Combining for Goldenrod Flow

[Steve10]

Spent the season trying to increase from 4 double-deep Lang hives. Up to 25 now, mostly double-deeps, a couple triple-deeps and a few single-deeps (all 10 frame), scattered between 3 yards (one has about 20 acres of golden rod coming.) Most are fairly full of brood with no excess honey for harvesting yet.

Questions: Would combining some of the hives to form triple-deeps of brood yield more honey than leaving them as doubles? Would this be a good time to use the "donor" hives as overwintering nucs? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

[Michael Palmer]

Questions: Would combining some of the hives to form triple-deeps of brood yield more honey than leaving them as doubles? Would this be a good time to use the "donor" hives as overwintering nucs? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

I wouldn't give up on them yet. If they are strong and full of brood as you say, then they may well make enough for wintering and maybe some surplus. Making triple deeps of brood might just mean the bees packing the top deep as the brood hatches and nothing in the supers.

It's not too late to make up nucs for wintering in NY.

[Steve10]

Michael,

Thank you very much for the response. You even answered a question I was going to ask before I asked it (Wow!) on timing the overwintering nucs. I've followed your very informative posts on these nucs and was hoping to use your design to build my own if I may.

Do you make any additional ventilation provisions for the production hive you place these nucs on?

[Michael Palmer]

Do you make any additional ventilation provisions for the production hive you place these nucs on?

Wide open bottom entrance with 1/2" hardware cloth wedge inserted to keep out the mice. Upper entrance notch cut out of inner cover rim. Nuc box is insulation above production colony inner cover...I usually use foam. When nuc box is on top, the foam goes on the nuc's bag inner cover.