Heather 2020

[Curly green finger's]

Hi, I'm turning my thoughts to the Heather this year.
And as it stands I've 6 mated 6 frame nucs which will be in single brood nats hives in preparation for the Heather.

Im just looking for advice as this is my first season for the Heather.
Info.. I've an out apiary on the edge of a common already with 4 strong hives ready for the summer main flows, which is where the above will be going..
Thanks

 

[Ian123]

Funny enough I’ve just acquired 2 new good heather sites the last 2 weeks.

 

[tonyofarr]

Have these sites had any rain though? Unbelievably we have hardly had any rain at all so I am now worrying that the main honey flow will be short like it was in 2018.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Have these sites had any rain though? Unbelievably we have hardly had any rain at all so I am now worrying that the main honey flow will be short like it was in 2018.

Rain is an issue but a lot of Heather is on deap peat beds.
Not that that makes a difference.
We still need rain

 

[ericbeaumont]

Have these sites had any rain though?

Moisture runs deep on peat moors but sandy heath needs rain leading up to flowering. My limited experience of bell heather on sandy heath: first year produced zero (in a dry 2018 that turned to drought) and plenty in 2019 when it rained just enough, on and off in early summer.

 

[Ian123]

Yes on the heaths the heather can dry up pretty quick but it does not take much to get it going I’ve seen dry years in the past that have yielded good crops with some little rain just before flowering.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Even after the downpour all evening Thursday the wind was blowing dust clouds from off the fields. Oats & potatoes are both still being irrigated. This is helping with nectar flow as hedgerows are receiving a good soaking also.

 

[Amari]

Have these sites had any rain though? Unbelievably we have hardly had any rain at all so I am now worrying that the main honey flow will be short like it was in 2018.

Agree. I always do a recce before taking a couple of hives to the ling at Dunwich Heath, Suffolk Coastal. Not worth going if the heather is brown rather than purple! Hardly any rain here for several weeks, after the wettest winter for yonks.

 

[biglongdarren]

Whats the heather looking like with people for this year? Hopefully its good here in the Mournes and pulls us out of a hole, the season so far here has been a disaster.

Darren.

 

[Finman]

.
Propably other plants are better to rear brood. Bees need many kind of pollen.

Erica pollen has 15% crude protein.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Whats the heather looking like with people for this year? Hopefully its good here in the Mournes and pulls us out of a hole, the season so far here has been a disaster.



Darren.

This is what it looked like a few weeks ago at catherton. Pics taken on the 16th of June

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[Amari]

Agree. I always do a recce before taking a couple of hives to the ling at Dunwich Heath, Suffolk Coastal. Not worth going if the heather is brown rather than purple! Hardly any rain here for several weeks, after the wettest winter for yonks.

Did a recce three weeks ago. Bell heather mainly brown. Going to assess ling heather next week. Sandy heathland.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi, I'm turning my thoughts to the Heather this year.
And as it stands I've 6 mated 6 frame nucs which will be in single brood nats hives in preparation for the Heather.

Im just looking for advice as this is my first season for the Heather.
Info.. I've an out apiary on the edge of a common already with 4 strong hives ready for the summer main flows, which is where the above will be going..
Thanks

You need powerfully strong colonies to go to the heather, what you've got there, even if united into two colonies would struggle I think.

 

[Curly green finger's]

You need powerfully strong colonies to go to the heather, what you've got there, even if united into two colonies would struggle I think.

The 4 strong colonys are double brood.
And the nucs are in single brood with 1 and 2 supers on.
This is a permanent site emyr if they produce any Heather honey it will be a bonus..
I can remember grandad having strong single brood colonys for the Heather.. This was a long time ago 26 years ago.
And vaguely remember him saying that single brood boxes were better, I'll figure out why I'm sure??

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[Poly Hive]

This was Glen Clova yesterday.

I met in with a BF on Wednesday and he was finishing his heather move that night.

It's looking like an early season. Here the oats are turning which is near a month early compared to 19.

PH

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This is a permanent site emyr if they produce any Heather honey it will be a bonus..

That's a different matter then, there's other forage there as well and they won't get too predated as they do on the moors.
Dumping a mediocre colony in the middle of the heather is not a wise move.

 

[Jimmy]

I can remember grandad having strong single brood colonys for the Heather.. This was a long time ago 26 years ago.
And vaguely remember him saying that single brood boxes were better, I'll figure out why I'm sure??

In august, the brood nest will probably be contracting and unlikely to be fully across both brood chambers. In a double brood this might result in your brood boxes being stuffed full of honey but leaving you with empty supers. It would save having to feed them in the autumn but might mean no crop.
If you condense your double brood down to a single brood they might store more honey in the super.

 

[Ian123]

As above condense down and place younger brood/eggs to outer frames.

 

[Curly green finger's]

In august, the brood nest will probably be contracting and unlikely to be fully across both brood chambers. In a double brood this might result in your brood boxes being stuffed full of honey but leaving you with empty supers. It would save having to feed them in the autumn but might mean no crop.
If you condense your double brood down to a single brood they might store more honey in the super.

Well that one has clicked after 26 years Cheers.

 

[Poly Hive]

And even with that there will be seasons when the majority if not all the crop will be in the BB. That's when it gets interesting....

PH