Bees are an important part of any homestead. Whether you keep bees on your homestead or not you know the important role bees play in your gardening efforts. Many homesteaders keep bees to help with the pollination of their crops and also for the honey they produce. If you are a beekeeper, one of your favorite times of year is when you get to gather the honey from your bee boxes.
Certainly one of the reasons to set up, preserve, and stock a beehive is to gather honey. It’s a special part of the beekeeping journey, and a wonderful treat for those who love fresh honey. If you have not ventured into beekeeping for your homestead, we encourage you to strongly consider it. Obviously, it will take some efforts to care for bees, but it is well worth the investment.
Here is a very general look at the honey gathering process:
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Beekeepers understand the timing of Beekeepers know that it is time to harvest the honey when they search in one of your hives supers and find that the frames are full of honey combs that your bees have covered with wax caps.
Now all you have to do is get rid of the honey combs.
Harvesting your honey won’t be a trouble as long as your placed on all your beekeeping gear, clothes light colored garments (beekeepers swear that lighter colored garments have a relaxing influence on bees) and remain calm.
When the incredibly is full of capped honey combs you are going to need to get rid of the bees from that incredibly. There are chemicals available on the market that will make this simpler. One popular chemical that beekeepers use to remove bees from the incredibly is Bee-Go. All beekeepers need to do is use Bee-Go to a fumer board. When the bees smell the Bee-Go they browse through all-time low of the hive, leaving the extremely full of capped honeycombs empty for you to collect. Another product beekeepers make use of to clear out supers is one called Fishers Bee Quick. Neither of these products hurt the bees, the bees merely discover the scent offensive and move far from it.
Now that you are in possession of the honey comb you need to prepare it to be extracted. The initial step in this preparation is to get rid of the wax caps the bees have actually utilized to seal the honey into the honey comb. Many beekeepers choose to use nine frames instead of 10 in their supers. By utilizing 9 frames they provide the bees sufficient space to draw the comb out, putting the cap right on the extremely edge of the comb. This makes it simpler to remove the wax caps. Beekeepers utilize a metal knife to get rid of the caps, the knife works finest if the knife cutter is warmed, after all its easier to cut warm wax then it is to cut cold wax. You can keep the knife cutter warm with frequent dunking in a basin that is full of hot water. Lots of beekeepers like to utilize their bread knife to remove the wax caps from the honey comb while others prefer an electrical knife that is created just for beekeepers. What do you think bee’s wax candles are constructed of. Getting rid of the caps from the dripping honey is easy, simply make use of a piece of cheese cloth to empty the contents into a 2nd pot, the honey will drain with the cheesecloth and the bee’s wax caps will gather on the top.
When the caps are gotten rid of from the honey comb the honey is ready to be extracted.
As you get rid of the caps, let them fall under a pot, do not simply with them away. You will see that there is a surprising amount of honey attached to these caps, honey that can be processed and utilized. Also there is a market for the wax caps. Once the caps have actually been eliminated from the honeycombs the honey combs are ready to have actually the honey drawn out.
