brood to honey ratio - what is best?

[Algonam]

In my previous post it was discovered that I have alot of honey and suggested I need to switch some frames around to allow for for brood frames.
I woke up thinking about this and am wondering what ratio is ideal?
Another question is....should I be controlling this? or shouldn't the bees know what to do naturally?
My objective is to have a taste of honey this year, but more importantly have a strong hive for wintering and enjoy the volumes of honey next year.
Now, I am finally having fun with this hobby!

[Finski]

.
You maximize brood production= get a good queen

brood make bees

bees forage honey

get good pastures


there is no ideal ratio

[mikecva]

The bees know the correct ratio. The brood area will be the shape of a rugby ball and the honey normally above and around the brood. Sometimes in early spring you will find all of the brood in the upper boxes, with the lower box almost empty. If this happens, I will switch the upper and lower boxes and feed heavily. The queen will nominally move up in the hive, but remember, most damage is done to the colony by the beekeeper not the bees.   -Mike

[VolunteerK9]

Im not really sure what ideal would be, just make sure that you keep your broodnest open giving you queen ample room to lay. If your 20 frames are drawn but maybe not filled with brood or honey, I might hold off on adding another box and just move an empty (drawn) in towards your broodnest. I dont like adding any boxes that there arent ample bees to cover and protect.

[Finski]

.
Bees do not know ratio because that nosence is in beekeper's head.

[Algonam]

Once a frame has been used to produce brood in the bottom box, isn't that frame always going to be a brood frame?
Or.... if the bottom box is mostly honey and my 2nd box is all honey, then do I remove honey frames from bottom box and replace with new foundation/frames?
........I am probably asking many stupid questions now!!....but enjoying this hobby  :)

[AllenF]

Bees will store honey in old brood comb.   Think about when the queen ends up laying in your honey super.

[bailey]

depends on time of year.
since its coming into fall there you need as much honey as possible to winter over.

if it were me i would want at least one full super on the hive as well as a back filled brood chamber going into a winter.

i use 3 med boxes to over winter here. ( i use all mediums) 
when the first frost hits i want the hive to have the bottom box with some brood and some honey.

the upper 2 boxes i want full of honey,

by spring i usually have only 1/2 of the top box full of honey and i put that next to capped brood into the bottom boxes so there is no fall honey that makes it into the extractor when i pull the spring crop.

let them keep the honey they have and look to have a booming hive in spring!

Bailey