Honey

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Luke_of_Mass
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Honey

Post by Luke_of_Mass »

Last week, I pulled a full box of honey off of my massive Russian honeybee hive - fittingly on the eve of Comey's testimony - but didn't get a chance to harvest it until Sunday afternoon...

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It was about 50 lbs

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I use a hot knife to remove the wax cappings on the frames - bees will cover the cells of the honey comb with white wax when the moisture content is below 20% (this means the honey will not ferment, therefore good for us humans to rob without having it go bad...)

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I use a 2-frame radial centrifuge extractor to get the honey out of the frames, mine has a straining unit below the centrifuge so I can bypass the whole cheesecloth thing.

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Even with the double strainer inside the unit, there will still be minute flecks of wax and bubbles in the honey, the honey clears up within a couple days, any impurities float to the top where I skim them off and get to taste test while I'm at it :)

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Luckily my furry friend was on hand to clean the floor of any droplets that got by between jars

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The whole yield was 2 gallons and some change ... I just finished draining the cappings tonight and will put the very last of the honey in little jars tomorrow... Then I will process the wax!

Are there any other bee keepers here at talk blade?
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JulesVane
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Re: Honey

Post by JulesVane »

Wow! That's really cool Luke! How long is the process from 0 to 2+ gallons?
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whippersnapper
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Re: Honey

Post by whippersnapper »

Cool! I have considered getting bees for quite a few years but still haven't done it. It has always really interested me.
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Luke_of_Mass
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Re: Honey

Post by Luke_of_Mass »

JulesVane wrote:Wow! That's really cool Luke! How long is the process from 0 to 2+ gallons?
About an hour and a half since I stopped to eat in the middle, if I was in a rush I could probably get it all done in about an hour.

The bees built up this honey quite fast, they came out of Winter really strong and took advantage of the copious amount of rain we've had in the northeast (this brings on a nectar flow with flowering plants). It was just a matter of waiting for them to cure the honey and cap it so it wouldn't ferment if I took it... It was frustrating knowing that I was sitting on 40+ lbs of honey and it just wasn't ready yet... But I got the box back on the hive and they're already well on their way to filling it back up again
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whippersnapper
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Re: Honey

Post by whippersnapper »

How long you been keeping bees, Luke?
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Luke_of_Mass
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Re: Honey

Post by Luke_of_Mass »

whippersnapper wrote:How long you been keeping bees, Luke?
3-4 years, I've got 5 hives going right now in total. If this rain keeps up I could get 400-500 lbs of honey by late September, provided they don't float away in a flood or get raided by the bears...

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JulesVane
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Re: Honey

Post by JulesVane »

So, basically 50 lbs. of "raw" honey yielded 2+ gallons of "edible" honey in about 3 months (March to June)? All from the one hive you've posted in the first picture? Do you have more than one hive? WhipperSnapper is right, always interested me as well. Only saw such things on class trips to the "honey farm" back in the '70's. Really cool! Certainly more honey than I imagine your immediate family could handle. I'm assuming you sell it? Also, what becomes of the wax? Ooops! I now see you have 5 hives.
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Luke_of_Mass
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Re: Honey

Post by Luke_of_Mass »

It's all "raw/edible" ! :D I don't do any treatment to my honey meaning it includes pollen and all the enzymes that make honey healthy. Yep this is all just from one hive. Others are full of honey too, just not quite ready to take. I do sell it, trade it, gift it, ect. Not because I can't handle all that honey in my diet, but rather to keep that quantity of honey from becoming my diet ... real bad sweet tooth hah.

I melt down and purify the wax, then I pour it into molds to make 1 oz bars!

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I've been meaning to get around to doing candles or something with it, but for now it's just been piling up...

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sammy the blade
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Re: Honey

Post by sammy the blade »

I see very few bees here in Indiana anymore. Kinda wonder where they all went.
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rock-n-roll$$$$$$
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Re: Honey

Post by rock-n-roll$$$$$$ »

sammy the blade wrote:I see very few bees here in Indiana anymore. Kinda wonder where they all went.
pesticides.
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rock-n-roll$$$$$$
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Re: Honey

Post by rock-n-roll$$$$$$ »

I take honey every day, it helps my allergies,very cool hobby.
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whippersnapper
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Re: Honey

Post by whippersnapper »

sammy the blade wrote:I see very few bees here in Indiana anymore. Kinda wonder where they all went.
Yeah, 25 years ago I knew where there were about a half dozen "wild" hives around here. All those hollow trees are empty now.
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TRYKER
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Re: Honey

Post by TRYKER »

very kool, the blonde/grey wanted to get some hives going, butt i can't afford to buy stock in eppie pens !!!

i make my own waterproofing with beeswax and boiled linseed oil, wearing my self made winter knee high moccosins my feet never got wet crossing rivers.
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Luke_of_Mass
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Re: Honey

Post by Luke_of_Mass »

TRYKER wrote:very kool, the blonde/grey wanted to get some hives going, butt i can't afford to buy stock in eppie pens !!!

i make my own waterproofing with beeswax and boiled linseed oil, wearing my self made winter knee high moccosins my feet never got wet crossing rivers.
Since you're a fellow masshole, I'll offer an open invitation to drop by any time you like and we can run an awfully simple test to see if you're allergic to stings Image
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TRYKER
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Re: Honey

Post by TRYKER »

thanks butt i'll think i'll take a pass on that. lol
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