January harvest

[TimV]

This is what the eucalyptus look like this time of the year by many of my apiaries



I pulled of 40 pounds from two hives, and others should be ready soon. One hive had not only drone cells but hatched drones. Here's my first harvest of the year!

[Brandy]

That's just not fair for the rest of us who still have 2-3 months to go !!

[HAB]

NICE!!
Hope to be about 60 days behind you!!

[TimV]

Don't forget we don't get rain from April to November, so this is my only time to score!

[Kathyp]

2 to 3 months?  i won't get anything until late july or august  :'(

that's a cruel thing to post to those of us in the deep freeze!!

[asprince]

I enjoyed your other photos. Was the "bee attack" a photo shop creation?

Steve

[TimV]

No, I just acted up during a swarm.

[DayValleyDahlias]

Are your Eucs blooming?  Mine aren't yet...we have Blue Gum all overt the place here.  A lot of people don't like this non-native, which has naturalized wonderfully in California, but I love 'em...

[TimV]

They bloom hear from December to early march, depending on seedling variation. You'll see a whole row of them, and each tree blooms for a couple weeks, but they vary up to a couple months.

[justgojumpit]

That's just not fair!  I'm still worrying about how my bees will make it through the winter!  Ice storm yesterday...

justgojumpit

[rdy-b]

When dose your swarm season start -mid-feb?  :lol: RDY-B

[DayValleyDahlias]

You know what Rdy, I think I am going to have to check my hives in Mid-Feb to prevent swarming.  Last year the one hive I had swarmed on March 3rd...Kirk-o told me I shoould be checking them in February and adding room for them at that time...go figure...

[rdy-b]

Yeep its the eucalyptus they brood up like crazy-this next week is going to be great weather for the bees -already have splits on my mind have 20 queens from tabers ordered- :lol: RDY-B

[TimV]

Yes, the forecasts look great for the next week. With my luck they'll build up full with brood and we'll have a full Feb. without sunshine, though, so I'm not quite ready to brag. Still, a strong flow in Jan. is better than a poke in the eye...

rdy, how do you describe euc honey? To me it's almost like the spicy taste you get in a nicely grown Granny Smith apple.

[rdy-b]

We dont chase the honey we look forward to there blooms for build up of bees to move to almonds -this area is not as fortunate as yours for the groves of euc-but there is always some with copious amounts of pollen for brood -pollen is white and it poures in the front door when available -I have heard that blue gum wont make a surplus of nectar except for one out of four years -Is this true-RDY-B

[TimV]

No, as long as the hives are strong and the weather's good they give 50 pounds minimum. I've heard there are places in Australia with several kinds of eucs that bloom over a long period where people can get 500 pounds per hive and it's easy to believe. I put a super on the hive in the picture 1 week before I harvested a super and when I checked it was 75 percent full. Everyone around here agrees that you get a super every two weeks during the euc flow from Dec. to end Feb. It's just that if the weather's bad you get hardly anything. Then by about June you have to have your hives by plants that are irrigated. Like pollen contracts or in town where there's landscaping. Everyone here irrigates their landscaping otherwise you'd just have a couple cactus and some rocks.

[DayValleyDahlias]

I am going to have to go inspect the Eucs today!

[TimV]

And a happy beekeeper, back from the Farmer's Market with some welcome cash!