this season's yield

[user 3509]

102lb so far from six hives, with a couple of supers nearly ready for extraction at last inspection. It has been a strange season with hives varying from week to week, one week looking promising and the next really struggling. Flow has only come in since the beginning of July. Before that they just kept eating everything.

 

[drstitson]

two swarms and a hornet's nest.

 

[enrico]

not noticed much difference between urban or countryside in the South East

unlike the west Englands wet weather the SE has been very Dry, this is yield from the best hives

You would think so wouldn't you. But you couldn't get more west in England than us and we are in drought conditions! Our drinking water spring is just dribbling out of the hill. I think we are the wrong side of the Brecon Beacons !
E

 

[MuswellMetro]

You would think so wouldn't you. But you couldn't get more west in England than us and we are in drought conditions! Our drinking water spring is just dribbling out of the hill. I think we are the wrong side of the Brecon Beacons !
E

it will be caused by JBM digging holes to stop the water getting to the english

 

[Obee1]

Plus the TLC of a famous and skilfull beekeeper

Do you think the bees are star struck?

 

[Michael Palmer]

What do you think is the main key to your success - in a nutshell!
Large colonies? Young queens? Good forage? Good weather?
All of the above?

All of the above

 

[TOBY-3652]

700 pound off the osr and 300 off the borage up 2 now I would think another 400- 600 pound to come yet off 25 hives so average 64 pound a hive hopefully

 

[scituatema]

All of the above

What percentage do you think it is from the forage, mr. Palmer?
If you had one of your 120lb honey producer hive in a residential New England town that has no open fields, how much honey would you expect ? What would be a reasonable number ?
Thanks

 

[Michael Palmer]

I couldn't say. Less for sure.

 

[REDWOOD]

I can't really say if I have had a good year until the money is in the bank

 

[REDWOOD]

Seriously I have only extracted from two hives so far to give them some more room for heather if it ever comes and got about close on to 100 off one and 70 off the other. can't say much for the other hives but HB is in full swing now and just need some nice weather to fill the supers

 

[Sadders]

Nil. Terrible year. In fact I've fed them more than they have fed me.

 

[sbisme]

Had 10lb OSR and extracted 40lb a couple of weeks ago, HB is in flow so hopefully I will get a little more. Very happy for my first full year and yes I did lose a swarm too

 

[ROACHMAN]

620 lbs this year compared with 1900 lbs last year
The problem has been the weather - far too dry and cold
The Lime flowered for one day and then the flowers shrivelled up and dropped off
Last year the Lime trees were humming with insects

Also warm weather in April resulting in rapid colony build up leading to high levels of swarming/artificial swarms in May then the weather went cold and windy. The Q- colonies in a lot of cases then failed to produce a mated queen due to queens getting lost on mating flights

but that's beekeeping, if it was simple everyone would be doing it

 

[TOBY-3652]

just filled my 40th 30 pound bucket.. so not too bad 4 me going 2 take 6 to the heather next week

 

[Tom Jay]

Just my second season and I've messed up with swarms regarding two of my four overwintered colonies. Of the ones I've kept in production - one not attempted to swarm, one artificially swarmed early on - one has two supers nearly full, the other which I artificially swarmed now has six supers, five of them a ton weight and they're out like crazy most days. That said, with her prolific laying I'm running this one at brood and a half so that's five supers over the QE.

I'm in the middle of large old and often unkept suburban gardens with lots of nectar bearing trees. So I'm aiming to replicate the success of my best in my management next season. I've just one daughter from that artificial swarm I did and she is building up her brood nest nicely though stores have been touch and go through those cool windy weeks we had. Will she match her mother next year? hope so.

 

[Goran]

At my place..
Seems I got little over 2000kg this year as stationary. Before never reached 1000kg. If I didn't sold some colonies it could be 500-600kg more. Selling the honey for decent price is other story.. I will again try to sell lot colonies in spring, but most want as cheap .. as I can't sell for..

 

[Heather]

Got 150lb so far, but still got some to bring in.
At an out apiary yesterday .. all hives gently busy, when the air suddenly filled with a swarm.. didn't know source.. needed that like a hole in the head!
Just to check the only hive that could possibly throw one...v. strong.. supers and double brood, so decided to check. The upper brood box... no brood, but 11 frames beautifully capped honey.. Queen behaving in lower. I needed to grab help to lift the honey stores to bung a rhombus under..

Note to self.. get queens from that colony next June.

 

[GillGM]

Odd year

Just extracted and around 40lb from 4 colonies (maybe a bit more haven't melted OSR out yet). This compares to 130lbs last year.
Queens seemed to be problem. Bees quickly decided to replace new (laying) queens three weeks after coming into lay on all colonies making swarming preps. This included a queen put into a nuc and steaming away from mating for a couple of weeks.

I have rural bees in a nursery. My mentee's bees, urban, brought in loads in spring and then skidded to a halt.

My allotment has shown same pattern as tanking away and then skidding to a halt. Particularly, raspberries (always can see foragers on early varieties) have had poor crop.

Interestingly, bad temper and queen problems coincided with a major solar storm which saw aurora showing as far south as Dorset.

 

[GillGM]

Just extracted and around 40lb from 4 colonies (maybe a bit more haven't melted OSR out yet). This compares to 130lbs last year.
Queens seemed to be problem. Bees quickly decided to replace new (laying) queens three weeks after coming into lay on all colonies making swarming preps. This included a queen put into a nuc and steaming away from mating for a couple of weeks.

I have rural bees in a nursery. My mentee's bees, urban, brought in loads in spring and then skidded to a halt.

My allotment has shown same pattern as tanking away and then skidding to a halt. Particularly, raspberries (always can see foragers on early varieties) have had poor crop.

Interestingly, bad temper and queen problems coincided with a major solar storm which saw aurora showing as far south as Dorset.