Is there a best time of day to harvest honey using Flow? (2024)

FAQs

Is there a best time of day to harvest honey using Flow? ›

We have found the bees are often calmest in the late afternoon, and at this time the honey in the hive is likely to be warmest and may flow more easily, so this can be a good time to harvest.

The greatest honey flow is when the flowers are in full bloom. Early spring will produce a minor honey flow, but the largest honey flow typically begins in June and continues into July. Only collect honey in a clean comb, one that has not been in a brood chamber or otherwise contaminated by mice, wax moth, etc.

Honey harvesting at night

Comb moving and most related jobs, such as brood-nest control, are best performed late in the afternoon or delayed until night or early morning, when bees are less aggressive.

Install the bee escape board around the noon hour on a nice day and be sure that the forecast calls for nice weather the following day as well, since you'll finish removing the honey 24 hours later.

One of the great benefits of Flow Frames is that you can harvest as much or as little honey as you want – you can take just one small jar for a gift or the breakfast table, or harvest an entire (or several) Flow Frame(s).

It is possible to harvest from a Flow Hive at any time of the day or night because there is no need to open the hive.

Morning is the best time to eat honey for boosting energy levels and staying all charged up. Having honey in the morning is not just good for your skin but has ample health benefits including: Helps you shed those extra kilos. Improves your digestive system.

One way to know when a nectar flow has started is beekeepers will see a very soft, snow-white colored comb inside the hive. You will often see this in the space between the top box and the inner cover or between the frames in separate boxes. It almost looks like white frosting on the tops of frames.

Harvesting early honey can produce different flavors and colors to offer your customers. Around here, early season honey is usually lighter in color and milder in flavor than later honey and it tends to be thinner due to the particular sugars in the nectar of different flowers.

“The sugars start to crystallize over time.” “All honey will crystallize over time,” agrees Shriver. “Commercially processed honey tends to crystalize more slowly than raw honey. That's because all of the particles (mostly pollen grains) have been filtered under high pressure and heat.

What to do with honey supers after extracting honey? ›

Many beekeepers clean up their supers by putting them back on the hive, preferably the hive from where they came. The super(s) are placed over the inner cover, under the top cover. This generally keeps bees from refilling them, unless they have no room elsewhere.

One Flow Super per hive is the simple answer, as you can keep harvesting the honey whenever it is ready, giving the bees room to keep working and making more honey.

Inspect every two to three weeks, looking for:

Stored honey – if frames are filling fast, you may need to add another super or harvest the excess. Overheating – if wax inside the hive is melting or softening, you may need to move your hives into the shade.

Flow Hives are bad for bees

Critics have raised concerns that the Flow system might tempt beekeepers to harvest honey too frequently, leaving the bees short of their own food supply.

The most common argument I hear against the Flow Hive is that it creates or promotes “lazy beekeeping” practices. People who get a hive don't bother to learn much about what they are doing and never perform inspections, but still may rob honey when they feel like it.

This complete beehive combines Flow technology with traditional wooden frames in the Flow Super, giving beekeepers the opportunity to experience the ease of harvesting with Flow and the ability to collect delicious honeycomb.

You can harvest your honey as many times as you have a full medium super. Although, you should consider that the more often you harvest, the more often you have to clean off the equipment you use. This is why most beekeepers shoot for 2 or sometimes 3 harvests a year.

Honey in open cells (not capped with wax) can be extracted if it is cured. To see if it's cured, turn the frame with the cells facing the ground. Give the frame a gentle shake. If honey leaks from the cells, it isn't cured and shouldn't be extracted.

Honey production typically peaks in spring and early summer, coinciding with the blooming season. This allows bees to maximize their honey stores before the floral bounty fades.