Hi Jeff Our jelly Bush Manuka is very closely related to the kiwi version. In fact the same Manuka bush also grows in southern Australia. They are all in the same family as the tea tree, thus the amazing antibacterial properties of the honey. Ours is very similar in taste to the NZ version.
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All pure natural honey has the same amazing properties😃
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Jamie, did you have any issues this year with OSR? I have just set up my flow hive so missed OSR season.
Hi Andrew,
We didn’t actually have any OSR in our area this year, quite lucky. I’ve had the flow hive on since the end of May and have already taken a full crop - it works brilliantly you’ll be impressed.
I think OSR comes around our area every 3 years or so, so hopefully I won’t have to deal with it for a few years yet as we had it last year.
You’ve been very quiet about that.
You should share so that fellow UK flow keepers can get encouraged.
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I have shared…just not on this site 
Here’s a video if you’re interested (and before anyone decides to tell me again…yes I did put the tubes in the wrong way around! Haha - I should really start reading the instruction booklet first
And here’s a link to my website also.
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Great to see the flowhive working here in the UK Jamie and Thanks for posting.
I’m keeping bees for the 1st time so all this is new & very exciting.
I received my hive this year & got a swarm on 26th May. The swarm has laid up on 5 frames & brood is hatching so the swarm is now growing. I’ve not put the flowframes on yet & I think the hive isn’t strong enough. Am I right?
Did you have a hive that you just transferred to the Flowhive or has it started from scratch?
We have a lot of OSR around us in Salinbury, Wiltshire but I feel as long as I catch it early enough, it should fine.
Our local beekeepers have asked me to give a talk about the Flowhive at our AGM (no pressure on a newbie) !!!
Cheers
Gervase
I think you are right not to have the super on yet. General rule is all frames (almost) fully drawn, with 80% of the space full of brood or food stores and frames covered with bees. If all of those are true, you can add a box, whether it is a super or a second brood box is your choice. In the UK, most people don’t use a second brood, but then they also don’t use 8-frame Langstroth hives either! 
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Thanks Dawn.
THat’s very comforting that I’m on the right track but I’ll have to wait till next year. I also built a top-bar hive but didn’t get a swarm for it, so next year I’ll have something to compare with my Flowhive. My big mistake is that I made the top-bar the same size as a national so I can’t swarm into it from the Flowhive should the occasion arise. Oh well, I’ll have to make a hive the same sizae as a Langstroth.
Live & learn and have fun 
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Hi Gervase,
Yes as Dawn said it’s probably too early, I’d also wait for the 8 frames if not more. Did you get the brood box with the Flow Hive (Complete Flow)? If so what size is it?
I actually got my bees last June by splitting a friends hive as a means of swarm control. I shook them to a jumbo Langstroth in preparation for the Flow Hive arriving in February. My biggest concern was trying to get them through the winter as they had only drawn out 7-8 frames by the time the weather turned cold. I had to feed them loads and loads to get the food stores up.
By May this year they had restocked and the hive was really buzzing! That’s when I decided they were strong enough to put the flow hive super on. If your brood box is the same size as mine (jumbo brood box) it will take them quite a while to draw out the frames. Most people at my local association were telling me the bees would fill it out in no time but I think this is pretty much only true for a National, the Langstroth Jumbo is massive after all!
I know you’re probably itching to get the flow frames on but judging from my experience last year I wouldn’t risk it as you may risk starvation if they haven’t properly filled out the brood box. It would be awful to lose your bees over winter, have to start again next year and then wait until the following year to put your flow super on!
Good luck with your talk, would be interesting to see what reception the flow hive gets at your local association - hopefully positive!
Cheers,
Jamie
Hi Jamie
Thanks for the info & encouragement. I got the complete Flowhive and the brood box has 8 frames.
I suppose because the bees are drawing their own comb and there is no foundation to help, this will take them longer to build up the hive.
I’ve just had a small look at progress & they have started to draw up on the 7th frame now which is also about 1/3rd full of honey. The 1st 3 frames are about 2/3rds drawn. A lot of honey is capped & I wonder if there will be enough stores to over winter them. I had hoped not to feed them so as not to “dilute” their honey. Is this a vain hope?
You said
"My biggest concern was trying to get them through the winter as they had only drawn out 7-8 frames by the time the weather turned cold. I had to feed them loads and loads to get the food stores up."
So will I have to feed them. Sorry if this sounds a silly question but I only started this year so I’m learning (I hope) fast!!
I won’t put the flowframes on this year, unless they suddenly run out of room!
I hope to have enough information to give the talk & encourage the local beekeepers that this isn’t a folly & is a very positive way to encourage beekeeping.
Cheers
Gervase
Dear all esp fellow UK Flowhivers,
I have just been reading all your posts, Dawn, Gervase and co- This crystallization thing is quite a worry- I am hoping to get my first bees into the FLOWHIVE this week and will be keeping my brood box etc at our local beekeepers group apiary till September and the broods built up a bit for overwintering. I have been hors de combat of late, being between 2 hip replacements and a further crack at spinal surgery, so was hoping the FH would be more manageable than a conventional hive! I am only just going to manage anyway so bit concerned re gumming up the works with set honey next year! I shall be watching what you all say on the topic with interest! Are you also contributing to the UK FLOWHIVE group? It looks good!
Sarah
Hi Sarah.
Congrats on joining the FH ‘revolution’. I am so excited that we have them here & I too was worried about OSR & crystallization of the honey. I have been encouraged by listening to experienced Beeks in our local group who say it takes about 4wks to crystalize in the frames so they take it off early, after 3 weeks, so avoiding the problem. This must mean that careful attention to when the honey starts going into the flow frames I guess. I still have that to find out about as my bees probably won’t be getting any honey out for me to harvest this year. I’ll let you know how I get on.
I’ve heard of another possible problem with Ivy in that that sets solid also. Any comments from other experienced beeks? @Dawn_SD @JeffH @skeggley @Jamie_Lamb
I’ll have to go investigate the UK Flowhive group.
I hope your mobility improves for you & you’ll be pain free to enjoy your bees.
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Hi Gervase, thanks for mentioning me. I had some experience with jellybush honey earlier this year in wood/wax frames. I managed to get 30 kgs. of it out by cutting the comb out, also scraping it out of older combs. It was a bit of a job & worth every penny of the price I charge for it. Apparently heather honey is similar. I have no idea how you would get that type of honey out of flow frames.
Oh Gervase that sounds so positive! Thanks! I’ll certainly keep an eye on your inter group correspondence over the next few months- it’s great to feel we are a group- I have felt a bit alone so far so thanks very much!
Health wise I’m in a spot! Terrible sleep, but getting about with a rollator and needing a lot of help at home - 2 more ops then should be a lot better- !
All the best to you all- I’ll post again in the NY wheN I’m up and rUnning! ( bees and me!)
Regards Sarah
No worries, it’s great to learn from all you experienced beeks. It’s knowing what honey to expect in our area & how to deal with it. It’s also so similar & all so different at the same time!!
I’ll probably take off all the honey gathered early spring @SarahWidd to make sure there is not crystalization in the frames. I’m not sure what will happen when the ivy starts to come in & how long it takes before it sets!! No doubt I’ll find out or learn from experience
I’ve just caught a 2nd swarm which I will add to my Flowhive tonight. I will take the queen excluder off, put a sheet of newspaper over & place the FH super on without the flowframes in. I should then have a decent amount of bees that might even get to start on filling the Flowframes later in the summer.
Good luck to you @SarahWidd with all that you have to go through this summer and I hope you enjoy your new hive.
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You have to press it.
There are cell agitators that are supposed to rumble the honey in the cells to make it fluid and spinnable but you HAVE to press it.
Here is Thorne’s “economy” version…£300 !!!
It’s a bit like an apple press.
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I won’t be trying that with my Flowframes!
I suppose if I get crystalization in the frames, I’d have to heat it out somehow!
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Hi Dee ,
This is the Captain from down under ,- with my two bobs worth - YOU GET A LOT FOR YOUR TWO BOB HERE .
"all pure honey has the same properties " - to a degree you are correct however Manuka varies greatly in antibacterial properties from even the same farms season to season .Even from frame to frame . This degree of variation affects the price greatly . +5 RMF verses +25 RMF . I suspect when science catches up with the other amino acid /pollen contributions/Bio-active properties in various honey batches more astounding medicinal applications will be finally be scientifically proven .
The variable structures involved within the ever-changing cocktail mix we of honey make analysis difficult and challenging . Where bees forage on predominantly one species of plant , the nutrients derived allow for more consistency and accuracy of studies . The DNA profiling of pollen within honeys usually indicates there are many floral sources are - for pollen and yet .
Mono cultures within Almond groves knock bees around and bee numbers can go backwards as pollen quality and volumes are low . This is why canola is being trialled as a companion planting to the olives as bees thrive on canola .and another cash crop from the same acreage has probably not escaped the boffins and bean counters . Healthy strong bee colonies that thrive and expand in olive groves will multiply the bee populations which in turn should result in less hives required to pollinate crops and increased almond pollination . A win win win situation for bee health ,bee numbers ,increased pollination ,increased honey produced , reduced costs i.e. (less hives ) and another cash crop for the farmers !!!
!!!
So while a few trees hear and there are all great , I expect your results for RMF + FACTORS will increase with numbers of trees planted and flowering in ideal foraging conditions .
From my studies , I have concluded a rule of thumb that Manuka probably contains a potency of 8 x strength in antibacterial properties and up to 100 x that of others .All bio- properties of honey are not understood yet but I suspect there has never been a time in history where more research and market development has occurred than now . The future looks even brighter , watch this space .
Australian research in its infancy has identified a few leptospermums exceeding this by factors of 2 x and 4 x the best Manuka results to date . Extensive testing on largely remnant tea-tree species is currently underway and evaluations will be made public soon .
Cheers CM .
Various cultivars can be selected within species to increase results even further .
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PS . If we do not conduct the research and commercialize the results someone else will ! As I pen this I suspect hundreds of Australian indigenous plants , including (native bush tucker ) are being evaluated internationally by research funding outside Australia . The bush plum is example
( its vitamin c content the highest in the world of any known plant ) .It is Already commercialised in Indonesia , and patents are in place to protect (their ) intellectual property ! !!!
It disappoints me that our natural competitive advantages appear lost to overseas interests .our ( Australian ) opportunities are lost . Even worse is the fact that patents could be sought to prevent Australian companies from participating in our sovereign bounty !!!
Perhaps I will float a reason why Australia has some of the most medicinally powerful plants in the world - Quote “The oldest continent on earth may contain some of the oldest Plant species or their direct descendants . They have evolved for longer and under unique environmental conditions .
” . The Darwinian theory of evolution then extends into millions of regenerations each with both gradual and rapid changes dependant on the pace and severity of environmental changes they evolved in .
When half of Australia was underwater , the other half was not . By extension then , As the oceans receded seed ,fungus spores and mammals would spread from the old lands to the newly exposed landmasses . New colonisation would come from all directions But predominantly from the west and north .
What has this rambling got to do with bees and honey - Lots and lots , I would say and it is up to those of us with the will and the means to discover our ancient legacies and do something about it .
That is my motivator and I invite like minded people to do likewise .
Manuka is a prime example .
New Zealand - Two Species of Leptospermums
Australia - Eighty Two Species of Leptospermums - and counting ?
Enjoy the Bees and Keep Planting All of you .
Cheers The Captain .
On landline this week the bush plum was featured . A moratorium was proposed . I hope the government listen’s 1
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