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I live in the northwest lower penninsula and am wondering if this area has 2 nectar flows with a lull in between or is it fairly steady?
Nectar flows in Michigan
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What can we expect to be the primary nectar sources once the 2nd flow starts up? I am thinking of pulling everything off by the end of August which so far has been very light mild honey. I am getting rave reviews from customers. I am thinking one of the next nectar sources will be Goldenrod and I'd just as soon keep that separate from this current crop.
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I weigh my hives every three to four days and have not had a single day since mid June that they have not put on weight. I use all eight frame mediums and have four hives, they are all five boxes high now. I have extracted 55 lbs so far and need to extract some more because I only have 20 boxes. Lately each hive is adding about 1.5 lbs a day. Like Frank my honey is light and mild. I have no idea what I am going to do with all this honey, I give it away to friends and relatives but I have gallons of the stuff and more on the way. Anyway, my real point is I have not seen a lull and based on the traffic I see at the hives business is picking up. I am about 65 mile north of the Ohio line.
Wow, I wish I had your problems!
I've also got 4 hives, and I'm sitting with two supers on all, and fixing to add a third in the near future. After I went out today, I saw a lot more traffic than I've seen lately, so maybe things are starting to pick back up here as well, but I'm no where near the production you've got.
I haven't extracted any, but I typically wait until the final nectar flow starts to slack off before I do so anyways. After my first year when I got nothing but really light, floral tasting honey (which I didn't care for), I've planted buckwheat at least once (this year I'm on my second planting, and as soon as that goes to seed I'm going to sneak in a third), and that helps to mix my honey and get me something that's a nice dark golden with a really good flavor.
I've also got 4 hives, and I'm sitting with two supers on all, and fixing to add a third in the near future. After I went out today, I saw a lot more traffic than I've seen lately, so maybe things are starting to pick back up here as well, but I'm no where near the production you've got.
I haven't extracted any, but I typically wait until the final nectar flow starts to slack off before I do so anyways. After my first year when I got nothing but really light, floral tasting honey (which I didn't care for), I've planted buckwheat at least once (this year I'm on my second planting, and as soon as that goes to seed I'm going to sneak in a third), and that helps to mix my honey and get me something that's a nice dark golden with a really good flavor.
That's what I experienced last year after the dearth. The soybean blossoms were a wonderful sight and then the GR started and the pollen/nectar really came in.
I have one hive that I took ten frames off today and it still has 3 honey supers on it.
Another hive has two honey supers left on it. It's been an interesting year and I'm just as dumb as I was last year. As soon as I think I have a handle on things, the bees throw the curveball!
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Sell it how? To who? This is my first year, all four hives started from packages. I have lost three swarms and did not prepare for this very productive honey crop. It never occured to me that I would be at winter weight in July and still have a fall flow to prepare for, not a bad problem but a problem nonetheless. I will likely take the fifth boxes off the hives, let them pack the remaining four, begin vaporizing for mites and get them ready for winter. As I said, I weigh regulary and this area of Michigan never stopped producing so far and it appears that it is increasing again.
Maple
Like you I live within a few miles of Lake Michigan and can tell you that everything is a couple of weeks behind the rest of the state. Right now the bees are hitting the star thistle heavy but I still have milk weed blooming. I see a few small pockets of golden rod just getting started but don't expect it to really get going for at least another week and maybe (hopefully) two. I pull supers as soon as the goldenrod blooms
Like you I live within a few miles of Lake Michigan and can tell you that everything is a couple of weeks behind the rest of the state. Right now the bees are hitting the star thistle heavy but I still have milk weed blooming. I see a few small pockets of golden rod just getting started but don't expect it to really get going for at least another week and maybe (hopefully) two. I pull supers as soon as the goldenrod blooms
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So, it sounds like we're having a stellar year up here in the great white north, think it is because of the wickedly brutal winter we had last year?
I think it's more about the mild, wet spring and summer we've had. It hasn't been so hot as to scorch anything, and we've had a few stretches around me where I considered watering garden/fruit trees/etc., but I haven't actually had to do it. It's just been great all around us this spring/summer, weatherwise.
We're also projected to have a fairly mild winter, which wouldn't break my heart at all.
We're also projected to have a fairly mild winter, which wouldn't break my heart at all.
Bobbarker
here's the difference the lake makes with our weather. Our first day that we hit 70 deg here in Ludington MI this year was May 8,2014. The first day Vermontville MI hit 70 was April 12, 2014. You are only about 120 miles away but its like day and night
here's the difference the lake makes with our weather. Our first day that we hit 70 deg here in Ludington MI this year was May 8,2014. The first day Vermontville MI hit 70 was April 12, 2014. You are only about 120 miles away but its like day and night
Really fantastic here in barry county my best summer keeping bees just pulled supers was a great summer getting 50 lbs surplus and leaving a full extra super extra in case it's another cold winter like the last one
Honey is very light with good flavor. Also collected some black Locust honey this spring was very unique tasting
Honey is very light with good flavor. Also collected some black Locust honey this spring was very unique tasting
In my area of extreme southeast lower Michigan, goldenrod has not bloomed yet, but there are some flowers like joe pye weed, ironweed, and a little lawn clover going. I was taking off some honey yesterday and lots of fresh thin nectar was shaking out of the combs, I was surprised at that because I expected to be in a lull right now. I hope to get most of my supers of the earlier light clover honey removed in the next week before the goldenrod kicks in good. I personally don't care for the taste of goldenrod honey, but that's just me, my customers buy it right up with no complaints.
up here in NW michigan, I've noticed a big lull in nectar thru the month of June, strange weather, cold into late spring followed by wet cool June.My son in the lower part of the state had a non stop flow this year, lots of rain and nectar. he has harvested one crop of early light honey and says the supers are full again, probally harvest and put them back on heavy hives for goldenrod. here in NW michigan, I was feeding hives into June, not my favorite thing to do, but with the winter losses, i had to build the nucs anticipiting the starthistle flow. Then everything was 2-3 weeks late due to the cold,so I put one super one top of light hives, lots of bees and no bloom yet in mid July, checked back end of july and full rock heavy hives on basswood and the thistle starting. stacked em up and the last check, full crop in 10 days, strange year. I do anticipate a lull, after the thistle bloom, there just is'nt that much goldenrod in my area. I let the bees have it which comes after my main harvest
A few weeks ago a friend asked if he could borrow some supers. I gave him 15 thinking the way this season was going I would have plenty. Then all hell broke loose. Now I've got a 100+ supers on and could use those 15. That's all the fully drawn ones I have so monday I started throwing on hive bodies. I hate lifting them when they are full but don't want to miss out on this flow.
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