The Thinking Beekeeper: A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives Paperback - 2013

From the rear cover

GIVE BEES A CHANCE - THE COMPLETE HOW-TO AND WHY-TO FOR KEEPING BEES IN TOP BAR HIVES

"If you are keeping your bees in a top bar hive, you'll find information you need here that's not available anywhere else. Both you and your bees will benefit from Christy's approach, advice and philosophy."---Kim Flottum, Editor, Bee Culture Magazine

"A unique and exceptional resource for the beginning beekeeper"---Marty Hardison, Top Bar Beekeeper, Educator and International Developmental Beekeeping Consultant

Providing habitat for bees, pollinating your garden and producing honey for your family are a few of the compelling reasons for taking up backyard beekeeping. Natural beekeeping in top bar hives is an amazingly simple, economical, and environmentally friendly approach to this exciting and rewarding pursuit, and The Thinking Beekeeper is the definitive do-it-yourself guide.

Top bar hives can be located anywhere bees have access to forage, and they are ideally suited to the urban environment. Rooted in understanding and working with bees' natural systems, as opposed to trying to subvert them, top bar hives feature:

• Simplicity, sustainability and cost-effectiveness
• Increased safety due to less heavy lifting and hive manipulation
• Chemical-free colonies and healthy hives.

Emphasizing the intimate connection between our food systems, bees, and the wellbeing of the planet, The Thinking Beekeeper will appeal to the new breed of beekeeper that is less invested in maximizing honey yield at any cost, and more focused on ensuring the viability of the bee population now and in the coming years.

"Christy's passion shines through in this delightful book, which I'm sure will inspire many people to take up top bar beekeeping." --- Phil Chandler, Author, The Barefoot Beekeeper

Christy Hemenway is the owner and founder of Gold Star Honeybees, a complete resource for all things related to beekeeping in top bar hives. A passionate bee-vangelist and advocate for natural, chemical-free beekeeping, Christy is a highly sought-after speaker, helping audiences to understand the integral connection between bees, food, human health and the future of the planet.

To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, Mother Earth News is recommending select New Society Publishers books to its readers. This book is one of them.