Record year?

[Nannysbees]

There are so many posts of a very successful year of harvesting. Is this one of the best years ever in your beekeeping career, or can you remember a time that was better?

 

[enrico]

My best one was about 2012 ish. I was living in Shropshire and all the lime trees went mad. I had an avenue of 18 or so of them just down the road. I have never seen supers fill so fast. Took about 500 lbs of just a few hives. This year....just middling for me!

 

[jeff33]

Best year for me... but then again it's difficult to compare as I only have 10 years of beekeeping under my belt and have been increasing hives number year on year!!

 

[Garry R]

I would say a "good" average for me!! Some hives excellent and others almost zilch. The zilch were those where the queen took an age to mate and lay (early splits) and the superb where there were no swarming preparations all season.

 

[Brown Beek]

Most honey ever this year for me. Then again, I have been especially focused this year, trying to improve on my beekeeping practice and honey crop. So perhaps would have been disappointed if I had not made some progress on previous years.

 

[Erichalfbee]

2018. Stupendous. This year close

 

[blackcloud]

Doubled last year's yield.
Might shift it eventually

 

[drdrday]

Best year yet for me... but I only have 3 full seasons to compare

 

[gregior]

Best year ever for me, average yield 60lbs per colony and that's after splitting them all!

 

[pargyle]

It's been a good year on the whole ... spring was disappointing as they ate most of what the produced but a good summer crop. I've extracted now but they are still bringing in Nectar from somewhere so I may not have to feed them too much this autumn as anything they bring in from now is theirs.

 

[The Poot]

This year I’ve had my biggest individual hive crop, but have had less hives than previously.
I still have honey to take from one hive as they don’t seem to be throttling back at all. It will be the latest in the year I’ve taken honey off.

 

[madasafish]

Second best - 384 lbs - after 2018 450+

 

[JamezF]

I think I may get my best harvest per (productive) colony, despite there being no significant OSR this year.

James

 

[mbc]

There are so many posts of a very successful year of harvesting. Is this one of the best years ever in your beekeeping career, or can you remember a

I've already extracted over six tonnes of 2022 honey~500kg osr, ~1500kg may blossom, ~4000kg summer honey- and there's over a hundred supers cleared waiting for extracting and hundreds of supers yet to collect.
This blows my previous best crop out of the water, but I've got more hives than ever (>350ish) so it'll take some calculations to see if the average take is at record levels.
I'm exhausted and having a lovely few days off, camping and fishing with the children for the last few days and celebrating hard today and tomorrow for the wife's birthday.
Trying not to think about the mountain of extracting in front of me, god knows why I clicked on the bee forum and answered this post

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

fishing with the children

I usually use worms - or mackerel strips if sea fishing

 

[StephenT]

4th year of beekeeping and best by far. About 85kg from 3 hives. Flying off the shelf at my wife’s pharmacy.

 

[jeff33]

I usually use worms - or mackerel strips if sea fishing

Talking of which, I am just getting my gear ready for the high tide this evening hoping for some bass or mackerel which have been in abundance this year also!

 

[Nannysbees]

I've already extracted over six tonnes of 2022 honey~500kg osr, ~1500kg may blossom, ~4000kg summer honey- and there's over a hundred supers cleared waiting for extracting and hundreds of supers yet to collect.
This blows my previous best crop out of the water, but I've got more hives than ever (>350ish) so it'll take some calculations to see if the average take is at record levels.
I'm exhausted and having a lovely few days off, camping and fishing with the children for the last few days and celebrating hard today and tomorrow for the wife's birthday.
Trying not to think about the mountain of extracting in front of me, god knows why I clicked on the bee forum and answered this post

Wow amazing

 

[masterBK]

Been a decent sort of year. 2050 lbs from 25 production colonies = average of 82lbs per colony plus only a few will need any feed for winter. All hives now static as gave up migrating beekeeping over a decade ago when it was then possible to get 3000+ lbs of honey from moving several hives to a series of crops like rape, field beans, borage and heather (never managed to take them to the balsam). I found lifting of hives becoming difficult as I aged so a few years ago sold the heather press and scrapped the trailer.

Intend to reduce in steps the number of colonies I keep each year by uniting both in late august and in spring maybe selling a few to beginners in local association at relatively low prices and give up completely in 3 or 4 years. Also don't want to land the missus with the job of disposing of the bees, hives and other equipment not forgetting the large number of beekeeping books and honey pots that I have cluttering up the place when I abscondt o the great beehive in the sky.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Best summer for me still extracting summer honey ,heather just started extracting .
What’s surprised me is 6 frame nucs made with mated queens in June ending up some three and four extentions and producing honey hived up and still producing honey on the heather.
Over all so far around 1.5 tons of summer honey and still counting spring was only 660+lb