[Oneshoo]

New beek. I have 2 hives, 8 frame deeps. There is one medium super on each hive. One has 7 frames of fully capped honey and the other 5 frames of capped honey. I am leaving these supers on for the Winter.

My question is, do I feed with syrup with the supers almost all capped?? I am on the Jersey Shore USDA Zone 7A. I did not weigh the deeps, but they are both full of bees and very heavy on both hives.

Thanks!

 

[odfrank]

Why not harvest the honey since you are feeding anyways? It is worth a lot more than the cost of syrup.

 

[robinh]

being that it is getting late in the year in your location and it would be tough for them to fill them all now , I would leave the honey frames on them and feed 2:1 until the other frames in the top supers are filled,IMO

 

[bushpilot]

being that it is getting late in the year in your location and it would be tough for them to fill them all now , I would leave the honey frames on them and feed 2:1 until the other frames in the top supers are filled,IMO

Yep, this is what I would do as well.

 

[crofter]

If I am correct the configuration is double deep 8 frame. The upper brood box could be nearly full of capped stores or have very little. How much honey needed in boxes above will depend on how much is in the brood boxes. Weighing or examination is the only way to know for sure. The safest route would be to leave the part filled supers on and feed syrup which the bees will use to top off the unfilled frames. The bees will have an easier time working the remaining space if you move those frames to the middle of the box. Especially so as the weather cools off.

 

[JConnolly]

Double deeps or one deep and a super?

I run 8 frames hives as well — because geezer back. I like to run double 8 deeps on the bottom two boxes. I arrange for winter with the brood nest in the lower deep box and I prefer to have all 8 frames in the upper deep full of honey or syrup. I have overwintered colonies in a single 8 deep with a 8 frame medium super above it with supplemental dry sugar feeding.

Zone 7A is one zone up warmer than I am.

So, if you have double deeps arrange them so that all the brood frames are in the bottom deep and honey frames are in the top deep. If you have more than 8 honey frames in the deeps then put honey frames and pollen frames on the sides of the broodnest in the bottom box. Now after you get it arranged for winter, if your top box of deep frames is all or mostly full then I'd harvest the capped honey from the super and feed 2:1 to get the double deeps up to capacity.

If you have only a single deep with a super above it then you have to feed. You'll need to feed about 7 lbs of syrup to fill a medium super frame and about 10 lbs of syrup to fill a deep frame, so you are going to need 30 lbs of syrup. 20lbs of sugar and 10 lbs (4-3/4 quarts) of water will yield 30lbs of syrup. If you would like to backfill some of the lower box you can add more syrup. With just one deep and a medium super you'll need to be ready with some sugar bricks by about the end of February just in case.