extraction dates

[joelsoo]

Hi, i hear alot of ppl mentioning about the differnt months for nectar flow etc, would mid or end august still too late to extract or is it strict end of this month as my local apiary will have extractiond typically at the end of this month annually.

reason being i currently have alot of capped brood in my hives due to akward requeening where theres a gap in brood production. I think the current capped broof may emerge only towards the mid/end of the month and if they do so, i may miss the flow or decide to let them forage for a couple of weeks more to fill up the supers/ or at least cap them properly then extract, which i worked out to be about towards mid or end of next month.

i am in SE london btw.

thanks

 

[Ian123]

Quite simply you can extract anytime you like it’s for you to judge state of the flow and how long it’s liable to last. Some even extract during a flow to free up supers. It’s also for you to judge the water content, the old shake test did for many years and now days refractors are cheap. Also you need to consider what varroa treatments you are using as you will need to factor that in timing/temp. Remember you want lots of young clean healthy autumn bees.

 

[madasafish]

I extract as supers fill up.
Varies on the weather and nectar flow.

No set dates - except Autumn is time for varroa treatments and many cannot be used with supers on or will taint honey.

Varroa treatments need to be carried out late Aug/September so winter bees are not compromised by viruses carried by varroa...

And thymol treatments need ambient around 20C to work..
So constraints.

 

[Levitt53]

I extract when I need, depending on how many supers I have spare. I will extract the last lot as late as I can as I don't treat my bees (ducks behind sofa) and I find with poly hives they get quite honey bound by spring anyway. When they start to be seen on ivy that's when I take my last lot of honey.

 

[drex]

I extract mid to late of August, as that suits my local flows and still gives time for thymol. Must be a reason your local apiary extracts end of July. Ask them, then make up your own mind. Likely that the earlier you can extract the better it is for bees going into winter, as they will have more time to collect their own stores and for you to do varroa treatment. I always leave them what they have in the brood box in the Autumn extraction . Often do not have to feed as they fill up on the late ivy flow

 

[Swarm]

For the last three or four years, the flow has come to an abrupt halt in August so I tend to think about removing supers and treatment as there is also a noticeable brood break around this time.
I can remember removing supers in October and I know a few beekeepers who still do, as they hope to get some return from Balsam.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hi, i hear alot of ppl mentioning about the differnt months for nectar flow etc, would mid or end august still too late to extract or is it strict end of this month as my local apiary will have extractiond typically at the end of this month annually.

reason being i currently have alot of capped brood in my hives due to akward requeening where theres a gap in brood production. I think the current capped broof may emerge only towards the mid/end of the month and if they do so, i may miss the flow or decide to let them forage for a couple of weeks more to fill up the supers/ or at least cap them properly then extract, which i worked out to be about towards mid or end of next month.

i am in SE london btw.

thanks

I'm wondering if your local Apiary is part of an association training set up? They probably operate to a set date for ease of organising. Similarly varroa treatments etc.
You can extract any time that suits you and your bees subject to forage, honey making, weather and availability of the kit which if you have to borrow off an association can be a bottleneck.

 

[Mandeville]

I'm in SE London. Some years I've taken supers off, extracted and put back during the season if there's a strong flow and I'm running out of kit - last year I could barely keep up with it! Nothing like as good this year.

I'd normally take all the supers off no later than last week of August or first few days of September - that still leaves time for the varroa treatment.

 

[joelsoo]

I'm in SE London. Some years I've taken supers off, extracted and put back during the season if there's a strong flow and I'm running out of kit - last year I could barely keep up with it! Nothing like as good this year.

I'd normally take all the supers off no later than last week of August or first few days of September - that still leaves time for the varroa treatment.

Ahh thats good to know! i think i will do the same, its generally ppl in the beekeeping association that told me best to harvest late july/early august as that's the end of the flow, but i do find we are in urban areas in outskirts of london we have slight advantage of alot of flowers etc for them to forage, instead of just depending on the flow from monoculture crop farming plants.

 

[Stiffy]

We normally take our spring crop off in June with the main crop off around September, we then feed and treat. This year due to Covid and markets closing, there hasn't been the demand to free space so all are coming off September......going to be one major extraction session which I am not particularly looking forward to but glad as usual the bees have produced a good crop.
S

 

[joelsoo]

We normally take our spring crop off in June with the main crop off around September, we then feed and treat. This year due to Covid and markets closing, there hasn't been the demand to free space so all are coming off September......going to be one major extraction session which I am not particularly looking forward to but glad as usual the bees have produced a good crop.
S

sounds good, sorry as a newbie so some of my questions could be quite basic.. i know that if super frames are capped they usually are ready to harvest but from sounds of what you are doing do you just keep adding more super boxes and frames when the frames are gradually filled? since u did not harvest a spring crop, and by the time in september, the frames that could have been filled full in june which are left unharvested i presume there's no issue of leaving them in the hive until the sept when u do the extraction all at one go, as long as you keep adding supers for them to store honey, correct?? (i understand 2 supers is common but from the sounds of things yours could be up to a 3rd or 4th super?)




thanks
J

 

[MerryBee]

For the benefit of other beginners reading this thread, the idea that 2 to 4 supers is enough for the season may be correct in London (I dont know as I dont live there) but is certainly not correct for other locations. I am in rural West Sussex. One of my colonies this year filled 5 supers by the end of may which were extracted, and now has four supers on, 2 of which are full and ready to extract. Probably 2 or 3 more ready by mid August, when the flow will have finished.

Of course, not every colony has produced this much.

 

[enrico]

sounds good, sorry as a newbie so some of my questions could be quite basic.. i know that if super frames are capped they usually are ready to harvest but from sounds of what you are doing do you just keep adding more super boxes and frames when the frames are gradually filled? since u did not harvest a spring crop, and by the time in september, the frames that could have been filled full in june which are left unharvested i presume there's no issue of leaving them in the hive until the sept when u do the extraction all at one go, as long as you keep adding supers for them to store honey, correct?? (i understand 2 supers is common but from the sounds of things yours could be up to a 3rd or 4th super?)
thanks
J

It is up to you. I have all the kit so I do each box as it becomes ready as each box gives different honey. You can do it all at once, the only time this is not advisable is near brassica crops of significance such as oil seed rape (OSR) when you want to avoid the honey setting in the frames. You have to work with what is best for you and your kit, your bees and their food needs and the flora in your area. How long is a piece of string!
E

 

[MerryBee]

 

[drdrday]

As a newbie, when you extract can also be down to when you can get your hands on an association extractor to use.

I found having an extractor of my own (even though it's only a cheap 2 frame manual) makes it easy to extract what I want when I want. So if I'm running out of supers I can extract and get the supers back on again asap. It also means I can do a separate spring crop, then more later in the summer and they each have slightly different flavours.

 

[joelsoo]

As a newbie, when you extract can also be down to when you can get your hands on an association extractor to use.

I found having an extractor of my own (even though it's only a cheap 2 frame manual) makes it easy to extract what I want when I want. So if I'm running out of supers I can extract and get the supers back on again asap. It also means I can do a separate spring crop, then more later in the summer and they each have slightly different flavours.

ah i shared a 2 frame motorised extractor with a friend in april, came from czech republic, originates from china, and bought via ebay. (irony of international multi level marketing!)

£145 quid, so between us i think its a bargain under £75 quid per person, only thing about 2 frame i just learnt after using it, is the opening is kinda narrow compared to a 4 frame, but with a tiny london pad it makes it easy to store.

made a greenhorn mistake by blowing out my foundation sheets as i went full speed when the whole frame is completely full instead of going slow and steady.. LMAO

so far this season i extracted 30 kilos of honey, from 3 harvest, out of 2 hives this spring. not too shabby. quite chuffed to get this for the 1st proper year of beekeeping. ( i started last hear in mid june and housed first swarm of bees by end of june so last year was basically written off)

 

[joelsoo]

For the benefit of other beginners reading this thread, the idea that 2 to 4 supers is enough for the season may be correct in London (I dont know as I dont live there) but is certainly not correct for other locations. I am in rural West Sussex. One of my colonies this year filled 5 supers by the end of may which were extracted, and now has four supers on, 2 of which are full and ready to extract. Probably 2 or 3 more ready by mid August, when the flow will have finished.

Of course, not every colony has produced this much.

that's what i call a bumper harvest!!! i sometimes wonder how true is it when ppl say there is a June gap?

 

[drdrday]

ah i shared a 2 frame motorised extractor with a friend in april, came from czech republic, originates from china, and bought via ebay. (irony of international multi level marketing!)

£145 quid, so between us i think its a bargain under £75 quid per person, only thing about 2 frame i just learnt after using it, is the opening is kinda narrow compared to a 4 frame, but with a tiny london pad it makes it easy to store.

made a greenhorn mistake by blowing out my foundation sheets as i went full speed when the whole frame is completely full instead of going slow and steady.. LMAO

so far this season i extracted 30 kilos of honey, from 3 harvest, out of 2 hives this spring. not too shabby. quite chuffed to get this for the 1st proper year of beekeeping. ( i started last hear in mid june and housed first swarm of bees by end of june so last year was basically written off)

My extractor is an £89 plastic one from Bee Equipment but it definitely does the job and is pretty light and easy to store. I managed to blow out one frame last year too, but I've extracted 30Kg (from one hive) with it so far this year without destroying a single frame - so hopefully I've learnt now!

 

[Mandeville]

i know that if super frames are capped they usually are ready to harvest but from sounds of what you are doing do you just keep adding more super boxes and frames when the frames are gradually filled?

The frames do not have to be fully capped or even 50% capped before extraction. You just need to check the honey with a refractometer and if it's 18% or less it's safe to extract.

there's no issue of leaving them in the hive until the sept when u do the extraction all at one go, as long as you keep adding supers for them to store honey, correct?? (i understand 2 supers is common but from the sounds of things yours could be up to a 3rd or 4th super?)

thanks
J

Yes that's right, you can leave the supers and just keep adding more. I'd never have more than 3 though - it's too hard to lift them up and down as the pile gets higher!

i sometimes wonder how true is it when ppl say there is a June gap?

I don't usually find there is much of a June gap in London.

 

[joelsoo]

ok i now learnt why the local association harvest honey in beginning of aug instead of end aug.

there are fields of empty land around the apiary, and with this there is usually a gap in between late july and august of which the apiary managers previously had had bad tasting honey when the bees have nothing else to forage, and foraged from the abundance of Ragwort growing around the empty unused land around the apiary. hence they usually harvest earlier to avoid this from happening.