I only have done extracted honey. Had a lot of requests for comb honey this year. Going to try Ross Rounds and cut comb. Any advice on spring hive mgmt to prepare hives? Thinking of talking strongest double deeps and compacting to one deep with all capped brood and but one frame eggs, couple frames honey/pollen and shaking majority bees in from 2nd deep. Honey/pollen and uncapped brood sling with queen and enough nurse bees in the second deep moved next to parent hone in original position as split facing 180* from parent hive. Sound good to those with comb honey experience? Any advice appreciated
Try this three minute video.
https://youtu.be/DsXp9gWhLxg
Thanks
Your Welcome, Tim has another video showing how he packages this comb honey. He has a good marketing appearance set up. It would be worth you time to check it out and see how he does things if you are thinking of selling a lot of comb honey.
Good video Phillip. I need to order some of those packages for when we get good looking foundation less comb.
Jim Altmiller
The Rose rounds are so cool, prepackaged by the bees, just add the top and ready for sale. I have no experience other than viewing the rounds with the beautifully perfectly placed comb by the bees. For marketing comb, there is no equal in my eyes.
Blessings
I just looked at eBay $14 per each filled Ross comb.
Good video Phillip. I wonder why he trims the burr comb so cleanly off the frames. I thought you'd want to leave a starter area for the bees next season. Unless he's using a wax foundation.
Van - I LOVE ross rounds. Haven't been able to get the bees to draw them out yet. 3 yrs trying. Not a strong enough flow here maybe. I'm going to try a new approach next season. Maybe I can get them to draw out the rounds.
Thanks Mr Van, I had considered mentioning the Ross rounds but due to the information that I had gathered similar to the results that Cool experienced, I skirted mentioning those because ParksMtnApiary already has customers in the waiting and I simply pointed to the sure thing. But as you mentioned. If done properly and every jot and tildel is just right for the bees to fill out the Ross rounds, then yes by all means. In fact there is another system out now that produces comb honey in squares but the problems reported are less desirable than the rounds, from what I have read.
I have watched a video by Tim that features packaging theses same cut out squares. He places a beautiful information label on front and a beautiful blue ribbon that skirts the corners of the package in a diagonal angle that look 👀 irresponsible! I would like to watch that video again myself!
By the way, I am thinking Tim gets $19.95 for each of these squares. Look on his web site for confirmation.
Phillip
Quote from: CoolBees on December 15, 2019, 10:29:11 PM
Good video Phillip. I wonder why he trims the burr comb so cleanly off the frames. I thought you'd want to leave a starter area for the bees next season. Unless he's using a wax foundation.
Van - I LOVE ross rounds. Haven't been able to get the bees to draw them out yet. 3 yrs trying. Not a strong enough flow here maybe. I'm going to try a new approach next season. Maybe I can get them to draw out the rounds.
Cool, Tim has a video talking about the rounds. Look for the video titled;
Beekeeper's Honeybees Making & Harvesting Comb Honey
I don't know what hive manipulation needs to be done in the spring other than having a strong hive when the flow starts and make sure there's room in the boxes for the bees to work.
In the video he uses shallow frames. You can use medium frames and just leave a strip along the top for the bees to use as a guide to rebuild. I use the cheap plastic clamshell containers. The ones like he had in the video is a little bit pricey. I think they run over $1 a piece.
The best book on the topic is Carl Killion's "Honey in the Comb". Don't confuse this with his son's book by the same name. The best way to get comb honey drawn is a cut down split at the right time. The concepts of comb honey are to get it drawn as quickly as possible and then pull it before the bees finish the comb. That way the comb is white and soft. If you let them finish it, they will make it tough and darker.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm#cutdown
Can Comb honey be stored in the freezer? Are there problems associated with this?
Phillip
>Can Comb honey be stored in the freezer?
Yes.
>Are there problems associated with this?
It is the recommended way to store it.
Quote from: Michael Bush on December 16, 2019, 01:11:08 PM
>Can Comb honey be stored in the freezer?
Yes.
>Are there problems associated with this?
It is the recommended way to store it.
Thank you Mr Bush
The wax moths can't touch it in the freezer and honey doesn't crystallize very quickly when it's frozen.
Yes Mr Bush, I read Killions and your cut down splits, that?s my plan for my comb honey mgmt this next yr