Can i take the honey that is capped off the hive at any time or as soon as it is capped or do i wait till i can take all the supers off at the same time.
You can take it off if its capped or if you had a refractometer and it tested below 18% in water content. You can also take individual frames off and replace them with undrawn ones.
...JP
Papabear, there is nothing wrong with taking honey off the colony as it is capped. You do not have to wait until the entire super is done.
I have also knowledge that once the frame is 3/4 capped, that can be removed, the honey that is uncapped yet is cured enough for the human to take. Once the frame is 3/4 capped, unless there is a really good reason, it is a waste of wax for the bees to finish capping the frame. So go ahead, take that frame of honey ;) :) :) :)
When I do the honey harvest, I go to each colony with another super alongside. I take each frame of honey that I want to take and put it in the super that I will bring up to the house. I don't take an entire super at a time, I can't lift a deep full of honey, so that is my method. I run all deeps in my colonies. I can still lift a deep full of bees/honey, but not a honey super, hee, hee. I am a small woman, but I have the most incredible strength in my body, at 55, yes, yes, that makes my day to think of the strength that I possess, hee, hee, sorry, gotta toot my horn, no one else will :lol: 8-) 8-) 8-) Have that beautiful day, that honey day, and.....this is the special day, the Day for Fathers, keep smilin'. Cindi
Cindi: I am a small woman, but I have the most incredible strength in my body, at 55, yes, yes, that makes my day to think of the strength that I possess, hee, hee, sorry, gotta toot my horn, no one else will :lol: 8-) 8-) 8-) Have that beautiful day, that honey day, and.....this is the special day, the Day for Fathers, keep smilin'. Cindi
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She's strong from all the digging and moving rocks, all two million of 'em. ;)
Remember one thing about uncapped honey is when you remove it you need to have it in a controlled environment or it will absorb moisture, try and harvest and bottle it fairly quickly.
...JP
I just checked my upper super today after not looking in for a month (been ill). I used starter strips because I want to harvest the honey using crush and strain.
When I checked the middle frames, they were completely drawn out with a little less than half capped. I had new frames with starter strips ready to replace if any had more capped honey, but decided to leave them alone for another couple of weeks.
I was going to ask how much needed to be capped to harvest, but this thread answered my question. I am waiting on a bucket with the filters to arrive anyway so I am not really ready to harvest.
I do have another question - JP you said if you have uncapped honey to bottle as soon as possible. If I take out the frames with 3/4 capped and some uncapped, then the uncapped honey will get mixed in with the capped honey. Is this ok if I bottle right away? Or should I only cut out the capped honey to crush and strain?
Sara, glad you're feeling better. Many have honey houses where they use heaters to keep things warm and even dehumidifiers to remove moisture from the air, where they do their harvesting. I just make sure its hot in my house when I harvest, which my wife hates.
Here's some info: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01338.htm
...JP
Thanks for all the help 8-)
Hi All, I really like that way of honey harvesting, it seems much kinder and gentler on the bees & me too.
I am a "tiny little woman" like Cindi, so I have to plan my strategy when working with the bees. But hey, bees are tiny too and look what they can do.
I am wondering if one could remove the racks in their ovens, heat the oven so that it is around 100, and just set the frames of honey in there for a bit?
Linda T 'Tillie' has some great video on her blog for crush and strain, think I
'll have a look see again to refresh my memory!
Quote from: DayValleyDahlias on June 18, 2008, 09:05:37 PM
I am wondering if one could remove the racks in their ovens, heat the oven so that it is around 100, and just set the frames of honey in there for a bit?
Hey, girl, I think you got something goin' on around here, that is a thought, must keep that oven under 100 I would think, I think about 92 is about a great temperature for a honey house, if you could stand it, hee, hee. Beautiful day, lovely and bright, smiling and lovin'. Cindi