailing [email protected])

April 2, 2023 (Sunday) 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. $99  << Click to register (gift certificate holders register by emailing [email protected])

If we are able to open a hive during class, please be prepared: wear white or light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants. No open-toed shoes or sandals (think covering as much skin as possible). Please do not wear cologne or perfume. For more information about how to prepare for class, CLICK HERE. NOTE: WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO OPEN A HIVE DUE TO WEATHER ON ANY GIVEN DAY. BUT YOU STILL LEARN EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO START YOUR OWN HIVE.

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Please read our cancellation policy in case you are not able to attend your scheduled class. 

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If the workshop dates don’t work for you, if the class is full, or if you’d like to request that another class be added, please email us and we’ll do our best to accommodate you!

Love Apple Farms gift certificates can be used towards classes, seedlings, and merchandise.  They are available for purchase here. 

Check out other classes at Love Apple Farms by clicking here.

Comments

[web design London]

have a friend also who would like to take this class with me will you offer it again on a weekend.. I've had a hive in my yard here in Santa Cruz for the last 5 years and have really enjoyed my girlzzz. They are very easy to care for and such a wonderful addition to the whole neighborhood. I always loved the honey.

[Caryl DeHerrera]

Hi,
I just moved to the area and found the classes you offer...I have a friend also who would like to take this class with me will you offer it again on a weekend? Looks amazing!
Thank you...

[Damara]

Looking forward to signing up for one of your bee keeping classes.

“Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt a marvellous error;
That I had a beehive here inside my heart.
And the golden bees were making white combs
And sweet honey from my past mistakes.

-Antonio Machado
(Spanish Poet 1875 –1939 Ed)

[Janice Taylor]

I miss keeping bees. It was one of our first "date" days before I married my husband. Now with two kids and a townhome and nowhere to keep bees, I miss the whole scene! Just watching them in action is so fascinating! Hopefully we will get some more space and involve our kids in the process and bring it back into our daily life.

[Meghan Ritchie]

Bees are awesome! I look forward to the time when I'll be able to keep a hive of my own.

[Purnima Sreenivasan]

Bees are busy, intelligent, social, and most of all - productive!!
They are sweet, humming with music and active.
Qualities that are needed in our future generation of mankind.
Happy Beekeeping and honey harvesting.

[Sue Bateman]

Keeping bees is quite a project and it is rewarding work. I like to bake with honey substituting honey in place of sugar or other sweeteners.

[Kim]

I heard honey made locally provides allergy protection from the plants and pollens in the area...if that is the case, you can count me in for the next class.

[Dana Brown]

Bees are truly so amazing. So small, yet, always so busy. Eating honey is a reminder of all the hard work these insects do every day!

[Caity Johnson]

Bees are such amazing creatures, plus their honey is a fabulous natural sweetener and has many fabulous medicinal uses!

[Rose Kahn]

Loved the bee keeping class today! Very informative. Getting to handle a bee-busy frame was awesome. Looking forward to having my own bees in the future. Your new farm is beautiful!

[Love Apple Farm]

Susan: To me, the difference between a gardener and a farmer is that the latter raises and sells edible living things, be they corn or chickens. That's my own definition, and probably not completely all-encompassing.

To keep your garden warmer in your foggy climate, you could try building a simple three-sided enclosure of 2 x 2 lumber and clear plastic on all but the southern exposure. Make it touch the ground and go up to about five feet. I don't think the white fabric can hurt. Go ahead and give it a try. Let me know how it works out for you. Good luck!

[Susan Wade]

Do you think of yourself as a Gardener, or a Farmer? And to you, what is the difference? When I saw you on Martha (which was fabulous by the way; I too respect her for the trail she blazed and the great ideas over the years.)When she referred to you as a Farmer, looked like there was more you wanted to say on that.
BTW, our tomatoes (from your farm) are very happy, even through the recent cold and rain... so far so good. We have mostly coastal plants since we're in Soquel not far from New Brighten Beach... that fog does roll. We're going to try a blanket of white fabric under each plant this year, to see if reflecting light might help the fruit ripen. Fog burning off late and rolling in early makes our growing days too short for most tomatoes to do well. What do you think of that idea? Got any others we might try?
Thanks, love your site.

[martin isenburg]

Hello Cynthia.

Great that you are doing this. I consider adding a bee hive to my "urban farm". I read a lot about top-bar hives and how they are simpler for backyard beekeepers. Is this course mainly about top-bar hives?

Martin

[Beekeeping Cape Town]

Fantastic article. Thank you for the information!

[Fran Wincek]

Hello, Cynthia!! So glad you're doing a bee class!! I've had a hive in my yard here in Santa Cruz for the last 5 years and have really enjoyed my girlzzz. They are very easy to care for and such a wonderful addition to the whole neighborhood. They make everything growing so better; my apples, nectarines, lemons, oranges and blackberries are HUGE and plentiful. They are not aggressive and I sit right next to my hive and watch them come and go. If anyone would like to visit and have a look, write me at [email protected].
Fran Wincek

[Caroline Coykendall]

I love your website and my sister lives in Ben Lomond. I sure am curious about how to keep bees and I am signing up for your class.

[Jeph Remley]

Folks in your area are so lucky to have you guys, with all these workshops/classes you offer.

I'd love to have a beehive, but wonder if you ever find people who have neighbors who don't appreciate a hive so close to their homes, children, pets, etc? That's my biggest concern with living in a housing development.

[Mr. Gardening Gifts]

I grew up in a family that gardened and we had friends that had bees and I always loved the honey...so thanx for the info on your blog I will be looking into bees because of your post I never new it could be fairly easy

[Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener]

We have two bee hives here in Virginia: we should be harvesting our first honey in a few weeks (just about to start year 2). It's great that you are teaching this class to demystify bee-keeping and to introduce people to the absolutely fascinating bees.

(any advice for low tech/low cost honey extractor?)

[Matron]

I learned to keep bees when I was about 8yrs old and my Father kept a hive on our allotment. It is also a dying art among the population as well as the scare stories about bees disappearing. Bless you for anything you are doing to encourage people to keep bees.