When to take OSR supers off in this cold weather....

[simonforeman]

I have about 3 full supers of OSR honey that should now come off as this last weeks weather and the wind and rain over 2 days has turned the field nearly green.

Weather is below 12 degrees and rainy for next 5 or 6 days. Today is 10 degrees and dry so best day. Should I take off today or is it too cold. Don't want it to go solid and ruin the combs?

 

[masterBK]

I use the Shake test (backed up using refractometer which you may not have but could always borrow one. Get demonstration of how to use and read it). Quite alot of honey is being eaten at the moment during this cold spell so make sure there is enough in the brood chamber to tide them over til the weather improves. If not, then leave one of the supers with unsealed honey on the hive .

 

[Poly Hive]

I would get it off now as you are dicing with concrete.

PH

 

[Curly green fingers]

I would get it of I'm collecting osr supers today I put clearer boards on yesterday afternoon it was only 10c on the farm.

 

[Beefriendly]

Have a nice warm room to extract in....nothing slower than extracting cold honey.
In poly hives it stays nice and warm....so will be leaving mine on until we get some decent extraction weather. I don't have a heated extracting room.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Have a nice warm room to extract in....nothing slower than extracting cold honey.
In poly hives it stays nice and warm....so will be leaving mine on until we get some decent extraction weather. I don't have a heated extracting room.

I've got the heaters on in the cony 35c .
Shorts and vesy afternoon extracting.

 

[Beefriendly]

Beginning to see the wisdom of a heated extractor..

 

[Millet]

All mine are staying on till this cold spell passes..if it sets like concrete tough..I would rather see that than a load of dead chilled bees on the ground around the hives..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Take it off - you are not inspecting the colony, just clearing the bees down into it.
Opening up the hive quickly to do a necessary maneuvre is not going to compromise the bees. Even at lower temperatures than current.
Leaving it on would be a foolhardy thing to do.
Some people struggle to multitask - ie thinking,beekeeping and breathing all at the same time

 

[deanrpwaacs]

Trouble i find is the outside frames always fail the shake test even the top super of 4 is not ready .

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[mbc]

Trouble i find is the outside frames always fail the shake test even the top super of 4 is not ready .

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Try early in the morning before any fresh nectar goes in.

 

[simonforeman]

Thanks all... thought that would be the answers I would get back. Plan on extracting today or tomorrow then...

I have one of the round stainless double sieves that sits on a bucket, would you use both or just the course one? I plan on making creamed honey with what I get later in the year.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Take it off - you are not inspecting the colony, just clearing the bees down into it.
Opening up the hive quickly to do a necessary maneuvre is not going to compromise the bees. Even at lower temperatures than current.
Leaving it on would be a foolhardy thing to do.
Some people struggle to multitask - ie thinking,beekeeping and breathing all at the same time

I've now removed 5 supers a few stragglers in the supers but done with out them even knowing I was there really busy considering its only 9c .
Still as a daisy and sunny here.
I'm leaving them to warm up then time to get it extracted and take the supers back pronto .
My first osr crop ever

 

[mbc]

I've now removed 5 supers a few stragglers in the supers but done with out them even knowing I was there really busy considering its only 9c .
Still as a daisy and sunny here.
I'm leaving them to warm up then time to get it extracted and take the supers back pronto .
My first osr crop ever

Well done!

 

[Levitt53]

I'm in exactly the same position. I was going to take some off this weekend but decided the all the bees staying at home would need the space, and be harder to get out of the super if they weren't going out of the hive. Ironically there is always OSR near me but the honey always looks exactly the same so it must be mixing nicely with something else. I've put it off till next weekend although maybe overthinking it. The only problem is I have the keep lifting the damn heavy super on and off the hive which is getting to be a real pain (literally).

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'm in exactly the same position. I was going to take some off this weekend but decided the all the bees staying at home would need the space, and be harder to get out of the super if they weren't going out of the hive. Ironically there is always OSR near me but the honey always looks exactly the same so it must be mixing nicely with something else. I've put it off till next weekend although maybe overthinking it. The only problem is I have the keep lifting the damn heavy super on and off the hive which is getting to be a real pain (literally).

If it's too cold for the bees to forage, it's too cold to inspect. Put on an empty super and clear the bees down into that.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Leave it on.... Why have two lots of osr extraction it's still in flower

 

[simonforeman]

I have extracted this afternoon... I am in the good position of the OSR hives being my garden hives...just under 2 supers of frames removed extracted and returned to the hives in less than 2 hours, 30 kg of honey.

Allot failed the shake test so that will wait until next week. I have moved them all to the supers and that's on top of the brood boxes. My first OSR extraction completed without any mis-haps

 

[simonforeman]

Leave it on.... Why have two lots of osr extraction it's still in flower

Not round here it's not... all finished

 

[Curly green fingers]

If it's too cold for the bees to forage, it's too cold to inspect. Put on an empty super and clear the bees down into that.

That's what I got advised and did thanks for reiterating it jbm .