Resources

Let me clarify. Successful beekeeping is directly related to locality, so these are Local Resources.

Apiaries
These community gardens have apiaries that are open to the public:
Ekar Community Garden at Denver Academy Of Torah - 6825 E Alameda
DeLaney Community Garden - 170 S Chambers Road
If you look into any of the windowed hives, be sure to shutter the window when you're done peeking.

Classes for Top Bar Hivers
Corwin Bell teaches for BackyardHive.com in Eldorado Springs.
Growing Gardens in Boulder runs bee & goat classes.
Les Crowder runs For the Love of Bees in NM, and he's on Facebook, too.

Bees & Clubs
For free bees, get your name on the "swarm list" on the Colorado State Beekeepers Association (CSBA) site. More clubs are listed here. Swarm Lists are first-come first-served so do it now.

Packages can be ordered through the CSBA, the Denver Beekeepers Association, Highland Bees and the Growing Gardens as well. Please watch this video before ordering a package, as it may help you understand why packages often supercede their queen within their first months.

Nucs are a more costly way to start, but they are established families and are your best bet. Almost all nucs use Langstroth equipment. Without frames to support the combs, transporting a top bar hive can be a bit risky and any nuc producer will sell them as Local Pickup Only. Here are some producers, in no particular order.

  • ZiaQueen down in NM sells Langstroth nucs with survivor stock. You can rest assured that we will tell you ALL about it if we drive 300 miles with bees in the car. 
  • We haven't purchased from Red Dog Expressions down in Colorado Springs, but their VSH survivor queen sounds really intriguing.
  • Once in a while, Grampa's Gourmet Honey in Alamosa sells survivor stock on frames. Some years they make up packages instead. Some years they sell single-deeps for pick-up only, which is the ultimate way to get your apiary started.

Hives
BackyardHive.com – just the plans, plans and top bars, or complete top bar hives fabricated by a master carpenter. Our hive is nicer than most of our furniture!
To Bee or Not To Bee – the beekeeping supply store in Littleton.
Build-Your-Own: hundreds of hive designs can be found at the Beehive Journal, and of course there's plans for a Hardison Hive in The Appropriate Beehive.

Forums
  • Phil Chandler's (Biobee's) Natural Beekeeping Network: low-cost, low-impact, sustainable beekeeping for everyone. Mostly for horizontal TBH but Warré hive beekeepers are served as well. A very supportive group that welcomes Langstroth-style beekeepers, too.
  • The rest are not nearly as good as Phil's site, but the search function makes them somewhat useful: Beesource Top Bar Hives (Michael Bush often posts here); Beemaster Top Bar/Warré/Mason Hives.
Literature
  • THE BEST $10 YOU'LL EVER SPEND – The Barefoot Beekeeper by Phil Chandler
  • Be sure to explore the "The Appropriate Beehive" page of this site for Marty Hardison's indispensible booklet of the same name.
FAQ's and Good-to-Knows
Q&A's on TBHs documents hosted by ibiblio
A few "Articles" via the Learn More option on backyardhive.com
Basic Beekeeping Lessons: I found the first 30 or so incredibly helpful when I first started, and 5 years later I still found one useful now and again.
Integrated Hive Management for Colorado Beekeepers (PDF)
Denver's Winter/Cold Season Statistics
Color Guide to CO Bees (PDF)
Pollen Colors Wiki

Plant Info
LazyS was a plant nursery in VA with a fabulous selection of plants. The site had really good pictures – gives ideas for pairings – is only available vis the Wayback Machine naw.
In the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl - love this site for the real life experiences with a huge variety of plants.

Quick Links to my Xeriscape Plant Profiles posts:
Armenian Speedwell
Lamb's Ears
Rock Soapwort
Silver-Edged Horehound

A Fantastic Resource on Varroa Management
The Honey Bee Health Coalition – a Guide to Effective Varroa Sampling and Control, Varroa Management Decision Tool, and more – all free!

 In-depth Reads on Varroa
  • Managing Varroa
    • This 44-page leaflet describes the biology of the mite, how it can be recognised and monitored, the latest approaches beekeepers can use to control the infestation in their hives, and a look ahead to the future. The link will automatically download the pdf. (Last updated April 2017)
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