UK Flow keepers

Of course your flow won’t fail with a OSR
You just have to get it off quickly the same as people with traditional supers
And the honey will need processing afterwards. You can’t just jar it.
The most common mistake I see is that new beekeepers who have started with a flow hive are so excited by it all they put their supers on too soon.
You sound as if you’ve taken lessons in keeping bees so you know the basics of management so off you go and good luck
I bet you will find somebody to mentor you through from your local association even if it’s just through being nosey rather than altruistic

By the way. Have you got much OSR near you?
If you have heather you might find that more of a problem

Hi Paras, I now have my flow hive “Tung oiled”. I guess I’m now ready for next year. Still not sure whether to get a swarm or buy. Will get advice from my local association. How is your hive - winding down for the winter I guess.

Pacq

Hi Pacq,

My bees are doing well, the queen has slow down on the laying.

They are still actively bring lots of pollen in.

The wasp keep on fighting to get in the hive, I have the entrance reduced to 1 cm, this helps the bees guard the hive better.

Getting a swarm vs buy, all depends if you have many swarms near you, I got my hive from a local breeder for £100.

Paras

What processing would you need to do? and how do you know if it is OSR honey?!!? I thick there is some within 2-3 miles of me, but there is also a lot of other stuff - how do i tell?!

Bees coming back from OSR are dotted yellow usually. They can be with dandelion too but you just have to look what’s in bloom. OSR honey sets like concrete so you have to soft set it

ok - will check it out when it starts next year then. What does it mean to soft set the honey? sorry - complete new-bee!

When you extract your honey you should collect it in a plastic bucket and let it set completely. A whole bucket will be concrete hard in a matter of a couple of weeks. Then you need to melt it gently so that all the crystals have gone and it is runny again then proceed as the video below
If you jar it straight away it sets with a coarse crystal and is unusable.

Thanks Dee - this is probably a very silly question but would i need to buy some honey that is already soft set to do this?

Yes (easier)or grind down some of yours. Pestle and mortar or some use a food processor till you can’t feel crystals in your mouth. Soft set it and keep some back for next time

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Hi Pacq,

How are you doing, what is the progress on your FlowHive

Hi Paras, I’m good.
I have joined my local beek association. The hive is now ready for spring. Fully assembled and “tunged”.

How are you keeping. I see you are trying to get a second flow hive. How was your season as a new beekeeper. Any tips to share?

Pacq

Hi Pacq,

Its good you have joined the beekeeping association, It is good to share experience with others.

If the price is right I would not mind having a second FlowHive.

My plan is to have four hives, 1/2 main hives & 3 Nuc and If I don’t need Nuc, I shall sell the Nuc’s. Having more hives enables me to experiment and try new things.

I placed my hive where they get the morning sun, if the hive warms up the bees are able to forage earlier.

I also double brood my hive allowing them to store enough for the winter, they did not require the Flow Super. I did put it on top allowing them to work on the frames.

One advice I was given by my mentor is have empty hive in case of swarm, that way you can recover a swarm or perform an artificial swarms if required.

I bought a Langstroth Poly Hive and have transferred the bees to Poly-Hive for the winter. Once they have build up next year I shall transfer them back to the FlowHive. This allows me to clean the Hive for the following year.

If you can get a hive in April, you would have a chance to harvest honey next year.

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Good advice about spare kit.
You need an empty hive for each one in use as the bees will need splitting as part of your swarm control more or less every year.
Having a spare nuc as a brood factory/ source of spare parts is quite a good idea too. I try to keep one spare for every two hives.
As for cleaning don’t be overzealous. The only time you need to sterilise the box is if you know there is disease there. I just get rid of any propolis and wax that is in the way. The bees have spent the whole year varnishing the inside of the hive with propolis and there is no real need to remove it. You never know. If you leave the box out a swarm might take a liking to it.

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Tell me about it ,i wont join the local bee group they are not interested in natural bee keeping in any way.
Although flow is not natural keeping the brood natural as in foundation less frames and using the flow frames with common sense not absolutely draining the hive means good management
also letting them swarm and re queen them selves. The keepers at the local bee group say you will breed nasty bees,but your not disturbing them.
The end product is Love
I am an organic gardener and bee keeping naturally brings my garden to life and Happiness to my family
I am 55 years of age

Dave where are you based? there are more natural beekeepers if that is what you want.
Barefoot beekeeper - is based down at Devon Cornwall way - I think quite close to Buckfast Abby.

Im at Brigg North Lncoulnshire

Im at Brigg North Lincoulnshire

[Valli] Valli http://forum.honeyflow.com/users/valli
March 27

Dave where are you based? there are more natural beekeepers if that is
what you want.
Barefoot beekeeper - is based down at Devon Cornwall way - I think quite
close to Buckfast Abby.

West Midlands, Solihull

Hi Everyone.

SURREY and DORSET

My wife and I have just started to keep bees. Flow hive as a Christmas present and now have out first over wintered nuc colony installed. We wanted to do a course but all the locals one were booked. We would love a local mentor to the area of Godalming, Surrey, if anyone wants to impart their knowledge and at the moment we are gathering all the information we can from the internet and the flow community.

We are looking to move down to the area of Poole, hopefully this summer (2017) and we spend a lot of time down there. We would love to come and visit your hives as well if you are in either of these areas, or relatively close, and would love to learn anything that you have picked up over the years, many or few.

Wish you all success with your bees !!!

Alex and Jenny

Hi Alex and Jenny (@alexcharlesstewart1),

Hopefully someone has responded privately. I’m waaaay to far away to physically mentor you guys but if you post questions in appropriate threads/topics on this forum you’ll get plenty of advice from very clever and experienced people. With all the advice received you’ll just need to interpret it based on the weather conditions you experience locally.

I think @sciencemaster has a few videos on YouTube you might find beneficial. There are other users that post videos too, so in the absence of someone local to you they might be a good way to see things demonstrated.

Goodluck.

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