Sloppy fondant

[robmort]

Some grandads were still doing it in the 2000s. But on top of a CB.

Alternatively what some people do is cut a small hole in a side of the sugar bag, pour a tablespoon of water into it to solidify it around the hole, then invert it over the CB hole.

The only reason I haven't done this is that the bag is rather thick to put insulation over it and you can't see into it to see progress.

 

[Murox]

The only reason I haven't done this is that the bag is rather thick to put insulation over it and you can't see into it to see progress.

Zip lock bags !

 

[victor meldrew]

Zip lock bags !

Yep I always use ziplock freezer bags .
I pinch the wife’s

 

[Boston Bees]

Zip lock bags !

What I am currently using:

Pack of 100 Bags - 9'' x 12.75'' A4 Multipurpose Plain Reusable Resealable Strong Clear Plastic Polythene Grip Seal Zip Lock Bags - Various Sizes Available (9'' x 12.75''): AmazonSmile: Office Products

 

[Garry R]

There has been a lot of talk about feeding fondant to the bees – where to get it, how to put it on, on a crown board , directly on the frame tops, sloppy fondant etc etc. Here is what I have done this year moting that this colony was ready to get another fondant slab today (December 24th)

I previously placed my fondant directly on the frame tops using a 2” eke to allow space below the crown board. However I found that bees built comb throughout the fondant which was irritating. It made the fondant difficult to remove so I wanted the fondant to be easily accessible to the bees without using a queen excluder. I therefore trimmed a blue mushroom tray cutting the side walls down to about 1” deep and this placed on the frame tops with the fondant placed on the grid. The grid also prevents bees from getting crushed between the frame tops and the fondant. However one of the main advantages appears later as the bees seem to be prevented from building comb in the grid area as you can see from the photograph. I must add that this was a very strong colony so the comb at the edges was built slowly before full clustering occurred. It is also easy to lift the grid from the frames if you need to do so for oxalic acid trickling or complete removal in the spring. I have not seen fondant running through the grid holes.

Merry Christmas to all and to the bees with your prezzie.

 

[robmort]

Zip lock bags !

You didn't read my post. Putting a bag of sugar in ziplock bag doesn't help.

The idea is to simply use a bag of sugar as is.

 

[Murox]

You didn't read my post. Putting a bag of sugar in ziplock bag doesn't help.

The idea is to simply use a bag of sugar as is.

I obviously misunderstood your intention - I was thinking about decanting the sugar into a larger "container" spread over a bigger area to give a "thinner" lump to spread insulation over. I used to use that method some 40 years ago and placed hessian sacking around and over the bags in an empty super under a deep roof - it should still work.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Alternatively what some people do is cut a small hole in a side of the sugar bag, pour a tablespoon of water into it to solidify it around the hole, then invert it over the CB hole.

The only reason I haven't done this is that the bag is rather thick to put insulation over it and you can't see into it to see progress.

So I don't need to use actual fondant, given enough water they will just take plain sugar? That would be much easier if it were so.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Alternatively what some people do is cut a small hole in a side of the sugar bag, pour a tablespoon of water into it to solidify it around the hole, then invert it over the CB hole.

The only reason I haven't done this is that the bag is rather thick to put insulation over it and you can't see into it to see progress.

Perhaps as murrox said use a clear zip up bag with the sugar over the CB and make the crown board a clear one made of perspex 4mm +.

When I feed 20 kgs+ of fondant I use supers as ekes and clear crown boards so you can observe how much has gone

 

[robmort]

So I don't need to use actual fondant, given enough water they will just take plain sugar? That would be much easier if it were so.

Yes plain sugar is so much easier than fondant, if you can find an easy way to give it to them.
Many people use an eke with a wire mesh on the bottom and spread kgs of damp sugar over it (so that it holds together and goes solid) and place it over the brood box.
Others use a rapid feeder but just fill it with plain sugar.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Others use a rapid feeder but just fill it with plain sugar.

Taking out the transparent cup presumably since granulated sugar doesn't exactly flow well.

I have only one Chinese takeaway container of fondant left so will try that in the new year if they need it.

 

[robmort]

Yes take out the plastic cup. This method generally only works if the bees are not clustered as it puts the sugar a bit further away from them.

 

[drex]

I can understand giving the granulated sugar in an emergency, but why routinely make things even more difficult for them at this time of year. I make sure I have fondant in stock, even though I hope not to have to use it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I can understand giving the granulated sugar in an emergency, but why routinely make things even more difficult for them at this time of year. I make sure I have fondant in stock, even though I hope not to have to use it.

seems to be an unwritten rule for hobby beekeepers in this country that they must make things as fiddly and difficult as possible for them selves and the bees.
Just getting out a slab of fondant from the stores now - bought possibly four or five years ago

 

[robmort]

Yes you're right, there's nothing as fiddly as keeping fondant in store for years then retrieving it to find a place for it in the hive compared to simply filling a rapid feeder with sugar.

 

[Boston Bees]

Yes you're right, there's nothing as fiddly as keeping fondant in store for years then retrieving it to find a place for it in the hive compared to simply filling a rapid feeder with sugar.

I think he is suggesting that fondant is easier for the bees to take down than sugar. Which, it seems to me, it clearly is, being softer and moister?

For this reason I have never tried dry sugar, so I admit to not having tested this scientifically.

 

[victor meldrew]

I think he is suggesting that fondant is easier for the bees to take down than sugar. Which, it seems to me, it clearly is, being softer and moister?

For this reason I have never tried dry sugar, so I admit to not having tested this scientifically.

Yep even fondant requires the the attention of the water carriers to assimilate it .

 

[ShinySideUp]

I have been looking at this subject this evening: what sugar is, what fondant is made of, etc. and I'm yet to be convinced that ordinary sugar isn't as good as fondant. Fondant is a mixture of sugar, water and apparently, corn syrup. I suspect the corn syrup is there just to hold it together, just a bit of a glue really. Now, when my bees take fondant, they take it from a plastic container turned upside down over a crown board hole. The first accessible fondant is very close to the bees of course but as they take more, the source of it moves further away and yet they still manage to take it down without getting cold. I'm thinking that a suitably modified container with a small lip on the inside to stop naked sugar just falling through the hive would serve the purpose admirably. Since the sugar is dry, it won't go mouldy and if there is a water source near the apiary the bees should be able to bring in enough on a mild day to liquify the sugar and store it. If the day is too cold to go and get water, it is also probably too cold for them to leave the cluster and get fondant too. In either event, if it's cold they cluster, if it's warmer they get food and water. I have to try granulated sugar but at the moment they are not taking any fondant either to the question is moot.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Fondant is a mixture of sugar, water and apparently, corn syrup.

Where on earth did you get that fondant recipe? baker's fondant in this country is a simple mix of powdered sugar, glucose syrup and water.

 

[hemo]

No corn syrup mentioned at all on the ingredients of the boxes I have.
Corn syrup maybe in US fondant maybe or China fondant.