Heather 2021

[Into the lions den]

Smith cutter|? Now there is a museum piece.

Back in the 1960s when we had only about 250/300 hives we used to press all the heather honey. We had Smith cutters but tended not to use them as a big strong spoon was quicker and just as effective. I used to help from about the age of 8 up till I was 14 or so when we last did that.

Some of our older Smith Manley super frames still have the marks on the end bars from where you supported the frame on a spike..its self on a wooden bar, that fitted on top of honey buckets...which you scraped all the honey into before heating and pressing,

Probably last done here around 1968 or 69 when we got our first loosener and tangential extractor. I think the old Smith cutters are still in a cupboard in a shed near our old (up to 1992) premises.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Smith cutter|? Now there is a museum piece.

Back in the 1960s when we had only about 250/300 hives we used to press all the heather honey. We had Smith cutters but tended not to use them as a big strong spoon was quicker and just as effective. I used to help from about the age of 8 up till I was 14 or so when we last did that.

Some of our older Smith Manley super frames still have the marks on the end bars from where you supported the frame on a spike..its self on a wooden bar, that fitted on top of honey buckets...which you scraped all the honey into before heating and pressing,

Probably last done here around 1968 or 69 when we got our first loosener and tangential extractor. I think the old Smith cutters are still in a cupboard in a shed near our old (up to 1992) premises.

National Bee supplies were still selling them a couple of years ago

 

[Into the lions den]

Lots of antiquated stuff around...and in the UK it still sells. Having said that have seen some stuff in other country's appliance shops too that you would politely call 'artisan'. The list is long.

Called in by the old place a couple of hours ago......my brother lives there now......old Smith cutter is indeed in a cupboard..just one though...handle gone to dust with woodworm and the wire missing. Next to it is a heather press...also not used in at least 55 years...was made by my grandfather (who was a millwright and engineer) for my father, as the Peebles' was a bit small.

 

[pargyle]

National Bee supplies were still selling them a couple of years ago

Thornes still do !

https://www.thorne.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=381

 

[elainemary]

Smith cutter|? Now there is a museum piece.

Back in the 1960s when we had only about 250/300 hives we used to press all the heather honey. We had Smith cutters but tended not to use them as a big strong spoon was quicker and just as effective. I used to help from about the age of 8 up till I was 14 or so when we last did that.

Some of our older Smith Manley super frames still have the marks on the end bars from where you supported the frame on a spike..its self on a wooden bar, that fitted on top of honey buckets...which you scraped all the honey into before heating and pressing,

Probably last done here around 1968 or 69 when we got our first loosener and tangential extractor. I think the old Smith cutters are still in a cupboard in a shed near our old (up to 1992) premises.

In the absence of a bells and whistles loosener the cutter does work well though, think better than a strong spoon (though a soft one helps scrape the midrib!).

I take it back re the benefits of using a hand held heather loosener. Every frame in 12 supers I’ve just extracted had heather in to some degree. Exhausting process using a loosener on every frame so it would spin out

Will be using my trusty Smith cutter and plastic spoon for my last 5 heather supers
Can only dream of your automated loosener

 

[Angry_Mob]

Extracting my honey this evening after few blown frames I've realised that I have inadvertently got what I think is heather honey. Jelly like, refuses to spin out, amber colour, unusual lingering taste and higher water content.

Living in low ground (<30m above sea level) I assume it's from the peat bogs just over 3km away. How does low land heather compare to the heather grown higher up? I'm not set up for extracting so is it worth the effort and expense?

 

[DaveG23]

Extracting my honey this evening after few blown frames I've realised that I have inadvertently got what I think is heather honey. Jelly like, refuses to spin out, amber colour, unusual lingering taste and higher water content.

Same here for the first time, it's only half a super, some of the frames had uncapped honey, the capped parts extracted fine, uncapped parts are just jelly like. Not worth destroying the frames in my case. Was going to try to keep them somewhere warm and manually agitate somehow, hoping they will then drip out...

 

[elainemary]

Extracting my honey this evening after few blown frames I've realised that I have inadvertently got what I think is heather honey. Jelly like, refuses to spin out, amber colour, unusual lingering taste and higher water content.

Living in low ground (<30m above sea level) I assume it's from the peat bogs just over 3km away. How does low land heather compare to the heather grown higher up? I'm not set up for extracting so is it worth the effort and expense?

I don’t know the answer to any differences but have read in heather books that the colour and flavour varies by soil type and altitude. If Ling heather, as it’s thixotropic it won’t spin out unless agitated and you need a hand held loosener (like a clothes brush made of needles a cell width apart) to agitate and turn from a gel to a liquid. Only other option is to scrape the heather back to the midrib and strain in the usual way. That way you don’t lose the whole frame and the bees quickly build the cells back out the following spring

 

[elainemary]

L

Same here for the first time, it's only half a super, some of the frames had uncapped honey, the capped parts extracted fine, uncapped parts are just jelly like. Not worth destroying the frames in my case. Was going to try to keep them somewhere warm and manually agitate somehow, hoping they will then drip out...

Or feed back those particular frames to the bees.., Warmth alone won’t turn the gel to a liquid, it has to be agitated, I can’t think how you would do that without a loosener that reaches into the cells, or scraped out unfortunately.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Well I'll be getting a scraper to extract next time.
Condensing the last of the heather hives yesterday and i extracted this. one brood box was a blend and one was really dark 100% Heather.


The End

Someone else can start a 2022 thread next year?

 

[Erichalfbee]

The End

Someone else can start a 2022 thread next year?

Why the end. Lots of others with bees on the heather.
How much heather did you get in total?

 

[Amari]

Well I'll be getting a scraper to extract next time.
Condensing the last of the heather hives yesterday and i extracted this. View attachment 28471View attachment 28472View attachment 28473one brood box was a blend and one was really dark 100% Heather.
The End
Someone else can start a 2022 thread next year?

A blend - or maybe bell heather honey if you have that on the moor? As I've previously posted, I was disappointed two weeks ago when I took a super off each of two hives on the mixed heather at sandy Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast. The honey was all bell. I'm taking the final supers off tomorrow but doubtful if there'll be any ling honey. It's been too dry here - the driest August since mid 1970s.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Why the end. Lots of others with bees on the heather.
How much heather did you get in total?

The End for me, and I'm not at liberty to say.
I've left lots for the bees.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've left lots for the bees.

Why?
Heather is a most valuable crop and the effort you go to getting the hives up there surely doesn’t warrant you leaving it for the bees?
I’m at a loss
I’d love to take bees to the heather

 

[Curly green finger's]

A blend - or maybe bell heather honey if you have that on the moor? As I've previously posted, I was disappointed two weeks ago when I took a super off each of two hives on the mixed heather at sandy Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast. The honey was all bell. I'm taking the final supers off tomorrow but doubtful if there'll be any ling honey. It's been too dry here - the driest August since mid 1970s.

Theres no heath growing up on those hills, the only heath is on the Clee, interestingly enough it's still flowering.

 

[Curly green finger's]

All the colonys I moved I've extracted from.
Static colonys hit the Heather to so I didn't have to move them and this was a surprise, also extracted Heather blend from them.
These have been new sites for me this year dani I'm learning what the 4 hills are like what the flows are like and what forage is around alot to take in and I'm humbled by the experience so far.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm humbled by the experience so far.

Wonderful. You must have lots then. It’s a great start

 

[elainemary]

An interesting article on FB - calling all Bee farmers to supply a heather honey sample to help with research into Heather honey at Cranfield university
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bibbanatbip/permalink/1004607910362047/HEATHER HONEY RESEARCH
Researchers at Cranfield University are conducting a study which aims to apply state-of-the-art molecular and analytical methods to provide robust identification criteria to authenticate UK heather honey and assess its bioactivity.

The project will last for 4 years, during which researchers are planning to source heather honey produced from different geographical areas across the UK to establish a link between floral sources and heather honey by identifying intrinsic DNA markers and unique chemical compounds.

Furthermore, the bioactivity and antimicrobial properties of the honey and its corresponding chemical compounds will be assessed, contributing to knowledge of its health promoting potential.

As part of this project, researchers are appealing to bee farmers in Wales and Scotland to provide them with approximately 50 ml samples of heather honey in an effort to construct a representative database of heather honey sourced from around the UK.

If you would like to contribute, please contact Dr Maria Anastasiadi via the following email address to arrange for sample collection: [email protected]

 

[Angry_Mob]

I finally finished extracting - well pressing this evening so jarred some directly from the press. I have some in the bucket waiting to jar, whats the procedure compared to normal honey ie cling film? Do I leave it for the bubbles to rise etc?


Does it look like proper heather? Not as dark as Curlys and quite a few air bubbles.

 

[Amari]

I finally finished extracting - well pressing this evening so jarred some directly from the press. I have some in the bucket waiting to jar, whats the procedure compared to normal honey ie cling film? Do I leave it for the bubbles to rise etc?


Does it look like proper heather? Not as dark as Curlys and quite a few air bubbles.

View attachment 28488

Looks good to me. The bubbles won't rise - a unique feature of ling honey.