Knowing when to harvest honey from Flow Hive

Hi guys!

Im new to beekeeping so please forgive any false information in my post :slight_smile: Ive seen the Flowhive videos and congrats on this fascinating invention that is making so many people excited about beekeeping (me included!)

Something that wasnt quite clear to me through the website and the videos is how you know when the honey is ready to be harvested. I understand you have the back window from which you harvest which shows you the last columns of comb capped, as well as the window on the side which shows you the capped comb on the first frame. Ive read on the web how bees work from center frames towards the outside, so theoretically if the last frame on the observation window is capped then all is capped. Is that how it works? How does that translate in practice? Or do you have to open the hive and check the comb first to ensure you are harvesting from a capped frame?

Thanks a lot

I live in NL so pretty similar to UK I imagine … but my question was more on the fact that, the way Flowhive is advertised in the videos, it’s said you don’t need to open the hive to harvest your honey. I realize you do need of course to open the hive in any case for your hive inspections, but purely from a honey harvest point of view, can you rely on the observation windows to judge whether the honey is harvested or do you still need to open the hive to judge whether the honey is ready to be harvested?

just noticed the post a few posts down “would a viewing window help when to rob” which addresses the same point … sorry despite me lurking on here for a while I hadn’t seen it :wink:

great thanks for your reply. Definitively I 'm looking forward for some practical experience with beekeeping, February course can’t come soon enough! :slight_smile:

FYI this is from our FAQS section - http://www.honeyflow.com/faqs/how-do-i-know-when-to-harvestdrain-the-hive/p/45

Finishing year 5 and the bees have yet to start in the middle and work their way out. Sometimes they start on the side of the hive with the most sun, other times they like the cooler side and work towards the middle.

Just check the frames before you harvest. When I pull finished honey frames there are very few bees on them anyway. If it’s covered in bees, chances are it’s because they aren’t finished or they are chasing small hive beetles…but that’s a different reason for inspecting the frames before harvest :wink: