Beekeeping – A Honey of a Hobby
Each winter AABA offers a beginning beekeeping course for anyone interested in learning the basics of beekeeping. Registration for the course is now open. Registration will close when the class is full or on January 5th, 2022. Register as early as possible as the class usually fills to capacity.
The course consists of seven (7) sessions and covers the following material:
- Introduction to Beekeeping
- Equipment
- Honey Bee Biology
- Spring / Summer Management
- Fall / Winter Management
- Maintaining Healthy Bees
- Nectar Sources
- Honey Extraction
- Products of the Hive
In the final class, students will be shown how to install bees. Many students order bees during the class and start their first hives after completing the course. By that time, even those completely new to beekeeping will have the knowledge and the connections to start their own apiary.
Read MoreJoin us at the AABA meeting on Tuesday July 20 Join us to learn about Mission Beelieve, followed by how to prepare a winning honey show entry.
The honey show season is up on us. Learn tips and tricks on how to prepare wining honey show entries. Our state fair is open this year, so are various county fairs. Also the MSBA honey show is ON for this year. Win some prize money.
6:30 President Ryan Smith moderates Open Questions and Answers, a discussion of what we are seeing in our hives
7:00 Tristan Bannon and Monica Schmitt-Rutledge: Mission Beelieve
Celebrating their first year in operation, Mission Beelieve is using beekeeping to help first responders and veterans. Learn more about their organization and how you can help
7:30 Monica Schmitt-Rutledge: How to have winning Honey Show Entries
Monica Schmitt co-founder and director of Mission Beelieve is also the vice president of the Carroll County Beekeepers Association. She competed in the Extracted Honey Division (280 total entries) in the EAS Honey Show and won the Best in Show Silver Plate for her locust honey. Monica will offer guidance on how to prepare your honey show entries for success
Read More Our next AABA meeting will be held on May 18th.
6:30 Q&A moderated by President Ryan Smith. This is an opportunity to ask your questions, and get inputs from fellow club members
7:00 Lessons learned from the MCBA Training Apiary, Maureen Jais-Mick
Maureen Jais-Mick, Manager of the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association Bee Yard, will speak on
“Lessons from the MCBA Training Apiary,” including the yard’s purposes, apiary beekeeping philosophy,
legal requirements, bee yard rules, and day-to-day management.
7:30 Beekeeping in Europe, Allan Storm
Storm will provide a discussion about beekeeping in Europe. By late Middle Ages, beekeeping was well
established in Europe due to the demands for wax and candles by the church. Almost every region had
its traditional form of housing for bees. Some had hinged doors or open backs that could be covered until
time to remove honey. He will also talk about some of the European regulations and how they manage
the threats of honey bee health, hive management, and honey quality control.