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As a first year beekeeper I did not expect to harvest much if any honey this year. I am in southern Michigan and plan to enter winter with my hives at about 150 lbs each. I have four hives all from packages, two installed in early May and two in early June. I am using all eight frame medium boxes. Three hives are currently at four boxes each and over 100 lbs, the fourth is three boxes and about 70 lbs. I weigh the hives every few days and they are all adding just under 2 lbs a day. My flow is still on. Because I do not have any past experience I do not know what to expect so far as how long this flow will last and what I can expect for a fall flow. I have a total of 20 boxes so I can still add supers but my gut tells me I should harvest some of this honey or I will not have room for the fall flow. What do you all suggest? I want to be able to save the comb so if I am going to harvest an appreciable amount I need to get an extractor pronto. If I only need to harvest a small amount then I will just crush and strain this year. Should I wait until all my hives are at the 150 lb target and then begin taking the excess?
Mike
Mike