BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING
to harvest or not
The15thMember:
--- Quote from: Ben Framed on March 16, 2021, 09:12:56 pm ---
--- Quote from: Acebird on January 13, 2021, 08:32:55 am ---Location is everything. You should only take advice from your next door neighbors. The key factors are flows and dearths, how long they last.
--- End quote ---
I agree with Brian. Local help would be best as location matters. I will ask, are Small Hive Beetles a problem at your location or area?
--- End quote ---
I also agree. It's difficult for us North Americans to give you good advice in this area. Your plants, pests, flowers, flows, and temperatures are unknown to us, and answering this question requires that knowledge. Taking off honey depends on a lot of factors. At what point will your season change? How much honey will the bees need to get through winter? Can you expect another flow this year? How early next year will the first flow be? Is the honey on your hive a variety worth collecting? How strong is the hive, and what hive strength is normal for this time of year? Without experience in the answers to these questions, it's almost impossible for us to give you any advice worth taking. Hopefully some of our Australian members are close enough to where you live to help you out better.
Without knowing the answers to those questions, if it is your first season, I'd be very hesitant to take any honey. If I understand you, your hive has a brood box and one super, and you are questioning if you can harvest the super for yourself. In my area that would be a solid no, unless you are prepared to feed them to replace it, like Ben Framed mentioned. The honey around the periphery of the brood nest is no where near enough for a hive to survive the winter. But as I said, for your situation that advice could be wrong for all I know about your area.
Ben Framed:
--- Quote from: The15thMember on March 16, 2021, 09:44:59 pm ---
--- Quote from: Ben Framed on March 16, 2021, 09:12:56 pm ---
--- Quote from: Acebird on January 13, 2021, 08:32:55 am ---Location is everything. You should only take advice from your next door neighbors. The key factors are flows and dearths, how long they last.
--- End quote ---
I agree with Brian. Local help would be best as location matters. I will ask, are Small Hive Beetles a problem at your location or area?
--- End quote ---
I also agree. It's difficult for us North Americans to give you good advice in this area. Your plants, pests, flowers, flows, and temperatures are unknown to us, and answering this question requires that knowledge. Taking off honey depends on a lot of factors. At what point will your season change? How much honey will the bees need to get through winter? Can you expect another flow this year? How early next year will the first flow be? Is the honey on your hive a variety worth collecting? How strong is the hive, and what hive strength is normal for this time of year? Without experience in the answers to these questions, it's almost impossible for us to give you any advice worth taking. Hopefully some of our Australian members are close enough to where you live to help you out better.
Without knowing the answers to those questions, if it is your first season, I'd be very hesitant to take any honey. If I understand you, your hive has a brood box and one super, and you are questioning if you can harvest the super for yourself. In my area that would be a solid no. The honey around the periphery of the brood nest is no where near enough for a hive to survive the winter. But as I said, for your situation that advice could be wrong for all I know about your area.
--- End quote ---
True and I basically agree, but there is always another way. If you have time weather wise, and an extractor that will sling the honey out and save the comb, you can feed 2-1 sucrose and they will replace the empty comb with the feed and they should be plenty good for the winter. You can place a 2 gallon bucket with proper holes drilled int the top which will be turned upside down lining up with a hole in you bee top, allowing the bees to consume it in a matter of days, process, store, and cap. Remember time is of the essence as Member stated. (SEE A Canadian Beekeeper Blog {Ian Stepler videos as he explains in detail how to to this} ) Or you can open feed, just make sure your bees are getting the feed lol. And; By monitoring, and you feel the weight is getting too low and may run out before spring, you can mountain camp feed them. Mountain Camp worked GREAT for me this past winter season with some of the coldest temperatures that I remember in many years. -17c and below freezing for several days.
Our friend 15Member is giving solid and fool proof advice especially for a first year beekeeper, but if you do it RIGHT you can harvest your honey if you are willing to do it the right way. Or at least part of the honey. I also agree with Member you really need to hear from the locals there in your area which are experienced and knowledgeable as well. Again if you are not willing to do what it takes just simple save the honey for the bees as Member suggested.
Ben Framed:
One more thought. If you have 10 frames of honey and leave it all, come spring you still have 5 frames or what ever amount left, you can harvest part of it then when the flow is on, as long as it has not crystalized.
crispy:
Thankyou for your replies sorry about the rant but i am really flying blind here , i dont have small a hive beetle problem that i have seen or am aware of in my hive it is off the ground which i think may help . I have to do an inspection probably on the weekend where i will get a greater appreciation of if i do have many full capped frames , I understand about the guys in america i do watch kamon reynolds in tennasee he is a vibrant bee keeper who imparts his knowledge well , to be honest i dont think many people round my area keep bees ,they have been pretty busy of late though and many orientation flights happening soon i will expect to see drones outside the hive as we move into winter here in australia although we don't have severe winters where i live like i have seen in the U.S .
Again please accept my apologies for my rant yesterday as a new beek i am constantly looking for answers i suppose it is lucky i don't have a mentor i would probably drive them nuts with questions , books can give you some idea the same as videos but i know of even professional bee keepers who have mentors running hundreds of hives .
Bob Wilson:
Crispy. You will probably get more comments by posting in the regular/general thread, rather than this "down under" section. I consider it for you aussies, looking for regional advice from fellow countrymen. That might not be true, but it is what I have always thought.
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