[PerryBee]

I am curious as to how many times a season most beekeepers harvest their honey. (I appreciate that the commercial folks cannot take the approach a guy with 20 hives can).

I normally harvest early (now) so I can get to the market as soon as possible and a lot of my customers appreciate this. I then do a later harvest (Sept) after the goldenrod slows. Last year I even did three harvests after I sold out of my early honey and wanted to keep supplying the market before my fall (final) harvest.

I find this creates a lot more work (naturally) and it makes my last harvest more challenging because I don't have the "fully capped" frames to compensate for the ones that are not completely capped.

Am I the only one doing this to please customers or am I not alone in this? :scratch:

Perry

 

[D Coates]

Perry,

I try to harvest 3 times a year. Once in early June, once in early July, and once in early September. I sell it as varietal honey and label it according to when it was harvested and what the bees were mostly working. This year my supers were not full enough to do it in June due to rains. My July harvest was larger than normal because of this. I will be harvesting again in early Sept.

It's entirely up to you and what you are trying to accomplish but there are others out ther who do things similar to what I describe that fits there flow and operations. If you're going to go to the trouble of doing multiple harvests make sure to point it out via labeling at the very least.

 

[kenr]

Well this is my first year with a flow and I'm going to do it twice once the second week in June and the other when sourwood is done blooming.Usually first week in Aug.I'm using the fall flow for the bees.

 

[Roland]

we make the rounds about every 14-16 days now. If the super is heavy and they are starting to cap it, in it comes.

Roland

 

[mxr618]

Hey, Roland -

You don't wait till the frames are fully capped? Doesn't this mean the honey isn't fully ripe and could have too much water content?

 

[Roland]

MXR618 - Never had a problem. This rule comes from "The Bull of the Woods". A little discretion is needed. Your humidity/temperatures may have different outcomes.

Roland

 

[Beeslave]

Myself and other commercial beekeepers around me in WI don't wait until most of the honey is capped. As Roland stated above-"A lilttle discretion is needed"

 

[jal_ut]

I rob only once about mid August. I have enough supers to just add another if needed. I do sell a bit of honey and could sell more if I had it, but this is just a hobby after all. I keep bees for honey for me and for pollinators for the garden and orchard. Selling a bit of honey just balances the books, making the hobby pay for itself.

 

[muskratcreekhoney]

Roland, if you pull every 14-16 days does that mean you just use one super per hive?

 

[AstroBee]

3 times: 1st of June, end of August, and late September.