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  1. M

    Blending batches of honey with different water content

    Hi all, I don't usually blend my honey, but I have about 25lb of honey which is around 21% water content, and another 25-30lb which is around 16.5%. I am considering blending both, the theory being I will have around 60lb of honey and the water content will average to around 19% - therefore...
  2. M

    Jars - from who & how much?

    Yep - sterilising kills everything, thats the point, whether its a new jar or an old one. I'll carry on re-using the jars my customers bring back!
  3. M

    Jars - from who & how much?

    We use them, they worked out the cheapest price per jar incl P&P we could find the last two times we ordered. The first time the packing left a lot to be desired and we had several broken jars, but they refunded pro rata. The last time, packing was perfect and no breakages. As for re-using...
  4. M

    I suspect two queens

    I had the same thing a couple of months ago, united what I thought was a q- and a q+ colony, later found eggs above and below, thought she might be a runt, removed the qx anyway risking the two queens killing each other if I had two, then inspected a few days later and saw both queens, each on...
  5. M

    Moving stores.

    Could be because it still smells of home. Try leaving it off for a day, or maybe smoking then airing it for a bit first. Dont know if that will work, but there is more chance they will see it as 'outside' forage if you do that. By the same token, leave only a small hole so less pheromones get...
  6. M

    a/s now charging all cells?

    I should probably point out that this might have seemed unusual to me as I have been used to seeing BIAS and/or possibly not seen frames of brood all at the same stage, and this therefore may be normal (to see the cells with royal jelly but the larvae all being too small to see).
  7. M

    a/s now charging all cells?

    Hi all, Something I have not come across previously; I performed an a/s several weeks back, and in the non-swarm hive there is a new queen who started laying 3-4 days ago now. I looked in a couple of days ago, to confirm she was laying, and saw a few charged queen cells, a couple with just...
  8. M

    Swarm varroa treatment

    Which, if you bear in mind that a mated queen could take up to a week before she starts laying, and a virgin queen up to 3 weeks, means there is no rush to treat! Just check the swarm every few days for eggs, then when you see some it is safer to treat with oxalic.
  9. M

    HMRC after a share of your Honey Sales?

    I think the main audience for this statement are those who basically buy/make and sell items at markets and on ebay full time, and who are therefore generating a not insignificant tax free income. As Jen said though, there will undoubtedly be a few people not in the target audience who will get...
  10. M

    1 x 30lb tub of honey wanted

    Hi guys, Neither of my hives has produced enough honey this spring to extract, so I am looking for a 1 x 30lb tub of honey (urban if possible), which I would be able to filter and jar normally (ie not oil seed/set). Preferably in SW London or Surrey areas to make collection easier. Please PM...
  11. M

    Apiguard with queen cell/AS split

    Thanks, I will give them a call tomorrow and see what they say.
  12. M

    Apiguard with queen cell/AS split

    Using drone sacrifice/sampling is a way to determine varroa levels, and as I said, from when I was cleaning some drone brood off the edge of frames I saw enough varroa mites to know they needed treating. Oxalic is a good idea, but back of fag packet maths says that the queen should emerge...
  13. M

    Apiguard with queen cell/AS split

    The supers are with the queen in the A/S - there are no supers on the brood with queen cell, so apiguard would be fine in that respect. The varroa situation is quite bad - I suspected as much from the prevalence of mites on the drone brood I removed, but the email from FERA explained/confirmed...
  14. M

    Apiguard with queen cell/AS split

    Hi all, I wondered if I could get some advice about varroa treatment as I am not sure what the best course of action is. The situation is that one of my overwintered hives is booming, to the extent they have almost filled 2 supers and last week I had 8 or 9 queen cells in various stages, one...
  15. M

    12 oz or 1lb

    Dont forget to factor in the cost of petrol for carrying the extra weight of bread and butter, and the wear and tear on the teaspoons/knives.
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