Mild winter in Brisbane Australia (Coorparoo) has allowed us to harvest 6kg over the last month from 2 frames. All remaining frames appear to be full also.
We have now taken over 40kg since we started robbing in January.
We have noticed that the honey takes twice as long to flow this time of year. It was also much harder to crack the frame. We always do a small section at a time to prevent the honey backing up in the tube, but this time we had to open and close the sections a few times as they didn’t open fully. Not sure if this temperature related or age related. Has been a real success and the hive is thriving.
Well done that man. Must be awesome to produce such a long spell. Where I am its Wam Bang Thank You Mame 3-4 weeks your done.
Yes fortunate to have many varieties of flowers available and sunny days in Brisbane.
Hi @Gaz Gary,
Did you write the first sentence of your post or did you write what follows after?
First you are allowed to harvest, then you start robbing? I really had to chuckle.
It is also my experience and others’ on this forum that honey at cooler temps is a tad slower. In my climate (subtropical down Byron way), when it cools down in winter, the air gets much drier, so our honey has a lot less water content. 18% on the dot in rainy season, down to 16% in winter, regardless of capping. With less water the honey flows Even slower. At the moment I give a frame the entire day to completely empty. No need to sit next to it if all is covered and your jar is up for 3l.
I don’t harvest in winter. I noticed the bees consume quite a bit of honey sometimes, cold and rainy days.
If you need to agitate your flow frames and the honey, maybe you have some jellybush around?
Enjoy and cheers.
Thanks for the info. Yes probably not the best choice of words.
Was surprised how the upper key section of the frame just bowed at the point where the key goes in.
Even when doing only a fraction at a time. I did use two keys at once on the outer edges of the slot to get the frame open.
It took 2.5 hrs compared to 1 hr this time round to empty 1 frame.
No jellybush then. Agree, two keys are best.
The flow frames sure are an awesome invention and the plastic does a wonderful job withstanding the force we sometimes have to apply to turn the keys.
All the best. K