tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post1804196472042604731..comments2024-02-23T05:26:35.037-05:00Comments on Linda's Bees: Honey Harvest - Crush and StrainUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-83822683308670968842017-09-04T08:42:41.561-04:002017-09-04T08:42:41.561-04:00You don't have to freeze all honey. You do nee...You don't have to freeze all honey. You do need to freeze honey with honey comb in it - like cut comb honey or chunk honey. Those combs harbor wax moth larvae, etc. and you don't want your friend/customer to wake up one morning and find little worms swimming in your honey. Freezing for at least 24 hours kills the larvae and prevents this potential problem. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07853523613726645868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-5082505253250110552017-09-04T08:27:23.892-04:002017-09-04T08:27:23.892-04:00Do you then freeze the jars of honey? Is it necess...Do you then freeze the jars of honey? Is it necessary to always freeze it in case there are wax moth or other bug larvae that may hatch , and if so how long do you freeze it for? nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15218414224020949760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-83878604102461551682014-10-21T23:22:38.980-04:002014-10-21T23:22:38.980-04:00Today I had a professional beekeeper remove a thri...Today I had a professional beekeeper remove a thriving colony from my black rotating drum composter. It took her almost four hours to do this and she told me that it had been four times larger than what she had thought it would be. I asked for a bit of the honey (for bragging rights) and she handed me back my container with two pounds of honey plus comb. I cannot imagine how much she was able to extract. Bee removal service is rather expensive but she earned every single penny and I certainly did not want them killed. Extermination is probably cheaper because it would be easier... I felt like it was good Karma to have the bees set up shop in my composter. I just could not keep them there. Good Luck! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-7029821755237702972014-10-21T23:09:15.818-04:002014-10-21T23:09:15.818-04:00Today I had a professional bee keeper come to remo...Today I had a professional bee keeper come to remove the thriving bee colony from our rotating drum style composter. It took her four hours to get a many of them as she could. She was exhausted and told me that it was four times larger than what she had thought it would be. She gave me two pounds of the honey with comb. I can't imagine how much more she was able to remove, but I'll bet much, much more. This is not a cheap service, but I did not want to call an exterminator and have a good colony killed. The bees had only been there for about 6 months. I feel like it was good karma for the bees to have to set up shop in our composter. Good Luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-32244047882213691202014-07-20T09:18:33.423-04:002014-07-20T09:18:33.423-04:00Linda, how wonderful. I am a new bee keeper on Lon...Linda, how wonderful. I am a new bee keeper on Long Island NY and watching this has answered all my questions. I plan on harvesting today. Your honey is bee autiful!!! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-38825813322398128882013-12-12T18:52:38.164-05:002013-12-12T18:52:38.164-05:00Diana, You may have posted this long ago - since ...Diana, You may have posted this long ago - since this is a 2007 post, but people visit it every day, so I am going to answer your question and hope it's useful to someone else. Whether honey crystallizes or not has to do with the content of the honey - what the nectar source was. Sourwood honey and tupelo honey do not crystallize but most honeys do. I've never gotten a jar from the west that wasn't solid rather than liquid. So leaving your honey for weeks with a nectar source that crystallizes will certainly result in that happening. Put your honey in a pan of hot water if you want it to go back to liquid. Or spoon it up as is and enjoy!<br />Linda Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089537760868691562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-5669832410636010472013-12-12T18:49:49.248-05:002013-12-12T18:49:49.248-05:00The buckets are on my porch but they are closed up...The buckets are on my porch but they are closed up (the top is on the bucket and the honey gate is screwed tightly shut) and the bees aren't particularly interested. The dog was just noticing that something was on the landing that usually wasn't there. In that video, my bees are about 20 feet from the bucket. Linda Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089537760868691562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-56350949628892204482013-12-07T13:34:43.011-05:002013-12-07T13:34:43.011-05:00Linda, in the video the buckets were on your porch...Linda, in the video the buckets were on your porch—dog was checking it out—didn’t that attract bees or do you have your bees in a out-yard?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-45066837365645599652013-08-13T16:37:52.090-04:002013-08-13T16:37:52.090-04:00I was so glad to see this video of your. I have t...I was so glad to see this video of your. I have tried to crush and strain before with such a messy result! My problem is that after straining (which I let sit for weeks to strain it all), my honey is solid. Is this crystallization or could it be that here in 100 degree Texas, some of the comb melted into the honey? This was the first time I had harvested and am so disappointed.<br />Today, I used the method you so wonderfully demonstrated and let it strain for a couple of hours and got liquid honey. I hope it stays that way!<br />Thanks for all you do for us newbees.Diananoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-11518692704484825592013-06-19T22:00:15.142-04:002013-06-19T22:00:15.142-04:00Thanks so much for this video! We just removed a ...Thanks so much for this video! We just removed a ten year hive from our guest house wall. We have a 5 gallon plus bucket of comb that was nice and I wanted to process it. This was a wonderful way for all of us (family) to get involved. We are going a bit more low-tech and frankly, I don't care about the little bits in the honey from our larger screen.Aprilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00989422452814929417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-21431274689756266142013-05-31T15:05:18.281-04:002013-05-31T15:05:18.281-04:00Thanks for this video. We started 2 Langstroth an...Thanks for this video. We started 2 Langstroth and one Top Bar hive this year to see what we prefer. I'm so excited to see that I don't necessarily need to purchase a ton of extraction equipment in order to get the honey from the Langstroth hives! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02311291297256884054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-70766418234912990222012-08-09T11:19:06.379-04:002012-08-09T11:19:06.379-04:00Thank you so much, this was really helpful. We are...Thank you so much, this was really helpful. We are brand new beekeepers :).Kueche und Gartenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452849794752813079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-65301182563142116972012-08-06T13:00:40.772-04:002012-08-06T13:00:40.772-04:00Okay, I think we finally have some honey to harves...Okay, I think we finally have some honey to harvest. (well, some capped honey comb that they built crooked that needs to be removed). Rookie question, how do you get the frame out without bringing all the bees with you? Is that where the bee brush comes in? I tried searching your site, but couldn't get a good hit, or was using the wrong search criteria. Thanks!Five Hens Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08832526818914811618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-27443535015380621352012-06-22T11:58:23.273-04:002012-06-22T11:58:23.273-04:00Thankyou so much Linda for this excellent, beautif...Thankyou so much Linda for this excellent, beautifully narrated, clear and concise video! I am a noob beekeeper and will use your method. I have a Langstroth with plastic frames but will scrape the wax and honey off as you suggest. Next year I will add a second hive and will try out a top bar setup. Thanks for all your teachings, I love your blog!WesternWilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12765821422247317378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-11453221716894495662012-06-20T08:37:58.264-04:002012-06-20T08:37:58.264-04:00thats what I thought, but just wanted to double ch...thats what I thought, but just wanted to double check, appreciate the confirmation-and quick response.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-2063358376415151202012-06-19T10:34:01.806-04:002012-06-19T10:34:01.806-04:00If you are using beeswax, then the bees incorporat...If you are using beeswax, then the bees incorporate the beeswax foundation into the comb. You cut the comb off of the frame (you won't be able to tell what is foundation because it is now part of the honeycomb) as the video illustrates and crush all of it.Linda Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089537760868691562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-26973388887798701292012-06-19T08:07:07.542-04:002012-06-19T08:07:07.542-04:00Agree excellent video that I watched more than onc...Agree excellent video that I watched more than once, but one clarification, I have beeswax foundation, when scraping, does the foundation stay put and remain in the frame or does it become part of the honey/wax blend that you strain out?<br />Thanks again Linda.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-13052424672697928202011-09-11T11:26:22.556-04:002011-09-11T11:26:22.556-04:00thank you for posting this terrific & helpful ...thank you for posting this terrific & helpful video, linda! i crushed comb last year and made a huge mess. i'll definitely try your way this year!<br /><br />question: is there a reason you don't let the honey sit (after filtering) for 12-24 hours in the bucket to settle before bottling/jarring? this was recommended to me to help the air bubbles rise to the top before bottling. decreases crystallization????pamela khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07034519367235983199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-61779798784835949972010-10-26T06:27:28.875-04:002010-10-26T06:27:28.875-04:00Thanks for this - much appreciated.Thanks for this - much appreciated.Albert Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06872588387691003792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-2971531894285777282010-06-20T18:50:14.820-04:002010-06-20T18:50:14.820-04:00Carrie, These days I stack three filters, one ins...Carrie, These days I stack three filters, one inside the other (Dadant sells them as a kit.) Then when I filter, although I ostensibly filter once, the honey is going through three levels of increasing fineness of filter before it hits the bucket to be bottled.Linda Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089537760868691562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-84294362271649273922010-06-20T18:37:35.324-04:002010-06-20T18:37:35.324-04:00Linda,
You're videos are so helpful! I am so...Linda,<br /><br />You're videos are so helpful! I am so relieved to see your step by step, low-cost ways to harvest honey, melt wax, etc. Thank you!!<br /><br />I noticed that you filtered the honey once - is that correct? I have read that it should be filtered a few times so that the honey is less likely to crystallize. <br /><br />What do you think?<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Carrie (Urban Beekeeper in Louisville, KY)Carrie B VanWinklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150000009656354069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-26439710001193441662010-04-24T06:46:39.692-04:002010-04-24T06:46:39.692-04:00Linda i thank you for all of your efforts in the c...Linda i thank you for all of your efforts in the composition of such an informative and cost efficient method for the backyard beekeeper to extract his/her honey.<br /><br />Thanks a million for taking the time to compose and upload the video for our learning, there really isn't anything comparable to your videos on the net. Really there aren't.<br /><br />I appreciate your hardwork and everything that has gone into this blog, you are the pioneer in the beekeeping blogosphere, without a doubt.<br /><br />If you don't deliver another post in this blog it still contains boat loads of knowledge for both newbies and veterans alike to glean from.<br /><br />Thanks a million!<br /><br />Chris Harrell<br />Quackycalls.com<br />Eastern North CarolinaChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09557994284216736973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-45354272133927206922010-04-17T23:45:46.494-04:002010-04-17T23:45:46.494-04:00There are any number of reasons to harvest this wa...There are any number of reasons to harvest this way that are covered in this and other posts I've put up - if you are putting 20 year old comb back in the hives, that's certainly old comb and most of the research today says that comb should be replaced at the minimum of every five years.Linda Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089537760868691562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-84461518709600258572010-04-17T21:49:43.940-04:002010-04-17T21:49:43.940-04:00Just curious why you would use this method? The po...Just curious why you would use this method? The poor bees burn up a lot of honey in producing new comb. It is much more efficient and easier to extract the honey so you can put the combs back on the hives and the bees can reuse them. I have some comb that I'm sure is nearing twenty years that I've just uncapped, extracted and then put back on the hives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-1250099566860884532010-04-13T00:19:24.793-04:002010-04-13T00:19:24.793-04:00The other day i had 500 to a thousand bees work th...The other day i had 500 to a thousand bees work their way into my black plastic composer..I want to know if anyone knows if i leave them in there will they make a hive and produce honey. i don't want to kill them..bad karma..would love some honey but not sure what to do,,,,can anyone help me...here is my email address....latankayaia@gmail.com<br />i am truly grateful for any advise...<br />TerriUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06171628964990574463noreply@blogger.com