Extracting OSR honey

[BeeBo]

How do I decide when to extract OSR honey and can it be extracted using a normal spinning extractor without heating it beforehand?

How critical is the time window for extraction?

OSR has been in full bloom here for over a week.

 

[Nige.Coll]

I have the same thing to deal with in my first full year.
Everyone has told me not to wait until it is all capped as that is too late.
Shake the frame and if no droplets fall out extract it is what i have been told.
Then let it set, heat it and cream it before jarring.

I'm not 100% on this myself but that is what i have been told to do.


If you leave it until the OSR honey is fully capped, as is good advice for all other honeys, then you’re too late. Instead the bees should have started to cap (seal it with a thin layer of wax) some of the honey on the frame.

To test the frame hold the comb flat and try and shake some nectar out. If nothing comes out it is probably* ok, if there is fresh nectar in the comb it will spray out as thin syrup. Only extract from the frames that you cannot shake out nectar.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I have the same thing to deal with in my first full year.
Everyone has told me not to wait until it is all capped as that is too late.
Shake the frame and if no droplets fall out extract it is what i have been told.
Then let it set, heat it and cream it before jarring.

I'm not 100% on this myself but that is what i have been told to do.


If you leave it until the OSR honey is fully capped, as is good advice for all other honeys, then you’re too late. Instead the bees should have started to cap (seal it with a thin layer of wax) some of the honey on the frame.

To test the frame hold the comb flat and try and shake some nectar out. If nothing comes out it is probably* ok, if there is fresh nectar in the comb it will spray out as thin syrup. Only extract from the frames that you cannot shake out nectar.

Not strictly true!
Many factors influence when the Spring honey (containing OSR) is ready and if a colony will start to or even completely cap it.
I have extracted fully capped frames from OSR with no crystallisation and had uncapped frames that have already started to crystallise.

Temperature is very important so clearing of bees from supers should be done quickly, I now use rhombus escapes personally instead of porterbee escapes as they are faster, and then as soon as possible the super should be removed and extracted and not left to cool down too much.

As said the standard "In the field" test is the shake test. Don't be afraid to give the frames a really good shake as it's far better to discover that the frames are NOT ready in the field than when you get them to the extraction room.
Having and using a refractometer is the ultimate test. I don't generally take mine to the apiary but can check supers when I get to the extraction room.

If you do have to remove supers and cannot extract them immediately then keeping them in a warm room will help to delay crystallisation.

 

[Stiffy]

Extracted some last week and have some to do today. I checked the frames which were uncapped and gave them the frames a shake before removing and extracted the next day. Two days later the honey had set. I am going to leave until OSR has finished and I have no more to extract then warm and cream which 'should' stop it from crystallizing again
I use a blower to clear bees which is a godsend
Hope this helps
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[beenovice]

I use a blower to clear bees which is a godsend

Can you expand on this and explain what it is? What sort of blower?

 

[Stiffy]

Petrol leafblower, A good leaf blower will do the job but I have a Ryobi back pack electric start which I got from Fleabay which stands up on its own. It leaves my hands free so I can then position box in front of hive and blower to clear,
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/garden-v...ower-leaf-blowers/ryobi-backpack-leaf-blowers
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Jimmy]

Are Stihl leaf blowers worth the £? Need one for home so was thinking of getting an extra nozzle(?) to use at an out apiary so at least I can try and be hygienic.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I have the same thing to deal with in my first full year.
Everyone has told me not to wait until it is all capped as that is too late.
Shake the frame and if no droplets fall out extract it is what i have been told.
Then let it set, heat it and cream it before jarring.

I'm not sure how important letting it set first is - I've done this for two years, the first year I mixed with the seed without letting it set first and it was fine for the rest of its life (admittedly I didn't have much and probably sold out within a couple of months). Last year most had set before I had a chance to cream it.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I'm not sure how important letting it set first is - I've done this for two years, the first year I mixed with the seed without letting it set first and it was fine for the rest of its life (admittedly I didn't have much and probably sold out within a couple of months). Last year most had set before I had a chance to cream it.

Just checked , the OSR sticky (pun intended) in the Honey topics forum

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10494 DanBee suggests that it is ok to seed before allowing to set as long as it has been filtered and settled.

 

[Cazza]

Then let it set, heat it and cream it before jarring.

Can't say that I have ever bothered to do this over the past 2 decades.
I only sieve and fine filter, ripen overnight and jar the next day. Much less fuss.
Never any problem selling it, people ask for it year on year.
Cazza

 

[stenibee]

what water percentage does it have to be to extract? have a refractor.

 

[susbees]

what water percentage does it have to be to extract? have a refractor.

Under 20%....hopefully around 17%. And I hope you have a refractometer (a refractor being a telescope )