Hell Ye

[Millet]

Here is a one for you boffins, as we know spring sprung late and every thing has flowered late but all the late flowering is happening now so both are in toe so to speak, rape still in flower and Hawthorn blooming.

What i need to know is ? , the bees have been collecting Cherry/Blackthorn etc before the rape and mixed it all in the supers, a lot are capped but i do not know what is in each frame now the Hawthorn has started.

Do i just treat it all as OSR Contaminated and extract and soft set as you would normally with OSR honey ..

 

[Curly green fingers]

Here is a one for you boffins, as we know spring sprung late and every thing has flowered late but all the late flowering is happening now so both are in toe so to speak, rape still in flower and Hawthorn blooming.

What i need to know is ? , the bees have been collecting Cherry/Blackthorn etc before the rape and mixed it all in the supers, a lot are capped but i do not know what is in each frame now the Hawthorn has started.

Do i just treat it all as OSR Contaminated and extract and soft set as you would normally with OSR honey ..

I noticed small amounts of Osr going into one of my new hives over the weekend double brood I've just put the second super on its three miles away. Good question Steve as its also on my mind.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I was wondering the same..... what sort of % OSR Honey would contaminate a super?

 

[Uncle Betty]

OSR does not contaminate a super, surely ?

 

[Walrus]

Supers contaminated with honey! Doesn't sound so bad

The higher the ratio of glucose to fructose, the quicker granulation occurs. As most OSR has a high G/F ratio and as bees seem to prefer OSR to almost anything else when it is in flower, then it seems safest to treat it as "likely to granulate soon" and therefore extract soon.

 

[Curley]

But you will get extra nice soft set honey - not the bland exclusively OSR honey obtained from bees sat beside OSR fields. That said some customers like bland. (or mild if I'm selling)

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Here is a one for you boffins, as we know spring sprung late and every thing has flowered late but all the late flowering is happening now so both are in toe so to speak, rape still in flower and Hawthorn blooming.

What i need to know is ? , the bees have been collecting Cherry/Blackthorn etc before the rape and mixed it all in the supers, a lot are capped but i do not know what is in each frame now the Hawthorn has started.

Do i just treat it all as OSR Contaminated and extract and soft set as you would normally with OSR honey ..

I'd extract and keep it in buckets for a while to assess the product. If it sets rapidly you can agitate repeatedly until the structure breaks up and the honey is spreadable. If it stays liquid you can jar it as is.
Works for me and my local honey fans

 

[Millet]

I'd extract and keep it in buckets for a while to assess the product. If it sets rapidly you can agitate repeatedly until the structure breaks up and the honey is spreadable. If it stays liquid you can jar it as is.
Works for me and my local honey fans

That sounds like a plan, it is a shame though as i was looking forward to the cherry blossom honey.

 

[DanBee]

OSR does not contaminate a super, surely ?

Supers contaminated with honey! Doesn't sound so bad

Well done chaps, positive thinking It's like complaining that your wallet is contaminated by those plastic £10 notes

To seed a bucket of honey to alter granulation characteristics, you need to add about 10% fine-grained seed. Thus you need the equivalent of only 1 frame of OSR in a super and you can consider it self-seeded when extracted. Consider all spring honey as soft set and you won't be fighting the laws of physics.

If you have had OSR flowering nearby, get all the honey off now (assuming it's now finished flowering) whilst it's liquid, don't use clearer boards - just shake or brush the bees off and extract it immediately. Don't wait for combs to be fully capped - if a good vertical shake does not sprinkle the nectar out, then it's honey not nectar even in the uncapped cells.

 

[Poly Hive]

If you take it that it has OSR in it and treat it as such all will be well.

On the other hand.....oh dear.

PH

 

[olriley]

Useful topic, I’m new to OSR as first time it’s within range. Is there a go-to thread on post-extraction process to produce the creamed honey? Warming and churning details etc? Thx

 

[simonforeman]

My bees have stored there osr in their 14x12 brood box. I am about to super will they move it up or will they eat this and put excess going forward up in the super?

 

[For want of a better word]

Very irritating when there is a patch of granulated OSR in a nice frame of wildflower honey..... spin it slowly and nadir the OSR left so that the bees can remove the horrid stuff!

 

[Millet]

Well done chaps, positive thinking It's like complaining that your wallet is contaminated by those plastic £10 notes

To seed a bucket of honey to alter granulation characteristics, you need to add about 10% fine-grained seed. Thus you need the equivalent of only 1 frame of OSR in a super and you can consider it self-seeded when extracted. Consider all spring honey as soft set and you won't be fighting the laws of physics.

If you have had OSR flowering nearby, get all the honey off now (assuming it's now finished flowering) whilst it's liquid, don't use clearer boards - just shake or brush the bees off and extract it immediately. Don't wait for combs to be fully capped - if a good vertical shake does not sprinkle the nectar out, then it's honey not nectar even in the uncapped cells.

I know the process of soft set honey but i have a couple of supers that are capped, but unsure if they have OSR in them or not, i will do what John has said and extract and store in buckets and see what happens.. thank you by the way.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well done chaps, positive thinking It's like complaining that your wallet is contaminated by those plastic £10 notes

To seed a bucket of honey to alter granulation characteristics, you need to add about 10% fine-grained seed. Thus you need the equivalent of only 1 frame of OSR in a super and you can consider it self-seeded when extracted. Consider all spring honey as soft set and you won't be fighting the laws of physics.

If you have had OSR flowering nearby, get all the honey off now (assuming it's now finished flowering) whilst it's liquid, don't use clearer boards - just shake or brush the bees off and extract it immediately. Don't wait for combs to be fully capped - if a good vertical shake does not sprinkle the nectar out, then it's honey not nectar even in the uncapped cells.

So if you soft set OSR you don’t need a seed?

 

[Beefriendly]

So if you soft set OSR you don’t need a seed?

You always need a seed of some sort, whether that is partially melted OSR honey that is then mixed to break the crystal size down or fully liquid OSR to which a seed is added and then mixed.
There are several ways of achieving the same result.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You always need a seed of some sort, whether that is partially melted OSR honey that is then mixed to break the crystal size down or fully liquid OSR to which a seed is added and then mixed.
There are several ways of achieving the same result.

That’s what I understood
Cheers

 

[Millet]

I have a plan , which is extract and store the first capped supers separately from the ones that where added before the OSR was found, hopefully i will get two result's.. here is hoping..

 

[Madge]

So if you soft set OSR you don’t need a seed?

Yes, seeding is unnecessary because OSR honey is already fine-grained - so all you need to do is churn it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, seeding is unnecessary because OSR honey is already fine-grained - so all you need to do is churn it.

That’s an even better answer. I know soft set needs a seed but I thought osr seeded itself.