my harvest is way down

danno · August 28, 2009, 02:37:21 PM

We never really did have a summer this year. I just looked at our area automated weather and the warmest day was back in june at 89.1 deg. We hard ever touched 80. Winds have been way higher than average. My honey is usually very light but this year it is dark and strong. Not sure where that came from.

sc-bee · August 28, 2009, 05:32:56 PM

Mine is 1/3 of last year. Too much rain.

acbs · August 28, 2009, 06:42:09 PM

We sure know what you're talking about here in Central Illinois. We will also be lucky to get a 1/3 of last year.
Checked one of our yards yesterday and just got back from another one today. Really discouraging. If it hadn't been for the early comb sections I managed to get this year we wouldn't have much. Some of our double brood box hives never even needed a super and even some of those are lighter now than I'm really comfortable with. For example, we have 5 supers divided up between 4 strong double brood hives a little apart from the rest of the hives in one yard. We'll be lucky to get a total of 2 supers of capped honey from the 5. This yard is located in a truck patch with lots of apple, peach, and apricot trees with blackberries, strawberries, and other produce. It's next to a lake with woods, fields, weeds, and wildflowers within easy foraging range. Has been an excellent yard in the past. Too much rain, cool weather, and wind. Thankfully at present we have lots of healthy bees in hives that range from fair to heavy amounts of pollen and little to plenty of nectar. The queens are slowing down on laying. Still have a higher number of drones in some colonies than I would expect under the circumstances. Hopefully they know something I don't. Still have time for fall foraging. Main concern now is to get what we have through the winter.
Arvin

Boom Buzz · August 28, 2009, 10:29:22 PM

Yeah! must be that global warm..um, wait global cool, uh..changing weather pattern..uhhh. Here in Colorado we have had the mildest summer by far in the 10 years we have been here. Very few days over 90. I hope to harvest one or two frames in the next couple of weeks - total for the season on three hives. Granted all were started this year. So I don't have enough experience to blame it on the weather. But it has been cooler this year here too. :-D

Happy Honey Harvest!

john

bee-nuts · August 29, 2009, 05:38:51 AM

From what I have read, it seems like honey production is down in all major producing countries. Buying price should be over $2.00 a pound from packers. You think that will happen.

PeeVee · August 29, 2009, 07:19:46 AM

My first year. If it stops raining and warms up I'll be doing another check for weight.

In my limited experience javascript:void(0); I was thinking the girls were doing pretty good with the Goldenrod. Then the few warm days have left us with a lot of rain again.

-Paul

MustbeeNuts · August 29, 2009, 09:46:54 AM

Quote from: danno on August 28, 2009, 02:37:21 PM
We never really did have a summer this year. I just looked at our area automated weather and the warmest day was back in june at 89.1 deg. We hard ever touched 80. Winds have been way higher than average. My honey is usually very light but this year it is dark and strong. Not sure where that came from.

Hey Danno , I noticed the same thing down here?? I figured it was the bees. The dark honey part.
Last year it was like this,

This year like this

irekkin · August 29, 2009, 10:38:47 AM

same story here in cen. va. the folks i've talked to, big and small, have'nt made half the crop they usually make.

mlewis48 · August 29, 2009, 12:13:17 PM

It is the same, here in Southern Ohio. Spring was too wet and Summer never came. I don't expect much of a Fall flow either. Let's hope that next year will be better, I don't see it getting any worse......
Marc

MustbeeNuts · August 29, 2009, 03:32:57 PM

I think the season is over now.. won't get much warmer I'm sure. 57f here today. bees are hardly moving at all.

Jim134 · September 04, 2009, 11:58:07 PM

What harvest :? :lau: :lau: :lau:

BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

Jack · September 05, 2009, 08:57:13 AM

Checked 8 hives yesterday with the help of my new and knowledgeable bee friend. We found all hives to be light and in need of feed immediately. Two are wintered over so I had hoped for a bit of surplus but that is not in the cards. It has been a bad year for beekeeping unless your only goal was to build new comb. I would expect honey prices to go up from what I am reading.

mswartfager · September 05, 2009, 09:48:59 AM

I agree with Jim...What harvest! Golden Rod is at its peak here, but not much to show for it. Talked to others in this area with same (lack of) results.

Kathyp · September 05, 2009, 11:43:07 AM

i just finished taking mine and got about 10 pounds. that's pretty sad. wonder how the other PNW folks did?

Irwin · September 05, 2009, 11:48:37 AM

Quote from: kathyp on September 05, 2009, 11:43:07 AM
i just finished taking mine and got about 10 pounds. that's pretty sad. wonder how the other PNW folks did?

Nota drop been feeding and put a pollen patty on yesterday

bee-nuts · September 06, 2009, 05:20:31 AM

I have not harvested yet, but I plan on it very soon. I have four different farmers within 1/4 to 3/4 of a miles that have alfalfa. It was all in bloom. The biggest two just cut it down. I still have about 30 acres left that they can work. I'm hoping that the stuff cut will bloom right back out when it starts recovering and that what is left will be there till then. I am waiting for the girls to finish capping what they have now. I hope to harvest that at the end of this week or early the following at latest. I will report then. All the honey I had this spring was mixed with sugar water and I just sacrificed half of these to some nucs that need them the rest I'm leaving for winter stores of course. If it were not for this lucky alfalfa bloom, I think I would be getting nothing either. My girls have paid no attention to the goldenrod at all. Crazy!!

tandemrx · September 06, 2009, 11:49:46 AM

Just removed 9 supers from 4 hives yesterday. I think I might get 2 supers of capped frames to spin out :'(.

Very odd in that on some frames there is a patch of capped honey about the size of a 3x5 card on the frame, but the rest of the frame is drawn, but near empty, not even much nectar. . . and the capped section looks like it has been capped for a while. Almost as if they had been feeding from the supers and depleting their own supplies during the summer. I know that some of the frames had been more full - but I so no evidence of robbing during any of my visits.

The hive bodies also seemed very light, so while there seems to be a HUGE goldenrod bloom and some alfalfa might bloom in next door field (although I don't see any goldenrod within any visual distance of the hives), rather than leave some supers on and hope they fill them, I think it is time to make sure they can fill up their hive bodies for winter and see where I am with mite counts.

I have seen a couple bees with deformed wings. :-\

A tough day yesterday. We will see what I can get for amount of honey today when we fire up the Power Ranger.

Bee populations didn't look horrible, but activity at entrances was not what I would expect at 3 of the 4 hives for a 78 degree sunny day. I will inspect more fully in a week or so.

The bees were very calm as we stole the supers.

vermmy35 · September 06, 2009, 12:05:45 PM

I am sorry to hear that everyone is having problems. This was my first year and I harvested 75 lbs. and when I put the suppers back on the hive so the girls could clean and dry them. When I went out to pull the suppers I found out that the girls had filled one of the med. supers before I could pull it off. Also my deeps are heavy and full of brood, the weather here in Chicago has also been crappy all summer long, but I think they really had no Competition in the area and that is why they did so well.

rast · September 06, 2009, 02:34:29 PM

It's a big "What Harvest?" club this year.

skflyfish · September 07, 2009, 06:12:13 PM

I just started harvesting and extracting, a few frames at a time, so I don't know what my yield will be, but it appears to be close to what I was getting last year. My honey from my first hive is light, like last year. Weird, eh, cause I am between Al and Danno.

Jay