Honey flow confusion

[Popparand]

Lots of nectar and pollen in June and early July. Seems to be slowing down a bit now.

So, was the flow in June the spring flow delayed by the long cold winter, and the slow down now the delayed June gap?

Can we expect another flow late July/August, or are the good times coming to an end for this year?

Corn and barley being harvested round here now, but plenty of knapweed and thistle comng into flower. The books say these are both good honey bee forage.

And it's still stinking hot!

 

[Erichalfbee]

The answer to that one lies in your local forage. What was around?
My spring forage was willow, sycamore, Hawthorne and summer was bramble by and large. There is other stuff now but in smaller amounts. Balsam is good for some.
What about arables? Have you got sunflowers planted anywhere near you?

 

[Cazza]

Flow done and dusted in my part of Suffolk until ivy comes in.
Cazza

 

[Finman]

.
Flowers on nature bloom only once. Then they rippen their seed and start to gather energy to roots for next summers blooming.

It is strange that our knapweeds and thistles are blooming at same time, right now. Red clovers are in good flower, but bees do not get much honey from them.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Here there wasn't a gap there was harwthorne and bramble flowering together . The willowherb and thistles are flowering really well now and gorse to. The flow is good here and I'll have one more super of brood/half a total of three. I've noticed lots more pollen going into all hives than normal. If it stays dry we will have an early autumn.

 

[oliver90owner]

Cazza,

You are back. Good to see a sensible beekeeper posting again! At least the sensible posts help to dilute the others!

 

[pargyle]

Cazza,

You are back. Good to see a sensible beekeeper posting again! At least the sensible posts help to dilute the others!

Hear hear ... Nice to see you on here regularly as well Rab ..I read all your posts .. usually bang on the money.

Just a pity we have lost so many good posters only to be replaced with verbal wallpaper from a few ...

 

[Pete D]

Another week or so on the Borage in Essex, locally bit of bramble still showing, clover on uncut but watered lawns and a couple of blocks of colour on the wildflower farm apiary. That's it till Ivy unless I get to the sea lavender or mustard cover crops.
Time to get the harvest in and think about getting the treatments done then feeding.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

spring flow was slightly late but quickly caught up, there was a June gap, it happened late on a Tuesday afternoon, summer flow is now all but over so unless you are near the heather, or have masses of balsam on marshy land, that's it.
Going from previous years, although things were slow to start, things ran to similar dates as in the past.

 

[Millet]

spring flow was slightly late but quickly caught up, there was a June gap, it happened late on a Tuesday afternoon, summer flow is now all but over so unless you are near the heather, or have masses of balsam on marshy land, that's it.
Going from previous years, although things were slow to start, things ran to similar dates as in the past.

Come to this location and see what the Thistle and Rose Bay Willow Herb are doing that is without all the other late forage .. you may be surprised..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Actually read my post and think before shooting your mouth off and trying to be clever.

 

[Millet]

Actually read my post and think before shooting your mouth off and trying to be clever.

OK.

 

[Pete D]

Come to this location and see what the Thistle and Rose Bay Willow Herb are doing that is without all the other late forage .. you may be surprised..

OK, have you got a site for 40 hives, I will nip them up, how much do you think they will each yield....................

 

[Beefriendly]

summer flow is now all but over so unless you are near the heather, or have masses of balsam on marshy land, that's it.

Perhaps you could come and tell my bees it is all over....more supers to extract this week.
Might be over where you are, certainly not finished around here...although It has to come to a crashing halt at some point as the August/Sept flowers have been out a month earlier.

 

[drex]

The driest area in the UK is only about 10 miles away. No rain for months, but I am still having to add supers. The rate of filling is slowing down however. My bees have farmland and also gardens to forage in. They are presently all heading into the town.