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Author Topic: Harvesting my honey--need advice..  (Read 4887 times)

Offline Queen Bee

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Harvesting my honey--need advice..
« on: July 01, 2004, 09:52:03 am »
Next Sat. I will bee harvesting my honey!! I have been keeping bees for 4 yrs. now BUT the first year --no honey because of new foundation and  new pkg. bees...Second year--I had two great hives BUT it rain everyday for what seems liks 5 months-- not much honey at all (30 lbs.).. Third year--I split my hives,added a couple more, feed them for months, added new queens and started out with a bang-BUT there was a heat wave with the drought and no one in NC made honey. This year--I added more hives, requeeened, had drawn foundation for almost all my hives, the weather has been perfect AND now I have approx. 30  med supers (completely full), and approx 25 frames (that I will pull from other supers), 4 deep supers and even my two nucs have med supers on them that are full. :D
PS remember- I have one really hot hive that is going to be requeened before the robbing.. How would you handle this???Week ahead, week later, day before????????

Now comes my questions: How do you prepare for you extracting day? Do you rob your honey and extract it on the same day? Do you have a tried and true method? What is the best way to rob, extract and bottle this much honey?? I have a little 'house' that is set up. I have an extractor (9 frame), I have purchased my jars, labels, decapping knife, pans, strainers, plastic 5 gal. buckets etc,etc...

Thanks for your suggestions, comments, and advise.. Thanks Debbie

Offline Finman

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Re: Harvesting my honey--need advice..
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2004, 10:30:31 am »
Quote from: Queen Bee



 
Quote
What is the best way to rob,


The best is put a excluding plate between capped honey box and another hive. Bees move themselves during 24 hours fron honey box. That makes the minor disturbance to colony.

I do not know what is that "excluder" in real term. Bees exhauster or ...a little one way apparatus in the plate.

Honey must be warm 30-35 C. So it escapes easily from cells and goes easily through sieve.


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How do you prepare for you extracting day?


Just beeing nervous....I do not like that work.

 
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Do you rob your honey and extract it on the same day?


If I am hurry to put empty boxes into hive, it is same day.

I gather enough capped honeyboxses, at least 200 kg, because many kilos is spent to get your "process greased with honey". It takesto me  4 hours to handle  the 200 kg honey. Full lanstroth box has 20-25 kg honey and farrar box 15 kg.

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Do you have a tried and true method?


Ever heard that? Do mistakes or---

Cover vax must be mashed and then it may flow in the warm place  over night. Wax contains much honey.

I exracted my first 20 years in the 3 m2 room. No misorder. - Now I have 50 m2. Too much space to keep everything in disorder.


 extract and bottle this much honey?? I have a little 'house' that is set up. I have an extractor (9 frame), I have purchased my jars, labels, decapping knife, pans, strainers, plastic 5 gal. buckets etc,etc...

Do not use much smoke when you figth for honey from bees. Odor of smoke goes to the honey.

Offline Beth Kirkley

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Harvesting my honey--need advice..
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2004, 09:04:38 pm »
Usually I've only taken 3-6 frames at a time of honey. I've had to squeeze all my honey from the wax though, and that takes longer I think than an extractor would. We'll be getting our extracting equiptment this weekend, so it'll be my first try with it.

But we usually do the frames the same day as we've pulled. Mostly because I don't want to leave the space in the hive open for too many days. I'm afraid they might get too much burr comb built up. It would be fine for you to extract it, put the frames back, and then leave the bottling for another day. Just so long as the bees can't get to the honey. That would be horrible to find that the bees FOUND this stash in the morning.

Also, since I work with only a few frames, I generally shake them off at the hive. I'll then gently use the brush to get the last few off and put the frame in a sealed box to carry it home in. But they do get angry at getting shook off...... so I'm not sure how it goes when trying to do several frames this way. The best way I'm sure to get prepared is to use what Finman talked of - one of those bee escapes, or Bee-Go on a fume board.

Don't label you're bottles before bottling. Things get sticky, and you'd want to wipe down the bottle with a wet rag.

You can do this!!!

Beth

Offline steve

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Harvesting my honey--need advice..
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2004, 09:49:46 pm »
Well Debbie, with 30 med. supers full of honey I sure hope ya got a LOT of those 5 gal. buckets......you'll need'm.....
  Depending on where you are in NC and the time of year will dictate the type and quality of honey you will be extracting. Spring honey which we here in the foothills exstracted last month is usually somewhat dark and    is graded as such.....dark is dark ! But this year was the 100 year exception, we harvested a light amber to amber that taste as smooth as silk.........The point is , once the flow is over and before the next flow begins you can pull your supers at anytime BUT you need to exstract within 48 hours due to the possiblity of waxworms hatching and ruining the the comb. It's also good to have a window in the room that you are going to exstract in so that any hitch-hiking bees that may be left on the supers will find thier way to the light and freedom (when you open that window). I use  fume boards so there are very few hangers on!
  In my area of NC the sourwood flow is now underway so all my supers from the spring flow have been install back on the hives serveral weeks ago..........
   Because the sourwood honey can come in serveral differant grades (colors) and somtimes differant tastes I will take my time and grade the frames of honey according to color and shade (light or dark)..........
    Once the honey is exstracted it needs to settle in your buckets for at least a week so all the air comes to the surface......then you can bottle if you choose to do so........I use gate valves in the bottom of my barrells so I'm always drawing off the bottom......no air that way......
                      See you at the NCSBA meeting in Charlette 8th, 9th
                                                       Steve

Offline Queen Bee

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Harvesting my honey--need advice..
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2004, 10:19:18 pm »
Thank you! Everyone--- This is what we have done when I have extracted==We usually pull the supers and frames in the am and then extract after lunch... bottle after dinner. My children have decided they would like to help :D ..This might be the last time but they have offered!  Oldest DD (30yrs old) has helped the last two years and really enjoys it. She doesn't like honey--so she tells everyone that I like for her to help because she won't eat up the profit!! :D  Other DD and Son will be here to help,also... Wish me luck and thanks for the information.