Introduction to Backyard Beekeeping

This is a 3 hour online class taught in two parts:

Part 1: Sunday, January 8th, 6:30-8pm

Part 2: Sunday, January 15th, 6:30-8pm

Honeybees are a joy to keep in the backyard simply for their buzzing presence and, on hot days, the smell of honey, wafting through the air around the hive. They increase pollination in your yard and therefore increase your yields from fruit trees and vegetables. You may also harvest honey from the hive.

Learn what you need to know to feel ready to have a Langstroth backyard beehive – how to get bees, what equipment you need, where to put the hive, what the bees need, and what you need to learn/do to keep your bees healthy.

This class is tailored to urban beekeeping in the San Francisco Bay Area climate, especially the East Bay. However, if you plan to keep bees somewhere else, you will still learn a lot in this class, as most applies to urban beekeeping everywhere.

We recommend that if you do get bees, that you also take our hive inspection class and year round varroa mite management.  

Note: The time to get bees is April and May. Taking this class in January will give you lots of time to prepare for your hive, including seeing which parts of your yard gets sun in the winter months. Reserve your bees from the BioFuel Oasis Cooperative early (January/February) before they sell out!

You will get video and audio recordings of the class.

Instructor: Jennifer Radtke has been keeping bees in her backyard for 17+ years, and has developed the beekeeping education program at the BioFuel Oasis. She was vice-president of the Alameda Co Beekeeping Association for 3 years. She has a yearly bee mentorship program through her business Learn from the Bees. She's kept bees in Oakland, Berkeley, Orinda, Piedmont, El Sobrante, and Minnesota.