When and if to harvest honey

[llgoddj]

Dear All,

Again, this is a new beek having started my hive from a nuc late in may. I am now up to my fifteenth bar being drawn as I am writing this. Of the fifteen bars i would say up to about bar 7,8, or 9 is strictly brood comb, with of course some honey, pollen, etc mixed in. From about bar 10 on forward up to bar 15 we are talking all honey comb. They are not all capped, but they are working feverishly and should be capped within a couple of weeks, along with hopefully another bar or two, the way they are still building.

my question is whether or not i can harvest at least one bar of honey? is there any measure for how much honey a hive needs to last through the winter?

Any help, suggestions, comments, are all welcomed.

Thanks,

larry

[JYawn]

Being in New York I would assume your winters can be pretty harsh and a bit more lengthy than southern beek's winters. With that being said and knowing that your hive is pretty new you might want to leave them everything they have this first year.

However, if you can find a local beek who can give you advice they may be able to give you a pretty good average on how much to leave a hive where you are.

Chances are taking one comb wouldn't set them back too much but I'm the kind of person that likes to play it safe.

[llgoddj]

Thanks for the advice. I can't seem to find anyone that is local to me, New York, that has a TBH, so it has been difficult for me regarding whether or not I can or should take "the plunge" and harvest one comb, which I would really like to do if possible.

thanks,
larry

[JYawn]

If you really want to then go ahead and do it. Worst case scenario is that your hive doesn't have quite enough reserves for the winter and you have to feed them.