[PAHunter62]

I made a move this year into a zone where goldenrod is plentiful. This looks to be a good year for it, the late blooming is getting started this week. What is the best strategy to use to harvest some? All my hives are in their winter configuration now. Should I allow them to backfill their nest, then add a super for myself, or add an excluder and super right away? I'm only looking to harvest from my large hives. What strategy do those with experience use?

Thanks

PAHunter62

 

[John_M]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

Some years our fall flow is as much as the summer flow and here we always harvest goldenrod/bamboo/aster. I would just super up as normal. Here the golden rod has been going for about 2 weeks already. Bamboo just started this last week. Some years I can get 3 mediums+ off strong colonies. Personally I would super all colonies or you risk backfilling the brood chamber. Only exception would be colonies that haven't drawn out both deeps if that's how you manage them.

 

[Nelsonhoneyfarms]

I’d just go ahead and super them up. They should stock the outer frames in the brood boxes first and then move to the supers.

Ryan

 

[Nushka]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

The best way would be just to allow them to backfill their nest first, just do not interfere with the natural process.

 

[rflindall]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

I'm anxious to see how the goldenrod flow where I live works out. I'm a new beekeeper this year and our golden rod has just started blooming. I'm hopefull that the flow is decent to help pack my supers for the upcoming winter season. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[dthompson]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

Do be aware that, in my experience, when they are curing goldenrod it is quite stinky.
If you don't know what's happening you might think something is wrong.
There are a lot of varieties, maybe some are not so bad. Once cured, the honey is OK
Usually, not a large crop

 

[Ravenseye]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

Super up. If you get a real early cold snap, you may need to feed. Never know.....

 

[Michael Palmer]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

We try to super in summer so the flow goes in the supers and not the broodnest. This leaves the hive light for winter. They don’t get supered. Always some that are already heavy, and packed with bees. These are the ones that might make you a super of goldenrod.

 

[John_M]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

Stinky? I love that smell of curing goldenrod, drifts down the hill and into my windows at night. It's like being in a butterscoth factory.

 

[JWPalmer]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

Stinky? I love that smell of curing goldenrod, drifts down the hill and into my windows at night. It's like being in a butterscoth factory.

Butterscotch? To me, goldenrod smells like gym clothes that haven't been washed in a loooong time. First time I smelled it I was checking my bee jacket and armpits.

 

[trishbookworm]

Re: Strategy for Havesting Some Goldenrod Honey?

I was just smelling butterscotch today. I have in other years smelled stinky socks. The goldenrod is just starting, no asters yet. Hmmm... different kinds of goldenrod, different years? Now I have an excuse to go sniff my hives couple times a day!

 

[Gray Goose]

I made a move this year into a zone where goldenrod is plentiful. This looks to be a good year for it, the late blooming is getting started this week. What is the best strategy to use to harvest some? All my hives are in their winter configuration now. Should I allow them to backfill their nest, then add a super for myself, or add an excluder and super right away? I'm only looking to harvest from my large hives. What strategy do those with experience use?

Thanks

PAHunter62

You may need to experiment to see what your area has for a GR flow. there are a couple ways to play it. 1) take your honey pre GR flow and use the GR for the winter feed for the bees. 2) super up for the GR flow and leave either previous honey or feed. I do a little of both, My NUCs and new hives get topped off with the GR flow hopefully minimizing my need to feed , which I loath to do. The Big hives 8 boxes or more, I let them finish filling the remaining super space with the GR honey and it is blended in when extracting. 2 observations, for my Michigan GR flow, bees seem to not want to draw comb for it, they will back fill the brood nest, or finish supers with it. And IF I wanted just GR honey, I would likely take 1/2 to 2/3 of the supers off pre GR flow , Extract, and add them back. the comb would be cleaned and filled with GR flow timed honey. So IMO placing supers of comb for the GR flow would be necessary to fully take advantage of it. I stumbled, into a good bit of GR honey one year when I ran out of supers. I was either needing to make 12 supers up really quick or risk late swarming. My way out was to take 2 supers off the 6 biggest hives in July, extract, and re use. With some delays and the extract time, the supers ended up getting a large portion filled with the GR flow. to be fair GR is not the only flow in the fall so it is really a mix with a large GR component. Good luck with your Golden Rod plans.
GG

 

[Ricky Bee]

Stinky? I love that
smell of curing goldenrod, drifts down the hill and into my windows at night. It's like being in a butterscoth factory.

I think it smells great, more like apple cider vinegar to me.