This is a good year. The previous one my bees were running on sugar.
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Do you run single or two brood boxes?
I havenât made a decision yet. If I have to feed them there will be no point to keep super on.
Double
Agreed. I did not have to feed them last year. If I see no honey in the flow super , it will come off, but I expect to see honey in it through Winter.
With these double brood box setups, you have the queen excluder above them right? So the flow super will only get filled with honey when the two boxes below are full of brood and honey.
I was thinking that you will get to harvest less honey with two brood boxes, but seeing these number Iâm obviously wrong.
Hey Arthy, as mentioned above, each year is different, this year has been great for most although there were a few feeding prior to the Marri flow.
Last season I probably only harvested twice, this season each weekend!
My area experienced a dearth a couple of years back and it was suggested I add an extra super for âbee onlyâ consumption so I added a WSP box to experiment. The idea was to use it essentially as a super and have the qx below it in summer and remove the qx wintertime when removing the Flow super so the bees have access to the stores if required. Last year I did not put the qx beneath this box and fitted the qx when adding the Flow super and have found the box is predominantly honey anyway but call it a brood box because it is below the qx. As they fill this box first it will compromise the harvest the season it was fitted but once built out and filled, subsequent harvests arenât compromised.
Not sure how much I harvested this year, it got a bit hectic for a while there and I lost count, I do know I have no spare buckets left anymore thoughâŚ
I will be converting all my hybrids to full flows as Iâve decided not to buy an extractor because harvesting Flow frames is too easy. 
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Thank you for that info, it is very valuable skeggley for someone like me.
That second brood box is definitely something worth thinking about. I thought here all beekeepers ran just one.
I think that although I like to think that my hive is now established because I put on the super and it is pretty full, it is in fact still a new hive. I was surprised by the speed the plastic frames filled with honey, probably reflects this yearâs good season that you guys are mentioning.
Yeah, generally commercial beeks dictate the set up and they only use one so thatâs whatâs advised, 1 x 10 frame full depth brood box. Easier to inspect and manage.
However, generally backyard hobbyists donât follow the flow nor have 100âs of colonyâs to check and often use 8 frame FD boxes (20% less than 10 frame) so, to me, having the extra room gives me a buffer.
Single brood boxes still work, and work fine, but in my area I am predominantly reliant on native flora and I was bitten by the last real dearth so am currently comfortable with my set up. At the time of said dearth there were flowers about and plenty of pollen going into the hive but I didnât realise that there could be flowers but no nectar in them.
Itâs all about location, I very nearly lost a colony during that summer dearth yet some friends down in Mt Lawley were harvesting!
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Have you thought about doing cut comb? Either a rough cut or using something like Ross rounds? A significant part of the group I give hive products to will take the comb over the honey.
I had yes which was my reasoning behind getting the hybrid supers. Iâve only had one person enquire about cut comb so donât see the market for it. My sales are word of mouth, I havenât gone out of the way to move honey in the past due to my boutique quantities but may need to this season.
I have around 12 honey frames a season and either crush and strain it, which I feel is a waste on drawn wax, or feed it back in spring.
Youâre right though, I should have some cut comb containers in the fridge just in case. Does comb honey store in the freezer or fridge?
I just store on a counter. It has only been for a week or two at most.
I know the commercial end will freeze it for a few days to kill wax moth. @Dawn_SD I think had some cut comb process/storage tips.
I did give a few containers away with some discussion on how to use it. Small bite size amounts, any residual wax spit it out, on a cheese platter or toast/bread. They then get the enjoyment and comeback for more. Most people arenât familiar with it and that is why they donât request or move past it.
Adam
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Not bee related.
Couple of spider photos from the last half hour.
From the laundry.
And under the clothes line.
Yes, more than 8 legs.
And no I didnât, all part of living in the Perth.
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Great shot of that nursing wolfy.
Now I was going to say" Why is this not in General Chit Chat " when I canât find it myself except by going through the post.
@Freebee2 can you show me how to get there so I can smack Skegs for not putting the spiders there? 
Oh, so kicking me and the kids off your property isnât enough for you busso, you want my post kicked off the topic also! I see who you are hiding down there behind the regional travel restrictions.
At least I mentioned Perth in MY post. 
Get back out there and chop wood.
(Oh and get me a cutting from the mulberry tree while youâre out there. )
Must be weird without all the city slickers this time of year.
Think Iâll use these warm days and spare time to drain all my hives in preparation for cooler weather.
I thought all you had to do was use the correct category ânon beekeeping mattersâ not post in that thread.
Edit: You didnât mention the dud Mulberry cuttings. 
Sixteen days ago I made this conclusion to find supers full of capped honey today. 
Wish to know where it comes fromâŚ
Moreover, a drone frame I keep in hive is 70% full of uncapped larvae as well. Last year they were kicking out drones about this time and frame was used for honey storage.
Checked annual temperature plot from my weather station. Looks like an average low and high temperatures are about 5 degrees C higher than they were in the same time last year. Seems makes more difference than daylight durationâŚ
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global warming?
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Indeed! Based on this data, air in my backyard will reach water boiling temperature in 30 years! 
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A little update since my previous, ahem⌠âseason closureâ for those who could be interested in numbers.
I removed supers yesterday. Still not sure if I was right about doing this. But if hives start to burst with honey in the middle of the winter nothing stops me from putting supers back.
Season results look like this:
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