The bee keeper diaries

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by redhed

I got about 4.6 gallons this year; not too shabby for a couple of first year package hives.

I've wondered about the roller for uncapping but have been concerned that it wouldn't make large enough holes to get all of the honey out. You were happy with the results it sounds like, so maybe we can do a test next year.

Your honey is pretty light in color. Was the main food source clover?


For some reason I can't upload pics now, but I've moved on to the next phase.
We've had some rainy, windy days so I've spent a little time moving onto the next phase(in addition to trying to sell a little honey when I have time).

The past couple of weeks we have been slicing apples from our trees, and applying honey from my bees and dehydrating them for snacks. I've done quite a few with a brown sugar and cinnamon also, but don't judge me.

I've sold about half of what I'm going to and plan to keep some back for use, storage and things like teacher gifts for the kids.

I did break down and put some strips for mites in the hives, but I'm on the fence about how much I'm going to winterize them.