What hive setup to use for the ivy flows?

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Much like rape some people or beeks moan about the bland sweetness. Stick it on a table offering a taste test many of the public like it, in fact it can be 50/50 with a dark summer honey.
 
Two years ago I had a good ivy flow in the garden, though the colony had some good stores I started topping up with fondant and feeding below an eke under the CB as one can't always relying on the ivy until I can sense the aroma in the air or from the hive. Not only did they fill up with good stores they filled the eke with wild comb and stores. I robbed the wild comb as spring may have been messy putting it right.
 
To produce a ivy crop?
There is a good ivy crop here in the hedged landscape and mild, moist September/October period an my bees work the flowers from mid-Sept to mid-Oct until cold weather keeps them in the hive.
I take a crop with unwired frames. I cut the set honey from the frame and leave it in sealed buckets until Spring then warm it until runny and press it out and soft set it.
The mature taste is delicious. Comparisons with Manuka have been made in other parts of Ireland where it is now being marketed.
 
Stick it on a table offering a taste test many of the public like it, in fact it can be 50/50 with a dark summer honey.
Yep. Trick is to establish what the customer likes, and not all like flavour.

I promote borage as ideal for herbal teas as it won't interfere with the taste of the tea. Again at market on Saturday I used the most boring honey in Britain, and the customer bought it on that basis!

Customers appreciate candour and guidance; if they avoid borage at least we have a laugh and I sell a dark one instead.

Took some borage to my mum one year and she told me to take it away. That's not honey! That's sugar! she said repeatedly, so I gave up, took it away and gave her the usual. Got to please the customer!
 
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I'm about to start a batch of standard dry mead as we've finished ours off. I'm also going to do a demijohn of a winter spiced mead recipe I want to try.
You using dark honey for your spiced mead.
 

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