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Okay, here's a dumb question? If this has been discussed previously, I apologize.
As I was cleaning out a few hives that did not overwinter because I did not leave enough stores, I wondered? Why do we harvest in the fall? Why not harvest, what they don't need, in the spring? Does subzero temperatures and time affect the honey quality?
Thanks,
Jimmy
>Why do we harvest in the fall?
If the hive was managed well it should have far more stores than they can use. They have to guard those stores against mice and ants and other pests. Minimizing what they have to take care of eases their burdens.
> Why not harvest, what they don't need, in the spring?
By then it's probably crystalized.
> Does subzero temperatures and time affect the honey quality?
Time will crystalize it. Subzero won't but 50 something F temps will.