Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: zzzzzzzzpr on April 09, 2013, 04:16:03 pm
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hello all. ill be getting bees here in a couple of days and will need to make some sugar water. how long will it keep? how can i get it to keep longer?
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1:1 will mix up with hot water out of the tap so just make what you'll use in a few days. There are a few ways to keep it longer like honeybee healthy or bleach but what the sense
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If you are doing thin syrup stimulant, you can also add thymol or thyme essential oil to it and it's active against fungus. Randy Oliver details its use on his blog Scientific Beekeeping.
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It will keep long enough for the bees to take it up; a week or so. If you're going to keep some longer than that add a tablespoon of 'Apple Cider Vinegar' to each gallon of sugar syrup. Then keep it in the fridge. It'll last for months.
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I mix up a 10 pound bag at a time for convenience, I use 5 quarts of water to get a 1:1 mix. That makes right at 2 gallons which I refrigerate in plastic milk jugs. Then I just pour out quart jars, which I use for feeding, as needed.
I always put the quart jar in a bowl and run some hot tap water on it for a few minutes to take the chill out before giving it to the bees. Sort of like warming a baby bottle. :-D
Good Luck!
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There's really no point in making more than you're going to use. If you're using a quart, half gallon or a gallon feeder, make what you need. Then keep track of what the bees go through and make it as needed.
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There's really no point in making more than you're going to use....
Other than if I mix a quart at a time instead of 2 gallons, I have to do it 8 times as often. :-D Not to mention, I'll probably find myself needing it when I have the least amount of time available to mess with mixing it.
But hey, do whatever works for you... :)
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I make 12 gallons at a time and put in a 15 gallon sprayer. You know the type you get at a farm supply store that has a 12V pump. I take off the spray attachment on the end of the wand and can run syrup out to the girls and fill up the feeders. However I frequently have syrup left over, so I put it in jugs and into the freezer it goes. This way it won't get moldy and I can pull it out a day ahead of when I think I will need it and it's ready to go.
So bottom line is freeze it and it will keep a good long time.
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thank you for replys
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From what I've gathered from reading other's experiences, to reduce mold anywhere from 1000mg to 2000mg of ascorbic acid can be added to each gallon of boiling water before adding the sugar. Crushed up vitamin-c tablets work. The ascorbic acid helps retard/prevent(?) the mold from growing and also lowers the pH some to a less favorable environment for mold. Using boiling water basically does two things...it sterilizes the water thus killing most of the critters that might already be there waiting to grow and it helps the crushed up vit-c tablets dissolve. Going with Michael Bush's recommended 5:3 syrup ratio also creates a less mold friendly environment.
Ed
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I make 5:3 and it keeps very well compared to 1:1.