How many hives should I start with?

Two is a good start for most people. With two, you can compare colonies and borrow a frame from one to help the other. If you're after an ag valuation, your appraisal district sets the number.

How much time will it take?

Less than you'd think with Layens hives. Plan on an hour or two at each visit, plus a few quick looks during the busy season.

Do I need a lot of land?

No. A sunny spot with some afternoon shade, water nearby and room to work around the hives is enough. If you're inside city limits or an HOA, check their rules on bees first.

What gear will I need?

A veil, gloves, a hive tool and a smoker to start. I'll go over exactly what to get before your bees arrive.

What if I'm not in Central Texas?

Start with my free Beekeeping 101 videos, then follow along with my yards online. Both are on the Learn page.

Starter Apiary

Your own bees, with a beekeeper beside you.

I'll build your hives, set up your yard and install the bees. Then I'll come back three times a year for two years and coach you while you learn to keep them yourself.

Request a starter consult Watch Beekeeping 101 free

Or call or text (512) 298-1526. Text is fastest.

Who it's for

People who want to own their bees and equipment but find the startup intimidating, or worry about doing it wrong. Maybe you want honey for the family, more fruit on the orchard, or an ag valuation on five to twenty acres.

Nearly every new beekeeper I meet is afraid of killing their bees. That's a fair worry, and it's what the mentoring is for. You won't be figuring it out alone.

What's included

Insulated Layens hives and stands, built in my shop. As many as you want to start with.
Your yard, set up on your place. I lay it out, set the stands and install the bees in spring.
Two years of mentoring, three visits a year. Each visit lands on a big decision of the season. You open the hive, and I stand beside you and coach.
Extractor sharing at harvest, so you don't have to buy one your first years.
Seasonal videos for both years. Between our visits, watch me work my own yards through the same season you're in.
It's all yours from day one. You own the bees, the hives and everything that comes out of them.

Your three visits a year

Spring: Getting ahead of swarms. We check the queen and the brood, and make sure the colony has room to grow.
Early summer: Harvest. We decide which frames are ripe, take honey without shorting the bees, and extract it together.
Fall: Ready for winter. We check stores and queens and set the hive up for the cold.

Between visits, text me a photo of a frame whenever something looks off. I'd rather answer a quick question in May than replace a colony in October.

In a kitchen, a teenage beekeeper and two friends lean over a white uncapping tank while a woman holds a frame of honeycomb above it. — Summer 2009Extracting honey with friends.

Why I start people on Layens hives

A Layens hive is one long, insulated box of deep frames standing side by side. You lift one frame at a time instead of heavy boxes, inspections are gentler on the bees, and the insulation helps a colony ride out a Texas summer. It's the hive I keep myself.

After two years

You're the beekeeper now. Stay with me online, and I'll keep posting management lessons through every season.

If you want the ag valuation

If your place is five to twenty acres and you'd like an ag valuation, you'll be the beekeeper of record. I'll show you what records your appraisal district asks for and how to keep them. I'm not a tax advisor, and I don't file.

Rather have the valuation without doing the beekeeping? A Managed Bee Yard might suit you better.

How the investment works

A starter apiary is a one-time purchase: the hives and stands I build, the bees, the setup and two years of mentoring. You'll get exact numbers in a written, itemized quote after a short consult.

I take on a limited number of starter apiaries each spring, and they go in the order people sign.

What I won't promise

Colonies can die even with a careful beekeeper. Most first-year colonies make little or no surplus honey, so plan on your first real harvest in year two.

And you will get stung now and then. I still do.

Questions people ask me

How many hives should I start with?: Two is a good start for most people. With two, you can compare colonies and borrow a frame from one to help the other. If you're after an ag valuation, your appraisal district sets the number.
How much time will it take?: Less than you'd think with Layens hives. Plan on an hour or two at each visit, plus a few quick looks during the busy season.
Do I need a lot of land?: No. A sunny spot with some afternoon shade, water nearby and room to work around the hives is enough. If you're inside city limits or an HOA, check their rules on bees first.
What gear will I need?: A veil, gloves, a hive tool and a smoker to start. I'll go over exactly what to get before your bees arrive.
What if I'm not in Central Texas?: Start with my free Beekeeping 101 videos, then follow along with my yards online. Both are on the Learn page.

Other ways I can help

Rather have the honey without the work? I'll keep the bees for you. See Managed Bee Yards
Just getting started? Beekeeping 101 is free on YouTube. Start learning