Fondant feeding

[BjornBee]

I mentioned fondant feeding on another thread. But seeing it, is better than words. I have a site that is hard to get too after winter starts, so I thought I would throw some fondant on the hives and see whats left in the spring. Last year, I fed some hives that came out of pumpkins this way and 6 out of 7 made it through winter. And they were bone dry with little honey. These hive were all split late in the season and some were somewhat light.

Each block is 50 pounds, and I split them in two. So each hive will get 25 pounds.

Hope this helps.

Pic 1....the commercial fondant in the 50 pond block. it's like clay, but can be cut with a hive tool

pic 2....The fondant goes directly on the inner cover.

pic 3.... An empty box goes on then the top

[TwT]

do you buy or make your own?

[BjornBee]

Buy. It's a little more costly (38.50 for 50 pounds...delivered to my doorstep), but no making my own, no syrup, no bottles.....gives my more time to hang out here...priceless!

And I crack up every time I look at that photo of "you"... :shock:

[TwT]

 :-D


where you get it from? looks pretty good

[BjornBee]

I get it from a bakery supply company. It is a "Dawn Foods" product, and you can see if there is a distributor near you by visiting their website. Just google it.

[TwT]

how much do you give each hive? other words how for does 50#'s go? 

[BjornBee]

how much do you give each hive? other words how for does 50#'s go? 

Today, I was splitting the 50 pounds into two 25 pound sections. This is a yard I will not be back at till the first opportunity in late January. Normally if a hive really needs feed, this is the amount I feed them. I know 25 pounds will last at least 2-3 months if not all the way to spring. Maybe that has something to do with the russian and carni bees, being very frugal.

It seems having the cluster right up against the fondant located at the top of the hive under the inner cover, gives them the best chance of making it when they are light and perhaps a smaller cluster than what I like. I think the trapped heat makes all the difference. 

I also do feed some of my stand alone 5 frame nucs and 5 over 5 nucs about 5 to 6 pounds at a time, using a two inch spacer on top. Works really well.

[buzzbee]

It's okay to completely cover the center hole on the inner cover with the fondant or is there a notch in the front of these inner covers?

[rast]

 "Dawn Foods" is a supplier to either WinnDixie or Publix. I don't know which one I got the Dawn buckets from. Possibly avalable from one of them.

[BjornBee]

It's okay to completely cover the center hole on the inner cover with the fondant or is there a notch in the front of these inner covers?

Hello buzz,
I plug any notches. You do not want bees from other hives to gain entrance. I do put the fondant right over the hole.

Almost all my hives (except a few) do not have notches, and they usually have the top area glued and sealed as air tight as possible. So I don't think you lose too much of anything by setting the fondant right over the hole.

[BeeHopper]

I think that is a good price for 50 lbs. of fondant. BTW, what are the "listed" ingredients of this particular fondant and shelf life ? I am concerned with additives.

[BjornBee]

In this order....sugar, water, corn syrup. Nothing else. Shelf life...not sure.

[BeeHopper]

In this order....sugar, water, corn syrup. Nothing else. Shelf life...not sure.

Good enough, Thanks  :)

I am digging around the Dawn Foods website, but I cannot order anything through them nor their distributors till they assign me an account number, I have already registered on their site. Thanks for bringing this info. to the thread because I have gotten sick of making fondant and it is never enough to feed 15 hives. :-P

[johnnybigfish]

 Ive heard of this stuff before but have never seen it!
This is the weirdest thing I've seen in a beehive!

your friend,
john

[Damonh]

make sure there is no cream of tarter in it

[Cindi]

make sure there is no cream of tarter in it

Damonh, just curious, is there something wrong with cream of tarter, I know nothing of it, other than I use it to make English toffee, I need to know, no particular reason, just my need to know stuff, hee, hee  :) :) :)  Have a great and wonderful day, great healthy wishes to us all.  Cindi

[BjornBee]

Cindi,
Cream of Tartar (tartaric acid) helps syrup/bee candy/fondant from spoiling and stores of sugar from crystalizing to soon in the cells. The use of tartar goes back many years, and has seen it's share of conflicting research as to whether the positives outway the negatives. Some have suggested that it may actually shorten a bees life. I think there are many ways to get around worrying about what syrup or fondant does long term stored in the hive....like stop taking honey late in the season and thus not needing to feed all fall. ;)

I have never used, and have no plans of adding it to any feed of mine. I feed syrup and fondant and see no justification for adding cream of tartar.

[Cindi]

BjornBee.  Oh, thank you for information.  I left lots of honey for the bees this year and haven't fed them anything.  Just now to hope that they have enough stores.  Have that wonderful day and life.  Cindi

[PerryBee]

Hey Bjorn
 I've phoned around up here and found a bakery supply store that sells fondant by the pail. They have two types, a regular version with water,sugar,sucrose only and a softer version with a few additional (food coloring,etc.) things in it. I assume I would want the regular stuff. Is it easy to work with? I use a 1 1/2" spacer above my inner cover for insulation, do you think I could work this stuff into a thin slab and put it over the inner cover hole? Is it maleable? Seems like cheap insurance to me. Thanks for the pics. Perry

[BjornBee]

Perry,

Thank you.

Your right, do not get anything with additives, coloring, etc.

I know there are other types out there. the stuff I get is sugar, HFCS, and water. It is the consistency of clay. Hard when its gets cold, and a bit soft when its warm. But you can cut it.

I put mine right on the inner cover whole. (Just make sure there are no entry points to the fondant from the top of the hive)

[PerryBee]

I use an inner cover with a small notch placed in the down side of the cover for ventilation during the winter months, should I close this up or will it cause damp conditions in the hives?

[BjornBee]

I use an inner cover with a small notch placed in the down side of the cover for ventilation during the winter months, should I close this up or will it cause damp conditions in the hives?

I don't use one myself, but don't think it hurts as long as it's turned down, in regards to the fondant.

I will add that dead-air space and heat retention is something you may want to look at. I like upper entrances, but not all the way to the top. I think the bees use dead-air space and trapped heat and this helps with early brood rearing.

[TwT]

I haven't found a supplier for Dawn Foods in my area, what is the things to look for when you buy from a bakery?

[BjornBee]

I haven't found a supplier for Dawn Foods in my area, what is the things to look for when you buy from a bakery?

Not sure how close this distributor is....

http://www.yellowpages.com/info-LMS61324372/Dawn-Food-Products/maps?back_to=%2FAtlanta-GA%2FBakers-Equipment-Supplies%3F

Go to yellowpages dot com Punch up Georgia, and you can scan by city and then pull up the "B" catagory which will give you bakers, bakers supplies, etc. If you can not find a place closer, call the dawn foods in Douglasville, and ask them who is the nearest customer they have to you. They can always throw on a few extra boxes if you work it out with the drop location.

Good Luck.

[Jim134]

I haven't found a supplier for Dawn Foods in my area, what is the things to look for when you buy from a bakery?

    http://www.dawnfoods.com/public/managed/contact_us/nfindex.asp
   
                                          or

    http://www.dawnfoods.com/public/managed/contact_us/locations/georgia/index.asp



    May help you




    BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)