usual spring honey harvest challenge

[Curly green finger's]

I don’t understand. So the bees are allowed to forage in OSR but they eat all of it so there is none set in the frames at harvest or for some reason the OSR doesn’t set till it’s in buckets even if it’s spun off in August? What am I missing?

I didn’t say they eat it all

But was that spun off in the spring?

nope in august as far as I’m aware

 

[ericbeaumont]

for some reason the OSR doesn’t set till it’s in buckets even if it’s spun off in August?

Unlikely, unless it was certain to be mixed with other nectar at the time, and even then OSR would dominate. Spring extraction, surely?

 

[ericbeaumont]

allowed to forage in OSR but they eat all of it

OSR is useful to draw BBs of comb

 

[Xander]

This being my first full season Ive found the spring nectar is being used to draw comb.
I've fed thin syrup to help them along but I don't even have a full super worth of comb yet.
I think all new keepers should be aware that the first years crop goes into building up supplies of comb ready for next year.
Disappointing really and I'm thinking of chucking the dreaded flow frames on for the summer as they only need to line the cells and cap it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think all new keepers should be aware that the first years crop goes into building up supplies of comb ready for next year.

not really the case

 

[ericbeaumont]

I don't even have a full super worth of comb yet

How strong are the colonies? By that, I mean how many boxes are full of bees, and how many frames with brood?

 

[Rory Fields]

but isnt other spring nectar equally as likely to set....hawthorn, blackthorn etc...i was under impression it wasnt just OSR

do people have 'runny honey' from spring crops without heating etc?

Most of my hives are in rural sheep country where all they get is wildflower, gardens from my town of 3000 people and riparian flowers like balsam from the Tyne and, v luckily, Heather off the fell. My spring honey rarely amounts to a crop and they often eat it during June anyway, but it never sets, my aunt has some cut comb from 8yrs ago and it's still runny. 16 miles down the Tyne, there's abundant OSR, and I've had to put my 6th super on some colonies - I'll be taking these off once they pass the 'shake' test and then any that don't pass the refractometer test will go in the honey warming cabinet to dehydrate them down before immediately extracting into buckets and attempting soft set by using a specialised paddle drill bit. The drawn comb is of more value to me than the OSR honey within, so I'm using it mainly to draw comb and build colonies/splits, any honey is a bonus.