Summer Harvest

Jars and empty frames after the harvest

We took some honey off our long established Hive (A) over the weekend. It amounted to 12Kg including extracted honey and comb. As always, it tastes fantastic. It's so strong that I can't eat very much.

I use National frames but mostly without foundation. There is evidence that chemicals leach from the wax in foundation and get transported around the hive (NB: I don't have a journal article reference for that claim, so treat with care please). I wanted to avoid that.

I was nervous because I haven't often extracted without foundation. I tried to use baking trays this time to support the frames but they blocked extraction and cut into the wax. I removed them and found that the comb didn't burst. I just spun it gently. Extracting the frames twice for each side - one gentle and one vigorous spin - is effective. It does take a longer to extract though. The most dangerous part is where there is a full side on the inside.

I don't feed the bees, except occasionally with their own honey. Everything comes from local flowers. I'm very grateful to the bees.