Fondant as main winter feed

[BMH]

Thinking of trying this out this year.

I can get 12.5kg blocks for £7.80, not really that much more expensive than sugar. Ok it is, when you take into account I am paying for water, but i hate making up syrup and feeding as some of my colonies are rather inaccessible.

I know they take it down when its warm as ive had colonies with it on all year and they have been hammering it.,

Plan is to use a half 12.5kg block per colony on top of a QE with either a poly super or upturned feeder on top.

Anybody else do this?

 

[justsmith]

sorry to reply a question with a question but where you buying your fondant from? been looking for a cheaper supplyer

 

[BMH]

Bako

 

[citrus]

Bako

BAKO South Eastern
1-6 Merton Industrial Park,
Lee Road, London,
SW19 3XX

one not far away ..thanks for the tip

 

[Hivemaker.]

Anybody else do this?

Fed fondant only for six years or so back in the early part of this century.

 

[BMH]

And it worked ok?

What made you change back to syrup?

Any pitfalls/words of advice?

 

[fatshark]

Only feed fondant. It "just works" ...

Tips - sell your Miller feeders and use the space they occupy for 98% of the year to store something more useful

 

[Hivemaker.]

And it worked ok?

What made you change back to syrup?

Any pitfalls/words of advice?

Worked fine, much less work and easier than feeding syrup, I liked using it.

Went back to syrup as I could not effectively feed Thymol in fondant and Nosema numbers started to increase while only feeding fondant.

Used to weigh each hive and feed what was needed up to the required weight, still do that anyway, but with syrup.

 

[BMH]

I may well do that, they werent cheap!

However, what do you feed the fondant in then?

Surely its supers or miller feeders.

If its supers, I'd have to stored the frames elsewhere which is such a faff!

Dont want to mess around with ekes.

Thanks for the link.

Ill have a read through that.

 

[BMH]

Worked fine, much less work and easier than feeding syrup, I liked using it.

Went back to syrup as I could not effectively feed Thymol in fondant and Nosema numbers started to increase while only feeding fondant.

Used to weigh each hive and feed what was needed up to the required weight, still do that anyway, but with syrup.

Very interesting and reassuring that it works so well!

Maybe, ill keep the miller feeders and just them all a blast with some magic mix early in the season and then move over to fondant afterwards.

Its only the excessive lugging around that annoys me.

I could handle a few litres per colony with some treatment in

 

[Popparand]

Worked fine, much less work and easier than feeding syrup, I liked using it.

Went back to syrup as I could not effectively feed Thymol in fondant and Nosema numbers started to increase while only feeding fondant.

Used to weigh each hive and feed what was needed up to the required weight, still do that anyway, but with syrup.

So do you make up your own anti-varroa mix, HM?

 

[fatshark]

Use your Miller feeders upside down with the fondant block underneath?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So do you make up your own anti-varroa mix, HM?

It's not for varroa - Thymol is used as a prophylactic teeatment for nosema as well.

 

[user 3509]

We have been just using baker’s fondant for the last 4 years. We used to get it from Bako Western and pay about £8 a box. Bako Western is a co-operative and we had to pay £100 to join. Last year, out of the blue, we had a phone call to say that our membership fee was being returned as we were not spending enough with them each year. They told us we had to spend over £2500 annually in order to be a member. That is an awful lot of fondant! Yet nowhere in the conditions of membership did it say anything about a minimum spend. We now have to buy it from a baker and he charges £14 a box for exactly the same thing from Bako!

 

[BMH]

Use your Miller feeders upside down with the fondant block underneath?

Yeah thats whats I do at the moment. Works ok.

 

[BMH]

We have been just using baker’s fondant for the last 4 years. We used to get it from Bako Western and pay about £8 a box. Bako Western is a co-operative and we had to pay £100 to join. Last year, out of the blue, we had a phone call to say that our membership fee was being returned as we were not spending enough with them each year. They told us we had to spend over £2500 annually in order to be a member. That is an awful lot of fondant! Yet nowhere in the conditions of membership did it say anything about a minimum spend. We now have to buy it from a baker and he charges £14 a box for exactly the same thing from Bako!

That's a right old bummer.

Im not a bako member. I place one order a year. Ring up the rep direct and he fixes the prices if i buy a few (not even that many - 20 or so). I then place a misc order and it seems to work fine. Nice guy he is as well

 

[Vortex]

If you don't have a convenient Bako or friendly baker who will sell you fondant then cakestuff.com is the cheapest place I've found to buy online.. if you buy 5 boxes it works out at £16 per box including delivery (last years price).

 

[Goran]

Worked fine, much less work and easier than feeding syrup, I liked using it.

Went back to syrup as I could not effectively feed Thymol in fondant and Nosema numbers started to increase while only feeding fondant.

Used to weigh each hive and feed what was needed up to the required weight, still do that anyway, but with syrup.

Mixing with fondant didn't give good results?
Thing for me to look after cause I mix nozevit with fondant.. although had no misterious colony colapse, but devil never sleeps..

 

[SDM]

Its only the excessive lugging around that annoys me.

I could handle a few litres per colony with some treatment in

Which takes you back to at least 2 trips per inaccessible colony , needing either extra supers or to rearrange frames twice and paying extra for the water in fondant.
Hmmmm?

 

[BMH]

2 trips is bliss but that's not the main reason.

One apiary has 25+ hives and is a bit of a walk from the truck. If I fill the feeder on each we are taking 400 litres of syrup and I would have to repeat that twice for their winter feed.

Fondant doesn't necessarily reduce the number of trips but reduces the need to mix probably 1000 litres of syrup and move it around. I can slap on a 12.5kg slab and check again on Jan/Feb.

Plus, if I want to move 400 litres of syrup in one go, I'd have to get 20 x 20 litres containers and then store them all year. I'm trying to get away from unnecessary storage of kit

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