Books by Kim Flottum

With Common Sense Natural Beekeeping, learn to keep bees sustainably with limited chemicalor human intervention.Today's bees face unprecedented challenges. Chemical treatments for pests like the ubiquitous and deadlyvarroa mitehave become standard even as resistance to such treatments grows and evidence suggests the chemical treatments themselves are contributing to the widely discussedColony Collapse Disorder.Common Sense Natural Beekeeping offers beekeepers a different choice. Based on expert advice from Kim Flottom, editor emeritus of Bee Culture magazine and best-selling author of The Backyard Beekeeper, this book teachesholistic, sensible alternatives to conventional apiary practices, and includes:Lessons from the way bees live in the wildManagement strategies that respect the natural intelligence of the beeHive design elements that promote colony health and resilienceCase studies highlighting successful natural beekeepers from around the worldBeekeepers today have myriad choices to make that affect their bees' healthand productivity. From housing to nutrition, including pests and diseases,Common Sense Natural Beekeepingintroduces sustainable alternatives for natural hive management.

This indispensable beekeeping referencepacked with helpful diagrams, color photos, and easy-to-follow yet thorough instructiongently guides you through setting up and caring for your first colonies. Are you an absolute beginner when it comes to keeping bees? With First Time Beekeeping, help is at hand. Featuring the sage advice of Bee Culture editor emeritus and best-selling author of The Backyard Beekeeper Kim Flottum, this is your step-by-step guide to healthy, happy, and productive hives. This complete resource features expert beginner advice for: Setting up and caring for your own coloniesSelecting the best location to place your new bee colonies for their safety and yoursThe most practical and nontoxic ways to care for your beesHarvesting the products of a beehive and collecting and using honeyBee problems and treatments By following this advice, your colony or two of honey bees can pollinate the vegetables in your garden; produce wonderful honey and other beneficial products; and help your local ecosystem thrive. What could be sweeter? Each book in the First Time series distills how-to guidance and advice from an expert on a specific topic into targeted step-by-step instruction geared toward the absolute beginner.