What is happening with honey collection on n Adelaide

Dear Semaphore,
Thanks for the feedback. I thought the weather was not conducive to honey production so you have confirmed my thought. I also made the mistake of putting super on too early ( newby mistake?) but I think my hive is on the mend. I did check last night and the girls were busy in the flow. Fingers crossed

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Hey, @Semaphore - just and update.
I left the hive alone, and opened the observation doors today - looks like we are on the way
cheers
Jeff

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Same story with my hives- the honey has started to appear over the last week- the flow is on! Annoyingly on some of my hives the droplets have appeared only to disappear the next day. But I know they will soon reach a critical mass where the bees bring in more than they eat.

things are speeding up- bees super active - the nectar is flowing:

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looks like you have some serious action going on there - well done to your team!
Do you notice different coloured honey in the different frames? I can see it in mine, and assume it is not just from differing levels of H2O, I saw a video where a chap was emptying the flow frames and he said not to empty multiple frames into the one container as the different coloured honey represented different source and hence flavour - not sure if he was pulling my leg.
cheers

no for sure he was right- as the bees go to different sources the color/darkness of the honey definitely changes. However mixing several sources wouldn’t be an issue: you’ve just made a unique blend. When you think of commercial apiaries where multiple frames from multiple hives are all extracted and blended together- even extracting a mixing all of the flow frame honey from a single hive still gives you a relatively distinct honey.

Looks like you have some crazy comb there as well :worried:

Cheers
Rob.

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Well-spotted, Rob! I agree - needs removing.

what do you mean? crazy comb? where? My combs not crazy- you are :wink:

in that photo you can see bees building out a foundationless comb- it’s coming along nicely. They will join it all up and continue down till its filled out. Behind it there is a foundation comb that they built already and have half filled with honey. The box was checkerboarded. So the comb you can see at the rear is the second comb in. The two bits in front are in line and coming down off the foundationless frame. Everything is in order in my hives…

So your Flow super is a hybrid? I wasn’t clear on that. Sorry for any confusion. :blush:

I have one hybrid flow- and one full flow. But that pics from a flow-less hive that’s still building up. It’s a spring split. And no worries!

that is beautiful! I hope mine look like that

Hey, you good @semaphore?
Attached photo shows change in honey storage in 8 days, I am planning to harvest in approx. 14 days from now, so honey will/should be low moisture content. I will tap on flow and measure H2O content and go from there, I will only open flow perhaps 20% at a time as overflowing honey into brood appears to be a common theme.
Hope yours is kicking along
Questions

  1. If the flow is full full and not just full what do the bees do, take it easy or build out comb where ever they can?
  2. Do I have to sterilise honey containers or just wash thoroughly?
  3. Can you recommend place to get 2 litre containers in Adelaide?
    Cheers
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wow that looks great!

mine are progressing- not as far as your but they are getting there.

Concerning harvesting- cracking the frames in increments is a good idea. Also I would consider not harvesting all the frames at once. I would take out and check the two central frames in about a week: if they are fully capped I would harvest those two. But before harvesting I would lift them out- and put the two outermost frames in the middle then put the innermost ones on the edges and harvest them. Then after a few days harvest the next two from the center- then harvest the two in the middle. The bees seem to fill the middle ones first- and by rotaotaing them like that the outer two sshou;d get fully finished off- and by harvesting over several days you decrease the severity of any honey leak. This is if you have the time and patience: you can definitely harvest them all at once if you wanted to.

Cant help you with 2 liter containers- we use a large 15kg bucket with a honey gate. We just cleaned it normally- no sterilization. Honey is hygroscopic and antibacterial - so far we haven’t had any issue. I would take care using smaller containers as you will have to be there ready to change them over as they fill.

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Hi Jeff,

I bought 2 Litre jugs at BigW in Marion for about $10 each. They had them near the canning jars. The jugs have a lid and a sealable pourable spout on top. Sorry no picture.

I have not harvested yet, but I’m planning to use some flexible clear tubing and have that go directly into the 2 L jug thru the opening in the lid. I want to experiment seeing if I can tell any difference in taste between the frames. Good luck!

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Hey Susie,
I am with you on this, I will harvest separately and keep the honey in different containers to see if I can tell the difference. I can then blend if I want to. Thanks for the head’s up on the containers, with the pourable spout I can pour into smaller containers to distribute to friends, family etc as I am not interested in selling it ( one hive only)- with a bit of luck I can swap it for veggies and stuff within my network
cheers

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Just a thought: 2 liter containers might not quite hold the contents of one frame. The last thing you want to be doing when you extract is juggling around jars as the honey flows out. Once it starts you can’t really stop it until it is done. I would consider using a larger container with a honey gate. That way you could still use the honey gate to empty the bucket into your smaller containers as you go if you wanted to keep it all separate. Or look for slightly larger containers (around 3 liter).

Hey Michelle,
I think you might be right. I used honey sg at 1.425 so 3kg equal 2.1 litre and deducted 10% as did not expect 100% efficiency, therefore the 2 litre would be ok… But you have just reminded me that bee productivity is more an art than a science and perhaps it is better to use a big jar than run around like a mad hatter looking for alternate containers whilst the honey overflows from the first jar, attracting bees, bugs, wasps, ants and house dogs that will all compete for the privilege of being the first to reap the benefits of my first harvest

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here’s my ‘crazy comb’ foundation-less frame after another 8 days:

my observation hive is now three stories high- and about to go to 4:

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Great photo and great looking hive!

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