Honey Harvest ?

[papabear]

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.

[JP]

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

[Cindi]

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

[JP]

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
[/quote]

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

[sarafina]

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?

[JP]

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

[papabear]

Thanks for all the help  8-)

[DayValleyDahlias]

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!

[Cindi]

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