Hi I live in Brittany France.

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petmate.ruth

New Bee
Joined
Aug 28, 2022
Messages
4
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Location
Brittany France
Hive Type
Dadant
Number of Hives
2
I am reasonably new to beekeeping and am looking for advice. The hive i have had for 2 years has progressed well but last year I left 2 supers on over winter thinking that I was being good to the bees but I have just taken to top super off and it appears to be ivy honey and an absolute swine to spin. Basically I have a spinner gunged up with solid lumps and some honey. I have just read that ivy honey is now thought to possess similar qualities to Manuka honey so would like to persevere and sort this mess out. Help! Also I had intended to leave 2 supers on both my hive again this year - is this a bad idea?
 
I had intended to leave 2 supers on both my hive again this year - is this a bad idea?
yes, they don't really need one, let alone two.
Ivy honey crystallises after a short time which is why you are struggling to extract it
As for it having similar qualities to manuka, well...............
you do realise that manuka, if eaten is no more 'special' than any other honey - it works as a topical treatment for open wounds etc. It is in no way a 'super food'
 
yes, they don't really need one, let alone two.
Ivy honey crystallises after a short time which is why you are struggling to extract it
As for it having similar qualities to manuka, well...............
you do realise that manuka, if eaten is no more 'special' than any other honey - it works as a topical treatment for open wounds etc. It is in no way a 'super food'
So I have been far too generous to my bees. I will take off the full super as soon as I unblock my spinner. Many thanks
 
Ivy honey resemble manuka in that both taste foul.
Hang on!

In the days when NZ was renowned for its clover honey the flavour of the manuka interloper was disliked enough that it is said (this may be an apocryphal story) that a beefarmer arriving at the docks was so disgusted with the price offered that he dumped it in the harbour.

It was only the chance discovery of the healing ability of methylgloxal that manuka turned into a global sales success. JBM is right that although medical-grade manuka has powerful healing abilities, it has not been shown (AFAIK) to have the same effect when eaten.

The taste does not recommend it either, but even if it had superlative flavour there's no justifiable reason, given current energy prices and awareness of environmental footprint, to import, sell or want honey that must travel 3,500 miles.

Ivy, on the other hand, is a marvel of taste. One year I extracted enough to sell at market, and I recall the pleasure of a customer describing it as tasting like Christmas.
ivy honey and an absolute swine to spin
Don't try, it sets like concrete.

Scrape the combs and honey back to the foundation with a spoon. When the colonies contract (not yet, probably) they'll take anything they perceive outside the nest, into the nest.

At this point you can put the ivy into a box feeder and let them clear it out. If you want to soften it, add a little water a day before and mash it, but no sooner because it may ferment.

Alternatively, soak the super in water for a few hours (yes, the whole box) and put it on top of a crownboard with a small access hole.
 
Last edited:
Hang on!

In the days when NZ was renowned for its clover honey the flavour of the manuka interloper was disliked enough that it is said (this may be an apochryfal story) that a beefarmer arriving at the docks was so disgusted with the price offered that he dumped it in the harbour.

It was only the chance discovery of the healing ability of methylgloxal that manuka turned into a global sales success. JBM is right that although medical-grade manuka has powerful healing abilities, it has not been shown (AFAIK) to have the same effect when eaten.

The taste does not recommend it either, but even if it had superlative flavour there's no justifiable reason, given current energy prices and awareness of environmental footprint, to import, sell or want honey that must travel 3,500 miles.

Ivy, on the other hand, is a marvel of taste. One year I extracted enough to sell at market, and I recall the pleasure of a customer describing it as tasting like Christmas.

Don't try, it sets like concrete.

Scrape the combs and honey back to the foundation with a spoon. When the colonies contract (not yet, probably) they'll take anything they perceive outside the nest, into the nest.

At this point you can put the ivy into a box feeder and let them clear it out. If you want to soften it, add a little water a day before and mash it, but no sooner because it may ferment.

Alternatively, soak the super in water for a few hours (yes, the whole box) and put it on top of a crownboard with a small access hole.
Sorry if I am being a bit thick but but I want to be absolutely clear what you are suggesting - I use what I have taken off instead of feeding fondant over winter.
 
Sorry if I am being a bit thick but but I want to be absolutely clear what you are suggesting - I use what I have taken off instead of feeding fondant over winter.
No. You use it as autumn feed whenever you feed. I shall be looking at feeding mine in a couple of weeks after Oxalic. Most of them need just a top up. One has little in the brood box and will need quite a bit
 
Hang on!

In the days when NZ was renowned for its clover honey the flavour of the manuka interloper was disliked enough that it is said (this may be an apochryfal story) that a beefarmer arriving at the docks was so disgusted with the price offered that he dumped it in the harbour.

It was only the chance discovery of the healing ability of methylgloxal that manuka turned into a global sales success. JBM is right that although medical-grade manuka has powerful healing abilities, it has not been shown (AFAIK) to have the same effect when eaten.

The taste does not recommend it either, but even if it had superlative flavour there's no justifiable reason, given current energy prices and awareness of environmental footprint, to import, sell or want honey that must travel 3,500 miles.

Ivy, on the other hand, is a marvel of taste. One year I extracted enough to sell at market, and I recall the pleasure of a customer describing it as tasting like Christmas.

Don't try, it sets like concrete.

Scrape the combs and honey back to the foundation with a spoon. When the colonies contract (not yet, probably) they'll take anything they perceive outside the nest, into the nest.

At this point you can put the ivy into a box feeder and let them clear it out. If you want to soften it, add a little water a day before and mash it, but no sooner because it may ferment.

Alternatively, soak the super in water for a few hours (yes, the whole box) and put it on top of a crownboard with a small access hole.
Not heard of honey being dumped in the harbour but I have seen a photo of a beekeeper taking a massive stack of manuka honey supers by horse and cart down to a river to wash out the honey so the combs were ready to be filled with clover honey which there was an international market for at the time, unlike the "worthless" manuka honey.
 
Sorry if I am being a bit thick but but I want to be absolutely clear what you are suggesting - I use what I have taken off instead of feeding fondant over winter.
A sensible question answered by Dani above.

You must decide whether the weight at the end is sufficient: 20kg of stores from whatever source should be enough.
 

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