Clean Frames

After the honey has been taken out of the frames they are still very sticky with delicious honey that just can't be got out- at least by us! The frames are traditionally put back on the hive for the bees to 'lick' clean. 



Before- sticky!!



After- clean and dry!

 It's amazing how pristine the frames are- all clean, ready to store or fill again!!

Honey in Jars

The next day the honey was ready to put into jars- we used a mixture of 12oz and 1lb jars. There was still quite a bit of air in the honey but with standing that should settle out and the honey should be clearer. We collected just over 20 lbs from the super. Not to waste any I collected the honey from the cappings and took a jar out without filtering to see what it would be like.

The honey has gradually cleared over a period of days and although I don't think it will go crystal clear it tastes delicious!!

Honey at Last!!

At last, the time came to take off our first super of honey. The extractor, jars, strainer and so on were all clean and ready to go. The super had been cleared using porter bee escapes left on for just over 24 hours.
We collected the super on Thursday afternoon, covered it and took it home ready to remove the cappings and spin the honey off. Nine frames were beautifully capped- I used a sharp serrated knife to remove the cappings, this seemed to work fine- the cappings fell into a tray. Not to bee wasted, I later emptied them into a sieve and they filled a 12oz jar!!!


Capped honey



Removing the cappings






















Ready for extraction


The uncapped frames were then placed in the extractor ready for spinning. Lid closed and away we went- at first it was hard to know how hard to turn the handle but gradually it became clear that it needed a fair bit of effort and then you could hear the honey pattering on the sides of the drum.

We only had one lot of frames to spin so there was enough room at the bottom of the extractor to let the honey collect before we needed to take any out, so we finished the extraction and let the honey drain down before opening the honey tap to let the honey flow into the double sieve to filter out all the bits of wax.



Draining into the settling tank

It took quite a while for the honey to drain through in to the settling tank, so we just left it to pour through, put the lid on the tank and allowed some of the air bubbles to begin to settle out ready to put into jars.

Three Supers!!!

Before

Today we decided to put a new super on WW 1 to give them more space- we moved the full super to the top, the next one down and an empty super in between.
The full super was too heavy for me to lift on top of the whole lot by myself- luckily Trev was there to help get everything back together.

After !

Looks impressive with all those supers- they may not fill the empty one with honey , but if they draw some of the foundation that would be a great help for encouraging the bees to get started next year. Our plan is to clear the top super this week and extract the honey- another new experience and one we are looking forward to!!!

Bee Update

Its been a while since I updated the bee news so here goes - forgot camera again, but now we have made a check list so it may get better!!
Home Hive is picking up brilliantly- have not seen a queen but she's there with lots of stores- I think this hive should build up beautifully now to over winter. There is a super on the hive with a couple of frames being used but will probably leave these stores for the bees unless the forage is fantastic in the next few weeks.
Waxwings Apiary is looking good- 3 hives now doing well.
WW 1 now has 2 supers , 1 almost full of capped stores and the bees thriving. However by the end of the last inspection the bees did seem fussy- these have been good natured bees so far so we are wondering if anything is not right here. Perhaps giving them a new super and removing the full one might be a good idea, so next time we may try that and see how they go.
WW 2, again building up beautifully- the brood box full of brood in all stages and moved up into the super on about 4 frames.
WW 3 is the last hive to be moved on site and I was concerned this was a small nucleus, but again they have been expanding and are using all but the last sides of the end frames. There won't be honey from these bees this year but I'm hoping they will be strong enough to go into over wintering preparation without worry.
The forage at the moment is good- the limes about finished but the smell of the Sweet Chestnut has been almost overpowering on site sometimes recently - way too early;  however there is still plenty of Rosebay Willow Herb and Brambles around so will not worry about forage for a couple of weeks yet!

Hampton Court Flower Show

Last weekend the family visited Hampton Court Flower Show- a long held ambition that proved to be as good as we hoped. People who know us well know that we are rubbish at remembering to take our camera when we go places- this was no exception, the camera was ready but left on the back seat of the car. Luckily our children are better in this respect so we do have some photos!


I am because of who we are

 The gardens were great- I particularly liked the planting in the World Vision garden where I was able to buy some of my favourites- a Verbena Lavender Spires, Gaura Whirling Butterflies and Salvia- all pollinator friendly!
The best show garden- I am, beacause of who we are- was beautiful, with a combination planting of silver birches, white foxgloves, grasses and fine textured foliage the overall effect was lovely.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2011/Video/Video


World Vision



 However there was far too much to see in the time we had- the show gardens are not as big as they look on TV, but the floral marquee was well worth a tour and the Lewis Carroll theme was great to get the kids involved.