Staff Pick
Bees used to freak me out... then I took up gardening and discovered that bees were in fact more interested in pollinating my flowers and fruit trees than in stinging me to death. I still get a little nervous if I find one crawling on my arm, but we've reached an understanding. I'm even starting to warm up to the idea of beekeeping, which is where The Backyard Beekeeper comes in. Kim Flottum's comprehensive and novice-friendly guide demystifies this centuries-old tradition and equips readers with all the tools necessary to manage a hive (or hives) of their own using sustainable practices. It even includes suggestions for how to put all your beeswax and sweet, sweet honey to use. This book has me thinking a backyard hive might not be so far-fetched after all. Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
This book isnÆt only a guide to beekeeping or a honey cookbook; itÆs both. No other book on the market provides an in-depth review of beekeeping and what honey is good for and how to use it.
Beautifully illustrated, The Backyard Beekeeper is perfect for the health conscious person who wants to sweeten up their life by saying no to processed sugars and yes, to eating organic, natural healthy food.
This book is the complete "honey bee" resource with general information on bees, a how-to guide to the art of bee keeping and how to set up, care for and harvest your own hives, as well as tons of fun facts and projects that are bee related. The second half of the book is the complete guide to honey. It reviews the different types of honey, health effects as well as provides 100s of ideas and recipes for using honey in recipes, cosmetically in facemasks and shampoos, and for medicinal uses.
About the Author
After receiving a degree in horticulture from UW Madison, Kim Flottum worked four years in the USDA Honey Bee Research Lab, studying pollination ecology. After that, he spent two years raising acres of fruits and vegetables, where bees played a large role. He brings this experience, plus nearly 20 years of writing and editing articles for beekeepers in the monthly magazine Bee Culture. He is the publisher of books on honey bee pests and diseases, marketing, queen production, beekeeping history, beginning beekeeping, and the classic industry reference, The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture.