Learn From the Farm
A Beekeeping Education Course
Six modules from Doug's own eight years running 1,000+ hives split between cedar top-bar and Langstroth construction. Launching 2025.
Course Curriculum
Six Modules. One Season.
The course is designed to take a complete beginner from zero knowledge to running their first cedar top-bar hive through one full annual cycle — spring build-up through fall harvest.
Foundation
Honeybee Biology & Colony Structure
Queen, workers, drones — how a colony actually organizes itself, and why it matters for how you manage a hive.
- Colony eusociality and caste development
- Waggle dance and forager communication
- Queen supersedure vs. swarm preparation
- Understanding propolis as immune system
Equipment
Building Your Cedar Top-Bar Hive
Materials, dimensions, and the mistakes we made building our first hive from salvaged cedar.
- Hive body dimensions and bar spacing
- Wood selection, joinery, and sealing
- Ventilation design and moisture management
- Tools needed — and tools often oversold
Setup
Installing Your First Package
Getting a new colony established without losing the queen or half the workers in the first week.
- Oregon supplier selection criteria
- Package installation step-by-step
- Reading comb building progress
- When to intervene vs. when to wait
Season Management
Spring Build-Up through Summer Flow
Reading a colony's growth through the season and timing your inspections around the nectar flow.
- Swarm prevention in top-bar hives
- Splitting colonies for increase
- Regional forage timing and pollen identification
- Supplemental feeding — when and what
Pest & Disease
Varroa Mite Management Without Chemicals
The mite-monitoring routine we actually use, season by season — no chemical treatments, ever.
- Varroa life cycle in small-cell comb
- Monthly alcohol wash monitoring
- Brood break strategy and timing
- Recognizing and responding to American Foulbrood
Harvest
Extracting, Testing & Bottling Raw Honey
Crush-and-strain extraction, our lab-testing workflow, and getting honey into the jar without cooking it.
- Identifying harvest-ready capped comb
- Crush-and-strain equipment setup
- Refractometer use and moisture targets
- DIY lab prep vs. professional testing
Launching 2025
Get Early Access
This course grew out of the years Doug spent building out cedar top-bar hives alongside the farm's original Langstroth colonies. The full six-module course ships with video, downloadable plans, and a private student community. Early-access list gets a 20% launch discount and a jar of this season's wildflower honey shipped free.
No purchase required. We'll email once when launch day arrives.