It's going to be a late one

[PeaBee]

I have settled on 4 labels. 3/4lbs soft set spring honey, 3/4lb runny summer honey. 1/2lbs heather. And 1/2lb "special batch" for anything unusual. Then attach a tag label explaining what is in the special batch for example this year buckwheat.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Well I think we all do this when we start off. I know curly has been keeping bees for a while but I think this has been the first year he’s got the bit between his teeth. I know I’m a mere lowly hobby keeper but when I first started getting a half decent crop I went mad with all sorts of different labels. The novelty wears off.

The amount of different labels were a mutual agreement between me and my employer, I'm not to happy with the label design, I do wish Id have had more of a say maybe even designed them, but you can't have everything.
Just glad really this season has been brilliant, honey crops on the Clee aren't as varied as work but the Clee honey is something else, I plan to expand both as time goes by.

 

[Murox]

Scratching bum and maybe drawing some blood methinks!!

What does that mean? What you said is nonsensical. Was that a statement and/or a question; Is a response expected ?

 

[mbc]

Hardly not being nice is it. Now, if I was to encourage Curly not to think about where he's going with this marketing decision of his, that wouldn't be nice.

Yup, there's more than one way to skin a cat, but each one is easier if you've had it explained by someone who's already been down that road.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Yup, there's more than one way to skin a cat, but each one is easier if you've had it explained by someone who's already been down that road.

I would say more but no need really

 

[Finman]

It is soon spring, and you can fix the situation in the hive.

 

[rolande]

Well I think we all do this when we start off. I know curly has been keeping bees for a while but I think this has been the first year he’s got the bit between his teeth. I know I’m a mere lowly hobby keeper but when I first started getting a half decent crop I went mad with all sorts of different labels. The novelty wears off.

Yes! I've been at this a long time now and still make wrong calls, I have the unused labels with their long out of date 'best befores' to remind me...

As Jim Rohn was fond of saying, don't be a follower, be a student.

Sad I was so stubborn for so long. But I did work it out eventually!

 

[user 20297]

Yes! I've been at this a long time now and still make wrong calls, I have the unused labels with their long out of date 'best befores' to remind me...

As Jim Rohn was fond of saying, don't be a follower, be a student.

Sad I was so stubborn for so long. But I did work it out eventually!

A more complete quote (but not the full one):

"Be a student, not a follower. Don’t just go do what someone says........................" -- Jim Rohn

Good advice @Curly green finger's.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I have the unused labels with their long out of date 'best befores' to remind me...

That's why I print labels for each batch.
Laser printer and vinyl labels.

 

[Erichalfbee]

That's why I print labels for each batch.
Laser printer and vinyl labels.

I wish I could get my numpty head round doing that.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes! I've been at this a long time now and still make wrong calls, I have the unused labels with their long out of date 'best befores' to remind me...

That's why I print labels for each batch.
Laser printer and vinyl labels.

I wish I could get my numpty head round doing that.

Just get a bog standard shop pricing gun, as long as you print DD/MM/YY format it's acceptable instead of a lot number or splash out and get a twin line labeller to show both BBE date and lot number, then just get labels with 'for Best before - see base then just change the date with each batch.

 

[rolande]

A more complete quote (but not the full one):

"Be a student, not a follower. Don’t just go do what someone says........................" -- Jim Rohn

Good advice @Curly green finger's.

Exactly, (although there are different variants in different recordings!*) thinking is such a useful idea - even when others don't think you need to.

Edit: * an example here:

 

[Curly green finger's]

A more complete quote (but not the full one):

"Be a student, not a follower. Don’t just go do what someone says........................" -- Jim Rohn

Good advice @Curly green finger's.

I think this is pretty much what rolande has always said to me. "take from thoughs what you need but always be and think for yourself". ( my saying) and maybe yours rolande?
I've always had to be like that, it's caused me a few problems, but on the other hand it's created some wonderful opertunitys, and some even better ideas maybe concerning forward thinking in landscaping and design, I'm hoping this is what you mean folks??

 

[Curly green finger's]

My only concern would be labelling the honeys as mono floral. But then If nobody bothers the supermarkets for their labelling I wound hazard that a small producer is safe.
They do look pretty
It would take me a week to label those

I'm pretty confident they are more than 50% of one type of honey, what percent does it have to be to be classed as a monofloral honey.
I thought I read on here Heather only needs to be 45%.
The lime is definitely pretty pure as is some of the heather and dandelion?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Being 'pretty confident' is not really good enough and won't necessarily satisfy TS, you must have a heck of a lot of lime trees around your hives for you to be certain that it's 'pretty pure'

 

[Curly green finger's]

Being 'pretty confident' is not really good enough and won't necessarily satisfy TS, you must have a heck of a lot of lime trees around your hives for you to be certain that it's 'pretty pure'

An avenue enough, big wood has lime in to.

 

[PeaBee]

The CBI factsheet says" in order for the honey to be
called monofloral:
 Underrepresented pollen (e.g. coffee) must constitute more than 20% of the total pollen content
 Normally represented pollen (e.g. clover) must constitute more than 45% of the total pollen content
 Overrepresented pollen (e.g. rapeseed) must constitute more than 70% of the total pollen content."

So without pollen analysis it could be quite hard to call it mono floral with any certainty. I am pretty confident that with crops like heather or when OSR is the only flower to be seen on the fens it's going to be mono floral but pretty hard when there is alternatives.

 

[pargyle]

The CBI factsheet says" in order for the honey to be
called monofloral:
 Underrepresented pollen (e.g. coffee) must constitute more than 20% of the total pollen content
 Normally represented pollen (e.g. clover) must constitute more than 45% of the total pollen content
 Overrepresented pollen (e.g. rapeseed) must constitute more than 70% of the total pollen content."

So without pollen analysis it could be quite hard to call it mono floral with any certainty. I am pretty confident that with crops like heather or when OSR is the only flower to be seen on the fens it's going to be mono floral but pretty hard when there is alternatives.

There really should be no guesswork in it - to be sure you either have to have had your bees in the middle of a very high value crop such as heather or OSR or - you need pollen analysis to claim monofloral. Yes, you might get away with it but Trading standards are a fickle lot and all you need is one with a particular bent for honey and time on their hands ...

Me ? Mine is just all labelled honey ... people like the fact that it is sometimes a little different and the explanation as to why. Saves on multiple labels and the risks of punters becoming fixated on one particular type of honey.

 

[Curly green finger's]

The CBI factsheet says" in order for the honey to be
called monofloral:
 Underrepresented pollen (e.g. coffee) must constitute more than 20% of the total pollen content
 Normally represented pollen (e.g. clover) must constitute more than 45% of the total pollen content
 Overrepresented pollen (e.g. rapeseed) must constitute more than 70% of the total pollen content."

So without pollen analysis it could be quite hard to call it mono floral with any certainty. I am pretty confident that with crops like heather or when OSR is the only flower to be seen on the fens it's going to be mono floral but pretty hard when there is alternatives.

Well I've sent of three samples and awaiting results.

 

[PeaBee]

Well I've sent of three samples and awaiting results.

Keep us posted on the results, be interested to hear what the results are and how it compares to the different jars in the photo. Brave move getting specific labels printed and stuck on before the results are back. You lose any naivety defence " we just assumed it was clover etc." If the result come back under the threshold and Trading Standards poke their nose over it