Well, I am planning ahead this year (sort of!) and wanted to ask a couple questions about honey - pulling it, straining it, and storing it. Last year my hives did well enough, and I crushed comb and all, straining the honey. Honestly, the crushing and straining was a pain in the behind, and pretty messy to boot! With my hives increasing this year, I want to be more efficient.
Can I pull honey supers through the year and work them as they get full, or is there an advantage to leaving them on the hives? Last year I kept stacking supers and pulled everything in the fall - but pulling them earlier would be useful for me. The fall gets pretty busy with other harvests, and if I can pull supers as they are filled, that is what I will do.
Last year some of my honey granulated - what steps might I take to avoid this? I strained the honey and bottled it in Mason jars, but a number of the jars became fully granulated. Any advice on avoiding this is appreciated.
I know most everyone is focused on the spring and summer management of their hives, but I appreciate any advice on managing the production of honey in an efficient manner. (I have four hives, so this is a hobby-scale operation.)
Charles Fry
Fry Farms
Anytime I find a super with all frames fully capped, I harvest it and return it to the same hive.
Granulation is to be expected with any pure, raw honey. Some will granulate faster than others. Storage temps. will affect the time it takes. It's best to let it go, then re-liquefy it when ready to use or sell.
A friend takes all of his harvested honey while still in the super and puts it in the corner of his honey house. Then makes a curtain out of plastic to make a small enclosure and puts a dehumidifier in side with it, will leave for a couple of days. Says it does wonder for his honey not granulating.
just a thought
G3