Top Bar Hive methods in a Langstroth hive?

[jeremy_c]

I am wondering. A few things that I find a bit interesting with the top bar hive are:

• 1. Start w/no foundation
• 2. Harvest honey with the crush/strain method
• 3. Harvest honey more frequently, thus not needing 3-4 supers

1. Is easy enough to do, simply use no foundation and provide a guide for the bees to use as a straight line.

2. If you use no foundation, you can simply cut the comb out from the foundationless langstroth frame, right?

3. This is where I am not sure. Most people harvest twice a year and do it all in one run. Is there anything from stopping me from taking a honey frame from a langstroth hive (that is full and capped) and replacing it with an empty frame, just as you would do in a top bar hive?

Jeremy

[Natalie]

You could do that but you may as well just pull a super and add another each time.
I do the same method that you just described but plan on pulling a full super and replacing it with another so I can crush and strain a whole box at a time.

[Michael Bush]

Sure you can.  It's just more frequent work and it's simpler to just pile on the boxes.  If you're going to do that, then I'd build a long hive and stop lifting boxes:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeshorizontalhives.htm