Is this a good honey year for you?

[RoseCottage]

We started last year with our single nuc colony and got about 25 pounds of honey. This was an achievement for us and we were very pleased. During our first year research we saw a pdf from the bbka that reported annual honey crop averages ...Hampshire had about 45 pounds per colony in 2008 if I remember rightly.

So this year we have been snowed under with honey. During the Osr flow we got 89lbs. 4 weeks on and our colony has another 3 supers of 70% capped honey. Probably another 50lbs at least, and it is still only the beginning of July.
We also have at least 4 deep brood frames full of honey that need putting into the supers to allow the young queen space to lay.

Our second nuc colony has been with us for 8 weeks and has 1 cappedsuper and about half another well underway.

It is simply much more than we imagined was likely or possible.

So is it a good year for you/us all?
Sam

 

[gavin]

Not for me, Sam, but I'm building up again from a disastrous winter/spring.

There is a beekeeping in Warwickshire reporting 200lb (so far!) from his best colonies - and he usually takes his colonies to the heather as well as gathering a July harvest.

G.

 

[Mike a]

Not so good as I had hoped to be honest but I'm expanding my colonies, although it is early days still and I'm hopeful to get some more honey this year. All told 46 Lbs so far.

 

[Heather]

One great colony- no queen cells all year- now on deep and a super for brood- have extracted 80lb so far and still has 3 supers on, and will prob add another to keep them with some space.

BUT other colonies all swarmed or AS, queens just settling so only 2-3 supers on each and will be a late extract there. So no consistent picture.

When will they investigate queens not going the full term???

 

[Rosti]

Certainly in my part of Yorkshire we have had a good spring flow which has given a nice balanced honey (not over powered by OSR). The early spring build up was good and well supported by Willow in particular. We have not seen a 'June Gap' of any significance with bean coming in earlier than last year and over-lapping the OSR, bean has now all but gone and the clover which also had a good year is gone but with masses of brambles around.

There have been some good flows on, combined with good weather periods in Yorkshire and so we have also seen some good volumes of honey. (best hive has been 2x OSR plus 3x mixed blossom so far). I do remember last august was bad and the colonies were still quite big and must have taken back well over a supers worth to get them through.

...... this honey isn't ours yet!

 

[Poly Hive]

Had a very nice start then went into swarm mode from which they are just now recovering.

150lb of comb honey so far and another 300 odd to come off.

Parleyed from 6 colonies to 11, and produced as an aside some 25 nucs.

Good year? One of my best thanks, but (mutter) we very badly need rain to switch the flow on again.

PH

 

[taff..]

one colony has surprised me, it was slow to build up in spring but my god have they taken off now, a week ago it had 3 supers and a nat brood and was bursting at the seams so I gave them a 14x12 to be getting on with drawing out.

5 days later and all but one frame in the 14x12 is drawn out and has been started to be filled with nectar.

I took off about 70Lb from 2 colonies this weekend and there is at least that still on there for me to deal with later, the weather has been very kind the last few weeks

 

[Ewok]

Not so good for us, our one hive was put on an early Baily change to get them from national to 14X12 & they took off like a rocket, we missed an inspection & they ran out of laying space & started swarming.

We now have 5 hives but are having problems getting them to draw out the supers, but have at least 6 almost fully capped 14X12 frames that'll be extracted when completed.

 

[rae]

We have nothing to compare it to, but we seem to be inundated. We started with two nucs last year and got nothing, we left them with the lot over winter.

In about May we extracted a super off each, so 15lb each. 3 weeks later, we extracted 3 supers off one and two off the other, so 30/45lb each. Both hives have another three supers ready to extract - so that's another 45lb each. In addition they've created 3 additional thriving colonies, and 3 colonies that probably won't make it. The three thriving colonies have pretty much filled a super each already.

So the original colonies are at about 80 lb each already, and we seem to be in the middle of a very strong flow.

 

[MuswellMetro]

, but have at least 6 almost fully capped 14X12 frames that'll be extracted when completed.

How?, they will not fit in a extractor

suggest you get the bees to move it to supers


flow this year, missed OSR as i move my hives to city area and did a shook swarm on one and missed a QC on another

60lb hive one / 40lb hive two extracted so far and two super on each

 

[Adam]

How?, they will not fit in a extractor

I have a 15 frame radial extractor that has mesh panels, allowing frames as large as 14 x 12 to be extracted tangentially.

My crop is a bumper one already.

Adam

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Had a very nice start then went into swarm mode from which they are just now recovering.

150lb of comb honey so far and another 300 odd to come off.

Parleyed from 6 colonies to 11, and produced as an aside some 25 nucs.

Well done ... that's quite an achievement!

 

[SixFooter]

We also have at least 4 deep brood frames full of honey that need putting into the supers to allow the young queen space to lay.

How do you do that? they wont fit will they?
I ask because I have a colony with lots of honey in the brood box.

 

[RoseCottage]

As PolyHive says often, 'bruise' the honey.
I think that this means break any cappings on the honey that there is and and ensure that there is space in the Supers above.
Apparently they will then think to move the honey into the stores above.

Haven't done it myself yet (will try next week after I move my hives) but he seems to swear by it so we'll see.


All the best,
Sam.

 

[SixFooter]

Thanks.

Yes, heard of that before but obviously forgot. I'm studying for the basic and my brain hurts!