Honey Harvest

[SuffolkPaul]

Hi All,

Well i managed to gradually turn my hive 180 degrees in 6 30 degree increments, no issues at all, thanks for the advice.

So my next newby question is when can i take some honey?

We are in Mid July and my setup is as follows:

14 x 12 Deep National BB
2 x Supers ( lower 1 is 100% full and weighs alot and the upper one is 70% full)

I'm intending to swap the supers so the full one is on the top, use a crown board with Porter bee escapes to clear it and then Hot knife and an Extractor, so the wax comb is availble to go back in the super for the bees to clean up and refill?

Does my plan sound feasible, sensible? Should i buy more supers and put another 1 or 2 on then harvest in September Ocotober?

PS - I'm in Suffolk and we have good weather!

best to all

 

[Dadnlad]

Sounds smashing, bung the freshly extracted super straight back on (whether above or below the 70% is contentious)

September is too late, remember you need to give yourself time to treat for varroa (without honey supers on) and feed them to make sure that bb has plenty of winter stores

 

[colinc]

You don't need a hot knife, a bread knife works fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[enrico]

For a first year that sounds perfect. See how you get on and refine your methods for next year. A small tip. If you are using a hot knife then get a large baking tray and fasten a wooden bar across one corner, I use g clamps which hold the wooden bar to the lip of the tray. In the centre of the wooden bar have the point of a nail or screw sticking upwards. Put one end of the top bar on the point of the nail and hold the other end with your hand. Now when you use the hot knife with the other hand you have good control over the frame and can cut the capping off really finely, all the cappings and excess honey fall into the tray for dealing with later. If you want I can post a photo but I hope the description helps!
E

 

[SuffolkPaul]

Guys

Thanks for the support and advice, much appreciated.