The Thinking Beekeeper: A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives

This may sound like a funny review, but I really haven't found ONE resource that I think covers all the bases of top-bar beekeeping or that I'd recommend and rave about as the ONLY resource. Of course, I'm not sure that's possible with any subject. I started with Les Crowder's "Top-Bar Beekeeping" and I really like it. It's concise and I like the way he does the diagrams (although they can be a little hard to manage on my Kindle.) I also like this book(Thinking Beekeeper), and I think it covers some areas that Crowder may not cover in as much detail, and also give some alternative ideas and opinions. (I don't agree with her about not using smoke, but whatever works I suppose is okay.) In addition, there is a series of videos on Youtube about top-bar beekeeping that are excellent (Outofabluesky). It really helps to see HOW a person is manipulating the bars, especially if you cannot be mentored by someone for whatever reason. I had already purchased The Beekeeper's Bible when I first started thinking about beekeeping, and it's honestly what convinced me I probably couldn't manage an regular Langstroth hive. It have recipes and good, in-depth info, though. If you're thinking about top-bar beekeeping, I really think it'd be wise to invest in or watch a LOT of different resources. It seems that almost everyone has a different opinion in certain areas, and you have to find what will work for you, in your area, and with your family and time constraints.

This book definitely does tell you exactly what it says it will - how and why to set up and beginner-manage a Kenyan style top-bar hive. There are a few areas that left me scratching my head and looking futilely for more information.1. The author assumes that any beekeeper starting up a top bar hive will have an old empty brood comb lying around somewhere. No provisional instruction is given to those of us who are lone rank beginners starting with a pristine empty hive. How do we encourage OUR bees to stay without that stressed essential empty bar of comb?2. Splitting the hive to prevent swarming is mentioned a few times throughout the text....but nowhere is there any instruction on HOW to perform a split. A beginner absolutely cannot be expected to know how to do this, and I'm disappointed that it was omitted. A discussion on top bar nuc creation would have been a helpful addition as well.3. No mention of hive moving was to be found anywhere. I suppose this could be because it is assumed that anyone looking into beekeeping will pick up on the "3 feet or 3 miles" rule quickly...but as a beginner guide with the aim to convince beginners to start with a top bar hive, which WILL need splitting at some point, it would definitely make sense to cover moving.So, as long as you don't need details on these things, this book is pretty great and will set you on your way.

My husband and I are interested in just what the author suggests: becoming backyard beekeepers to do our share to help struggling honeybees. We have seen a significant decrease in local honeybees over the last couple of years. What we had read on the internet was pretty discouraging: we don't want to make a career out of beekeeping, and it seemed that if we managed the hive wrong we would be doing more harm than good. Christy Hemenway went a long way toward making us feel that it's all right to give it a try. Her step-by-step instructions were easy to follow. That helped. But before long we were faced with a daunting list of things to worry about, and all of a sudden we had to worry about stopping the bees from swarming. Wait a minute! Slow down! We were still trying to figure out what to look for when inspecting the hive, and now we have to worry about controlling the population. Well, I understand this is all a necessary part of the process, but by the end of the book we are still uncertain as to whether we should proceed. I think some of the instructions were out of order, and we did get a little intimidated along the way. Further study is required!

Alot of great information to get you started. I've read several reviews, and some have stated that there were some critical points that were only briefly mentioned. The argument here is that this is a beginner's book. But to that point I would argue that much more is needed by a beginner beekeeper when it comes to cross-combing - at least I did.Through further research I've found that cross-combing is common, yet the author doesn't really get into this topic in great detail. Cross-comb management is absolutely essential when starting a brand new top bar hive. The bees are natural engineers, and nature dictates that they build comb on an angle across several bars. As a beginner beekeeper, I highly recommend that you do your homework on cross-combing before getting started. You will, more than likely, need to be able to address this issue within the first 10 days of having a new hive and from then moving forward as well.Don't let cross-combing scare you off if you're considering beekeeping, but please do yourself a favor and supplement this book with further research on this particular subject and you'll have a great start, in my opinion. There are a ton of good videos on YouTube relative to this. Personally, I plan to use hair clips with zip ties to address cross-combing as my new hive matures.

This book is well written but very basic. I was expecting more information specific to top bar hive management. It does cover enough to get you through your first year with a top bar. If you are familiar with beekeeping most of the book will be unnecessary. The case is well made for natural hive management but I was disappointed in her view that top bar hives are the only way to achieve natural management. Overall, I'd recommend this book to a beginner interested in top bar hives. If you are intermediate or advanced as a beekeeper but want more in depth top bar specific info keep looking.

This is a very well written and useful book from a maker of top bar hives. The book covers the first year of beekeeping in the top bar hive. I think it should be read if you are contemplating this method and there are compelling reasons for trying it even if you are not as laid out in the book. If you are going to make your own hive do also have a look at "Why not top bar hives" by J R Slade as there is plenty of scope for alternative designs and you need to think hard before getting out the saws and buying wood which is not cheap these days! The book "the thinking beekeeper" is a must read for starting out, however. The reason it doesn't get the full five stars is that I would have liked to see another chapter on making a nucleus, swarm control etc. with some colour pictures of the manipulations required. The author has her own firm which makes top bar hives in the US which might pose some questions of shipping them to other parts of the world but you can buy her specially shaped top bars separately which the bees like to line up their combs along the bar.

This book is very helpful and was a good addition to my "library" of beekeeping books. I gained certain insights that were missed in some others that I have read. However the author, like in most of these types of books, is a bit of an evangelist for their style of beekeeping. Read it in company with other books that have differing opinions before making decisions about things like what type of hive to use.

Worth it for any top bar hive owner

A great guide for beginners to Natural Beekeeping, with valuable information for the more experienced too. The book is well laid out and readable from cover to cover, with a great index if you want to dip in for information and tips later. Well done Christy!

Very readable, full of reassuring common sense. An excellent book for the beginner