Could be good for compost so not completely lost. The municipal composting
facility along the A40 uses the left over of mars bar manufacture.
Mary
On 11 Jun 2020, at 13:46, Ann Welch <ann.welch123@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not sure I'd feed it back to them Paul, I wouldn't want the risk of them
restoring it and ruining other honey. Sounds like a bin job to me :)
A
On 11/06/2020 12:48, Oxnatbees wrote:
After cutting comb from bars I strain it, I did a short write up about how I
do it here (about half way down).
I have a lot to learn about honey. The last lot I took from our TBHs had a
real mix of types, I think a fair bit was ivy and was basically solid plugs
which will not liquefy. I didn't bother trying to strain it but put the
combs in a sealed container and every now and then I open it and cut out
some solid honey as best Ican from the comb for my toast. However there was
a wax moth larva in there and it is no longer palatable... guess I'll feed
it back to the bees once the rain is over by simply leaving the box open at
the far end of the garden. (If I leave it open near the hives it may trigger
robbing.)
Paul
On Thu, 11 Jun 2020 at 12:17, Stefanie Taeumer <stefanietaeumer@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Thanks Gareth, I wasn't aware that too much agitation would affect the
aroma of the honey that much. I will handle it more gently next time!
Stefanie
On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 10:16 AM Gareth John <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Bar width
The standard spacing, centre to centre, of combs in a Golden Hive is 36mm.
Bees like to make honey combs a bit wider than brood combs. Apart from
anything else it is more economical of labour and wax to store honey is
wider combs. It also makes life easier for the honey robber (beekeeper)
as there are fewer combs to handle. I have experimented with super combs
in my Golden Hives at spacings between 45mm and 50mm centres. At the top
end of this range I find the bees insert extra little combs in between, so
I find around 46 or 47mm works well. There is no need for huge accuracy
but remember that although 1mm seems a small amount to us, to a bee it is
1/6th of its body width.
The frames need to have a bottom bar. Otherwise the comb will be attached
to the top bars of the box below. For comb guides I run a bead of wax
down the centre line of the top bars, or round the centre of the rim of
the roundels.
Harvesting
I cut the comb from the frames and place it in jars. I also use a
stainless steel small wine press to crush some of the comb to get run
honey to fill the gap between the cut comb and the sides of the jar. I
avoid agitation as much as possible when creating run honey as the more
the honey is disturbed the more one loses the volatiles that give honeys
their distinctive aromas. Processing is best done in a warm kitchen to
aid honey flow; even a few degrees of extra warmth massively increase the
speed at which honey runs. But don’t over-warm honey; one loses volatiles
and also heating speeds the formation of unwanted chemicals in the honey,
such as HMF. If I am warming honey I never do so above 40 deg C as this
is about the maximum temperature the honey will reach in the hive while it
is being processed.
If using roundels, they need to be a few mm smaller in diameter than the
neck of the jar. Too tight a fit and it gets messy, which obviates the
beauty of the approach.
Human Factors
Negotiate with other users of the kitchen before handling any quantities
of honey. Careful planning of workspaces will minimise honey on the floor
but it can never be eliminated and it walks everywhere on the soles of
feet or shoes. In particular, carpets don’t like honey. I keep a set of
footwear just for use in the kitchen when I am honey processing and ensure
the soles are meticulously clean before I start. I know one US natural
beekeeper who processes honey almost naked to prevent it getting all over
her clothes and to keep cool in a warm kitchen!
Gareth
On 11 Jun 2020, at 09:43, Stefanie Taeumer <stefanietaeumer@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Robin,
I have 2 National hives (I rushed into choosing those when a friend
offered me a swarm in 2017 and I felt more confident starting with them
as I had done a conventional beekeeping course 3 years previously where
they teach you mostly on those. I am thinking of getting a top bar hive
next), one of which has 2 supers on at the moment. I took 3
(foundationless) fully capped frames out from the top super last week and
cut the comb out of the frames, put them in a big bowl and mashed them up
with a potato masher. I poured the whole mess into a double metal
strainer (from Thornes) which I put over a honey bucket with a tap (also
from Thornes) and left it overnight, covered with a kitchen towel. The
next day I opened the tap and let the honey run into the jars. It is
quite a straightforward procedure but your kitchen surfaces and floor can
get a bit sticky if you are not careful...
Stefanie
On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 8:52 AM Robin Colyer
<robin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This is inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
On a practical note, having so far only
dreamt of the honey harvesting bit, what are the favoured methods in
this group? Do you do any kind of pressing or mashing, or do you just
put the cut comb straight into jars?
Robin
