# My Project is coming together **URL:** \ **Category:** Beekeeping - Basics\ **Created:** [May 22, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330 "2017-05-22T18:19:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Semaphore](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/semaphore/32/14994_2.png) [@Semaphore](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Semaphore)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/41 "2017-06-29T02:55:27Z")
Looking at your photos- it looks certain that central frame is full- or if not will be very soon. Do you plan to harvest them all at once or individually? I have gone with harvesting two at a time lately- and over half a day- in increments. Works well for me and for the bees. I see you wild flowers are just starting to bloom too- all is good in the apiary project… Coming together indeed. I once read somewhere that bees don’t forage in the immediate vicinity of their own hive- personally I don’t believe it. You will soon be able to test that theory. ---
**Author:** ![JeffH](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/jeffh/32/7192_2.png) [@JeffH](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/JeffH)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:15am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/42 "2017-06-29T08:15:05Z")
I agree Jack, they will forage close by if there’s a good nectar source. It’s worth remembering that when we see bees leave a hive, take off & fade into the distance, they a probably going to a predetermined destination. You’ll see a lot of dancing & waggling in an observation hive of bees advertising the location of the nectar source. If a scout bee finds nectar or honey close by, they will certainly cash in on it. You’ll see evidence of that with the dances. There will be no waggle just a vigorous circle dance. ---
**Author:** ![Dan2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dan2/32/10463_2.png) [@Dan2](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dan2)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:41am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/43 "2017-06-29T08:41:24Z")
It is interesting how they can ignore a close supply of nectar. I’ve seen it here myself when they hardly touched the flowers from my blueberry orchard just metres from the hive. I can’t tell if the bees hammering the pincushion hakea flowering now are mine but I suspect so. Mind you we have a distinctly Antarctic blast on right now, so that made the bees pull their little heads into the hives. Currently -18 degrees c apparent temperature at the coldest place in Australia - the top of Mt Wellington/kunanyi …not as bad here, but cold. ---
**Author:** ![BeeMoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/beemoney/32/10417_2.png) [@BeeMoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/BeeMoney)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 11:00am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/44 "2017-06-29T11:00:44Z")
> [@Semaphore](#): > > Do you plan to harvest them all at once or individually? I plan to do a couple at a time. This weekend I will ensure that the middle frames are capped and go from there. 🍻 ---
**Author:** ![Dan2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dan2/32/10463_2.png) [@Dan2](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dan2)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 11:05am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/45 "2017-06-29T11:05:00Z")
I agree it looks like a good harvest due soon - even the outside frames look nearly done, at least from looking at the photo. Hopefully it will be all good to go when you look inside. I found when I harvested the middle, they took to re-filling them, and I never actually got to harvest the outside, just kept harvesting from the ones between the two outside frames. ---
**Author:** ![BeeMoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/beemoney/32/10417_2.png) [@BeeMoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/BeeMoney)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/46 "2017-06-29T20:52:40Z")
Wow. 3 times more bearding than yesterday! ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/7/7108b3c4eec1ce0880b4b2cee94f541ca2713a6a.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/47 "2017-06-29T21:01:40Z")
Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that they are out there protesting - asking for more space! 😄 😈 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![BeeMoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/beemoney/32/10417_2.png) [@BeeMoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/BeeMoney)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/48 "2017-06-29T21:18:49Z")
Harvesting middle now. I hope I have time in the summer for another brood box. I changed my mind. I want them to have more space ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/5/5cc533bb3bbfda7ae587fb18cc00271e4f012a74.jpg) ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/7/73a901293d21a8b5844c36f1523879bdebd8952f.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/49 "2017-06-29T21:50:24Z")
Did you lift the frame, or are you just going to test with a refractometer? I like your decision-making about the space. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BeeMoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/beemoney/32/10417_2.png) [@BeeMoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/BeeMoney)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/50 "2017-06-29T21:51:13Z")
This is the best thing in the world to me right now!!! 🤣 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/8/81cba8c7e53cd827f06d760112bdc6dbf7f06894.jpg) ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/f/f66d1dd0c969fe4590ddf4050852177a37e5a87a.jpg) Why do photos do this to me… oh look honey! ---
**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/51 "2017-06-29T21:52:36Z")
Lovely colour! I can even see that your bees are turning your world upside-down! 😄 ---
**Author:** ![BeeMoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/beemoney/32/10417_2.png) [@BeeMoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/BeeMoney)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/52 "2017-06-29T22:09:15Z")
Squeezing more out! 😋 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/e/e6710a99516e0179eea4e82b5e70eb05671bc5cc.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JeffH](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/jeffh/32/7192_2.png) [@JeffH](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/JeffH)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/53 "2017-06-29T23:11:22Z")
Hi Dawn, they probably ARE protesting that they need more space. It has recently occurred to me that I’m not seeing the bearding with my bees like a lot of photos in this forum. The only things that I’m doing different from a lot of folks on this forum is: I’m spacing my frames evenly (9 frames in 10 frame supers) & I’m using a solid floor. I’m not suggesting 7 frames in a flow brood box, however, seeing as the flow brood box holds nearly 9 frames, if the 8 frames were evenly spaced & the core flute placed in the top slot… At least during the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Semaphore](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/semaphore/32/14994_2.png) [@Semaphore](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Semaphore)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/54 "2017-06-30T02:20:49Z")
perhaps it’s something you see more in dry heat type situations jeff? My hives all bearded a lot during the driest parts of summer. None of them swarmed though. Also if some honey has leaked during that harvest they tend to beard out the front for that day. @BeeMoney have you considered adding another half/ideal box instead of a deep? The downside is that the frames are not interchangeable then- the upside is that the bees will be able to fill it out much faster without stopping them from filling the flow super as much. I am considering going from single brood to brood and a half on some of my hives this spring to see how they go with more brood. Another short gap measure would be to use one of those slatted rack things at the bottom- they give the bees more room to hang out in: > **[How to build a slatted rack - Honey Bee Suite](https://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-to-build-a-slatted-rack/)** > > I never go without a slatted rack in my beehives, and I extoll the virtues of them every chance I get. David Manning, a beekeeper in Missouri, makes some seriously good-looking slatted racks that you can see in the photos below. For those of yo \[...\] One other thing- I strongly recommend you get a bucket with holes in the lid and some tubes for your harvesting- makes it much easier to harvest over the course of a day without worrying about bees getting caught up in the cling-film, changing jars, etc: ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/5/53acf24693d5b6d1e2eee50b9bf42bce3d584f82.JPG) ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/7/7c1db1f8e07553aa8ea8799134b5bcd8b6c53c0b.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![JeffH](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/jeffh/32/7192_2.png) [@JeffH](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/JeffH)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/55 "2017-06-30T03:47:35Z")
Hi Jack, if you get bearding next summer, my method might be worth trying on at least one hive. We get lots of dry heat here as well. Whether it’s wet or dry heat, the bees still have to maintain that constant temperature in the brood area. That extra 2 or 3 mm between the frames might be all they need in order to get that air flowing more effectively. ---
**Author:** ![Dan2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dan2/32/10463_2.png) [@Dan2](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dan2)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 6:07am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/56 "2017-06-30T06:07:24Z")
Methinks those bees doth protest too much I think if Deryck’s bees don’t swarm, (and he advises can’t see queen cells) then everything is just about perfect there. He has plenty of bees onto a good flow and they are filling the Flow frames - and not just the middle ones. His set up is working about as perfectly as any Flow hive could and in the configuration imagined/intended by the inventors. Down the track sometime he will of course need to think about winter storage quantities etc., (which I believe he is onto ), but at the moment it all appears to be going swimmingly. ---
**Author:** ![BeeMoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/beemoney/32/10417_2.png) [@BeeMoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/BeeMoney)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 10:55am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/57 "2017-06-30T10:55:49Z")
I’m going to need to put that other brood box on for sure. It is raining this morning and about 1000 bees are still outside and all wet 😢 It’s so packed there is no room for everyone ---
**Author:** ![Semaphore](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/semaphore/32/14994_2.png) [@Semaphore](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Semaphore)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/58 "2017-06-30T11:41:44Z")
Last summer we had a very big storm in the middle of the night with high winds and heavy rain… at 2 am I became concerned some of my hive roofs might have blown off and went out to put bricks on them… I was quite surprised to find that there were large beards of bees on every hive- soaking wet and fully exposed to the wild elements in the middle of the night …next day when the sun came out all was back to normal and no sign of any harm done- no dead bees to be seen, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Eva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@Eva](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Eva)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/59 "2017-06-30T11:55:24Z")
We also had a lot of rain recently & I thought for sure all my bearding bees would head back inside - nope! I notice that the colony bearding the most is the one with the cedar flow brood box, that also has the Flow super on now, and hardly at all on the other hive with light colored painted boxes. Hard to say if that’s a reason though, because the Flow colony was stronger to begin with. Thinking of getting slatted racks! ---
**Author:** ![Webclan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/webclan/32/11252_2.png) [@Webclan](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Webclan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 12:36pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330/60 "2017-06-30T12:36:36Z")
I have been in exactly that situation. For lack of other immediate ideas, I put an ideal foundationless box above the flow box. The worst boarding stopped straight away, as they got busy building out the frames in the ideal. Gave me beautiful honey comb. After the nectar flow I took the ideal box off and sold the honey comb. Froze the empty or not capped honey comb and use it now to help along nucs. [Previous page](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330.md?page=2) [Next page](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/my-project-is-coming-together/11330.md?page=4)