First Extraction Complete! Hoorah!

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malawi2854

House Bee
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Messages
205
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0
Location
Tonbridge, Kent
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
5
Hello all,

After the excellent build up of my first colony earlier this year, followed by the subsequent tree felling problems, then followed by them swarming, and taking most of the honey with them...

I have today extracted the little honey that was in the supers - and I am MOST pleased!

Quantity isn't anything to get too excited about - but I'm pleased with it! All along, I've said that I want to get 1 jar out of them this first year... and I've got more than that - so I'm happy!

My dad has an extractor that I was able to use (after he made it work after being in storage in the shed for nigh on 20 years!). I haven't been able to jar it yet (long story!), hope to do that tomorrow, but in the pot it's in at present, there looks to be about 2.5L to 3L.

I've popped the supers back onto the hive, so they can clean them out, and I've put the extractor on the far side of the garden, in the hopes they will be able to get some honey out of it now I've finished with it.


So - all in all, a good day!

Can't wait for my first honey sandwich in 20 years! :drool5:
 
malawi2854, congratulations :hurray::hurray::hurray:

I can't wait for that moment, and you must be chuffed to bits. Here's to many more honey harvests :cheers2:
 
Steve - good news! I'd be careful about leaving spare honey lying around in the garden though. It will encourage robbing (not that you have any supers to rob, of course, but you might not want bee-visitors taking too much interest in your stores).
 
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Never mind the robbing. What about any disease, that your bees may have, that you are spreading around a wide area! Other beeks will love you!

Lets assume your bees are totally healthy - or were until any of those robbers from all around your area come and pass their disease to yours (and possibly other beek's bees!)

Lose, lose on either count, so PLEASE, PLEASE new beeks, never ever encourage this type of potential spread of disease pathogens.

This issue has been raised on several, even many, posts this season and it still occurs.

Is this indicative that a lot of new beeks only read their own threads?

RAB
 
Earlier this year I gave my chickens some frames of honey. They didnt eat them and the next time I went, the chicken shed was full of bees with the chickens cowering in a corner. I watched the bees flying off and they headed in all directions. I guess all the bees in the neigbourhood had found the honey!
 
mmm - I'll admit, I hadn't considered spread of disease.

I am relatively confident mine are fine (not even any sign of varroa as yet), but yes, quite appreciate that I may well be missing something, and it isn't good practice.

I'll pop back over tonight and cover it back up, and shove in the shed until I can pluck up the courage to clean it out next weekend!
 
Congratulations on your first honey - there's nothing quite so rewarding as that first tiny harvest! :)

PS: Are you really from Malawi?????
 
Thanks everyone for your nice comments!

It is indeed all very exciting! Despite the small harvest!
The last time I extracted honey, I was 3! I'm sure my Dad's extractor has shrunk! :rofl:

And no - not from Malawi at all! West Kent, born and bred!
The Malawi reference is from one of my other hobbies - fishkeeping! I used to be a keen keeper of tropical fish from Lake Malawi !
 
Thanks everyone for your nice comments!

It is indeed all very exciting! Despite the small harvest!
The last time I extracted honey, I was 3! I'm sure my Dad's extractor has shrunk! :rofl:

And no - not from Malawi at all! West Kent, born and bred!
The Malawi reference is from one of my other hobbies - fishkeeping! I used to be a keen keeper of tropical fish from Lake Malawi !

lol, that's great. We all make mistakes, and I am sure you never meant any harm. As i say.....Now you know. :eek:
 

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