# first year for bees in smithville, tn, & pkg AND nuc??



## stacyleighpalmer (Feb 19, 2012)

hi! after wishing for a long time, i finally got to go to bee school this past weekend through nashville area beekeepers, and have ordered 2 nucs. so excited! i see that there are 2 bee groups nearer to me--mcminnville and cookeville. does anyone have any info on these, like how big are they, are there many female members? would like to find someone in this area to be able to talk bees with, and learn from. i also keep chickens, garden, have started making cheese, have made soap, quilt, and build my own raised beds, grow lights, chicken coop, etc. (power tools are fun  looking into market gardening for berries in the next few years, too. i'm happily married and we have 5 kids, ages 11-22, and i work part time (respiratory therapy). 

i haven't seen this question, but was kind of wondering if there would be problems i don't know about with ordering a package and a nuc, just so i could watch the difference. i'm guessing it would be wiser to just keep with the 2 nucs this year, and see how a package progresses next year, but i'm really curious.  

also, the 11 year old is really interested in this endeavor, does anyone know of a kid-targeted book on keeping bees?


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome Stacy! There are no problems with nucs and package bees in the same apiary or at the same time. The Boy Scout Beekeeping merit badge book is written for 11 year ols of course. Beekeeping for Dummies might be appropriate also.


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## Nantom670 (Jul 29, 2011)

stacyleighpalmer said:


> hi! after wishing for a long time, i finally got to go to bee school this past weekend through nashville area beekeepers, and have ordered 2 nucs.


Look under Tennessee Beekeepers Association and you can find the local bee club around your area.


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## buhbee (Oct 17, 2010)

Hi Stacy and welcome to beekeeping and beesource.com. Here are two clubs in your neck of the woods.

http://www.cookevillebeekeepers.com/

http://wilsoncountybeekeepers.org/

David LaFerney is with the Cookeville club and active here on beesource. And I am a member of WCBA. We have 200 or so members and are an active club. We would love to have you and your family join us at our next meeting, Monday, 5 March 2012 at 7:00. We meet at the Wilson County Fairgrounds just off I-40 at exit 239.

Greg


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## quevernick (Feb 22, 2011)

The cookeville bee keepers club is having a beginners bee keeping class this Saturday. There is more information on the website if you are interested. Normal monthly meetings are on the first thursday of the month at 6:30. We meet at TTU South Hall there are directions on the website.


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## quevernick (Feb 22, 2011)

Just realized I didnt really answer your questions  There are a few Female members. The Club is pretty new, only a year or two old. I have only been going for the last year or so but attendance to meeting seems to vary based on the season. The last meeting was standing room only with a lot of new beekeepers. There is a nice range of members from the rank newbies(me) to guys who have been keeping bees for years.


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## BGhoney (Sep 26, 2007)

Welcome to the site, if the distance is about the same, you could visit both clubs and see if you click more with one...


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## stacyleighpalmer (Feb 19, 2012)

thanks everyone!


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Hi Stacy - sorry I missed this earlier, but I bet you would be right at home with the www.cookevillebeekeepers.com. several of our active members are women, and we have a good mix of age and experience levels. We've been having about 40 in attendance lately, but it does vary with the season. Sign up for the free newsletter on our site anyway - we try to send out information that is timely for our area. Welcome to bee keeping!


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## SteveBee (Jul 15, 2010)

Welcome to a fellow TN beekeeper. Buhbee and I are partners. He lives in Lebanon and I live in Murfreesboro. Come visit us at the Wilson County Beekeepers Association sometime.


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