Took my first honey today

[hoosierlogger]

This is the second full year I have had bees, I had always been leery of taking from them. I was afraid I would take too much and they wouldn't have enough to make it through winter. Well last week I put the second honey super on my strongest hive. I decided today that I would go take 3 frames from them. The 3 medium frames netted me 3 quarts, and 3 half pints us a little extra. So I got almost 12 pounds of honey from my bees. Only have to get about 150 more pounds to break even!!!

Wife put a couple pics on face book and people are already wanting to buy some. I wish I had enough to sell.

There is no honey in the world sweeter than that from your own bees.

[smokeywolf]

Used to have a co worker who kept bees. I'd buy 10 pounds of orange honey once a year from him. Wasn't cheap but I got what I paid for. It was delicious; especially in tea. Raw honey beats the heck out of the processed, filtered junk on the store shelves.

Congrats on your first harvest.

[Bzcraig]

Brother you are right! The stuff purchased in stores is awful compared to real honey! It even smells different.

[duckey]

You can always feed them sugar water in the fall to ensure they have enough saved up for winter.

[hoosierlogger]

You can always feed them sugar water in the fall to ensure they have enough saved up for winter.

Yes I usually do, the past years they had to build all of the comb aswell as make the honey. This year all they have had to do was make the honey, they built the comb last year. I put about 10 pounds of sugar on top of the hive too. They eat it and it helps to absorb moisture in the winter.

[CastingFool]

I get my honey from a local beekeeper. He runs about 150 hives. I usually buy one, sometimes 2 gals of raw honey at a time, but we do share with family. I get wax from him, too.

[BrentD]

I generally get 3-5 supers from each of my two hives. I harvest in August and make sure that they have at least one full super for winter, plus whatever else is in the hive bodies. I have only twice in over 10 yrs lost a hive to winter. They have never starved over winter, but one year it was super cold, then we had a long 70 degree warm spell for 2 weeks that kicked them into "Spring mode" with lots of eggs being laid at Christmas time. And then the REAL winter hit long and hard. And that killed off one of my hives.

If I feed them at all, I give them back some of their honey in the spring, but normally, they don't need it. I protect my bees very well, unlike most folks over winter, and that really helps with the rate that they burn honey to keep warm.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie//Bees/Bees%20Winter%20South%20Side.jpg

[Plate plinker]

Nice doggies and yummy honey.

[BrentD]

Life is good for my bees. This year looks especially good so I imagine I'll have plenty to give away this year. But the girls will get to keep a bunch so the winter, no matter how cold or long will be no problem for them. They easily have 40-50 pounds put up already and we havent' even started the basswood flowering yet. That's the cream of the honey crop for us.


http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/Bees/Bees%20on%20top%20of%20hive.JPG

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/Bees/Bees%20on%20front%20of%20hive.JPG

[rancher1913]

we have several hives and bought 3 more packages this spring to increase our numbers, all of the packages died. we purchased them through our bee keepers club and not a single packed survived for the whole club--about a semi load. on the bright side a tree fell in the pasture the other day and we discovered it was full of honey and had a nice little colony of bees, we rescued the bees and strapped their combs onto frames in a hive box, so far they seem happy and have settled into their new home.

[BrentD]

Rancher, do you ever try dividing hives? If I lose a hive for some reason, or lose a queen, I have been able to rescue or restore a colony by taking from the healthy one. I only have 1 hive but have managed to avoid buying bees for a long time now, but working with them this way. Once in a while I bring in a new queen for refreshing the gene pool a bit, but that's all. Keeps my expenses way down.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
This has been an encouraging read for me. One day we will settle up north there and I trust in a place we can have our own hives. I grew up in SW Michigan and numerous people had hives . Never lacked any honey. Down here there are numerous mountain villagers that have hives and we always have a couple quart containers handy. Thank you each of you for posting this.
Mike in Peru

[rancher1913]

sorry brentd but I'm not skilled enough to try that yet. I have so many irons in the fire its easier to just buy a package and this is the first time we've had a problem. I have 2 wild hives in buildings that I want to relocate but don't want to ruin the buildings (plaster inside and stucco outside).

[Blammer]

here's my honey

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Beekeeping/DSCN6897.jpg (http://s54.photobucket.com/user/blammer8mm/media/Beekeeping/DSCN6897.jpg.html)

and here is where I keep my bees. :)

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Beekeeping/DSCN6901.jpg (http://s54.photobucket.com/user/blammer8mm/media/Beekeeping/DSCN6901.jpg.html)

just kidding. That's where I collected a hive from one time.

If you put two honey supers on, you should have no problem taking one full one for yourself.

[Blammer]

here's what I bottled up yesterday.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Beekeeping/DSCN9581_zpsnhzaswmd.jpg (http://s54.photobucket.com/user/blammer8mm/media/Beekeeping/DSCN9581_zpsnhzaswmd.jpg.html)

and it's all sold already. :)

[meterman]

Saw some containers of comb honey yesterday in the supermarket, $18 a pound. Wow..

[BrentD]

sorry brentd but I'm not skilled enough to try that yet. I have so many irons in the fire its easier to just buy a package and this is the first time we've had a problem. I have 2 wild hives in buildings that I want to relocate but don't want to ruin the buildings (plaster inside and stucco outside).

Rancher, it is a lot easier than you think. No real skill. If you can harvest honey you can split a hive.

Say, how much are you guys getting for your honey, if you are selling it? I used to sell at $2/lb (wholesale to a local food coop). But I imagine the price is much higher now.

I need to throw another pair of supers on my hives before I take off for Raton on Thursday. That should keep them until I get back, I hope. The basswood bloom is going to hit like gangbusters as I'm pulling out of the driveway. I wish I could be here for it. It is one sweet smelling time.

[Bad Water Bill]

Jist got Girtys nu shuz all polishd an her mane brushd n redi fer da trip ta git sum uv dat nekter den u sez ALL SOLD OUT.[smilie=b:[smilie=b:

[MaryB]

I need to find a local honey supplier. Last stuff I bought in the store was beyond nasty. Think it was mostly corn syrup

[Bad Water Bill]

The store I drop my books for vets also sells honey.

Yes right out of the old Pullman area of Chiraq.

Gun shots all day. Not sure how good OR safe it would be?

[Blammer]

$7-9 per pound of honey. More if there is comb in it.

I remove bees from houses, if you need any suggestions I can help, PM me.

[BrentD]

$7-9/lb! That is awesome. I should get back in this business!

[Wolfer]

With the rain and high humidity here the girls have been slow to cap the honey this year. I'm gonna make the rounds today and see if any is ready.

Splitting a nuc off of a strong hive is as easy or easier than installing a package for me. Plus their free and they will probably survive whereas the package probably won't.
I start at least one nuc every weekend just for swarm control.

In talking to people about bees here is the biggest problem I see. Most hobby beeks want one or two hives and that's all. Since like all Gods creatures they're born looking for a place to die in a year or two or three their bees will misfire on a queen and without intervention the hive is doomed.

As soon but no sooner that the blackberries bloom in the spring I start some nucs. These will replace any bees I've lost. If not needed there is a ready market for them.

In the old days when I saw a hive going downhill I babied them along until they finally died. Not anymore. At the first sign of trouble I combine them with a strong hive and start a nuc in their equipment.

Equipment is expensive. Bees are free once you have them and you keep them reproducing.

[BrentD]

I will requeen if a hive is headed own hill (as in kill the old queen and let them make a new one, or buying a queen for some new genes). But it is easy to see if the queen is the issue usually. I've had one probably CCD dead hive over over the years, maybe 2 winterkills, and that's about it. I've not medicated at at all in the last 5 years at least, and haven't lost a single hive since. I make no effort to control or stop swarming - my bees probably swarm once or twice per year - I don't mind. It's a sign of a healthy hive.

I only have two hives, but that's enough to rescue one with the other if necessary.

[rancher1913]

wish you guys were closer and could help me learn, I do better with verbal instructions than with a book. we have several hives with attractant placed near the wild hives in hopes of catching a swarm, and one of these days I'm going to open up the walls and relocate the wild hives. I built a really nice bee vacuum that fits on top of a hive body that makes it easy to collect a swarm.

[BrentD]

rancher, you might check with your state university extension service. There is a decent chance they have someone nearby who can come out and check the health of your hives and give you advice. And there is almost certainly some local bee clubs or groups, or at least a few locals that would be happy to show you some ropes. I agree that a little bit of in-person help goes a long ways. That's how I learned - mostly.

[Wolfer]

As Winnie the pooh would say, bees will be bees and they do as they please. However I think you'll have better luck trapping a swarm if the traps are about 800/1000 yards from where the parent colony is.

As Brent said, with a little hands on experience it's pretty easy to tell when a queen is headed downhill.

You should be able to find a local beek that will let you watch while he works his hives. A guy can always use a free hand to help set off boxes etc.

[hoosierlogger]

i ate some of the honey on my buckwheat pancakes I made from some of the buckwheat I planted late last summer for the bees. It just doesn't get any better than that. The buckwheat was a lot of work to process, but man did those cakes taste good!!

[Blammer]

rancher1913, make sure the bees have a soft place to land when they arrive in the vacuum tube, make sure your vacuum tube is SMOOTH! not bumpy like NORMAL vacuum tubes.

make sure you have some means to control the suction, make it JUST enough to get the bees if they are hanging on and no more. Too much suction and you'll have 'bee gut jelly' in the bottom of the vac.

I built my bee vac too from scratch and learned a lot about what NOT to do and what works. I have a really good one now that if I vacuum up a queen 95% chance she'll live. :)

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

snip...

Say, how much are you guys getting for your honey, if you are selling it? I used to sell at $2/lb (wholesale to a local food coop). But I imagine the price is much higher now.




I need to find a local honey supplier. Last stuff I bought in the store was beyond nasty. Think it was mostly corn syrup

My veggie farmer friend keeps bees (been doing it for over 20 years), mostly for pollination. Before the CCD hit his hives hard, he'd sell bulk for $1 per pound. Then he had about 5 years of CCD die off...they'd be GONE by sept. So he'd buy new packages every spring (for pollination). Three years ago, he bought nuks from a guy trucking them in from Texas. They haven't disappeared (CCD) yet, he did have some honey to sell the last two years, first time in over 5 years. He charged $7 per lb, that seems to be the going rate around here.

He usually extracts honey in Sept. I usually get a quart jar full from his first extractions...The "extra mild" clover honey ...His later extractions have ragweed influences and it's not as mild.

Mary, let me know if you need me to hook you up with some...if McLeod County honey is local enough for you ?
Jon

[MaryB]

I am in Yellow Medicine county... be a 150 or so mile round trip to there... Found a guy down in Luverne, has good prices... but a bit wary because he is a big commercial operation selling to all the HyVees around the 5 state area. Looking to get 8-12 1 pound jars so I have honey for the year.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I now "about" where you are, so that wasn't what I was asking...I just asked about local, as it's relative to one of the main reasons some people seek out "local" honey for the health and allergy benefits of local honey.

[MaryB]

Yep, why I would like to find someone in a 2-4 county area... I suffer from horrible allergies and need to try something besides the nasal sprays the doc pushes(they are NOT good for the nose)