North London Honey harvest and late summer foraging

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5 responses to “North London Honey harvest and late summer foraging”

1. 

   23 August 2015

   Jacky Gawne

   Do you leave any honey in the supers for winter feed or do you remove all the supers and feed with a sugar solution or fondant? I am finding the books confusing about feeding for winter I’m afraid. Each of my two hives has honey in the brood frames.

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   1. 

      24 August 2015

      Helen Rogers

      Hi Jacky, I’ve done both successfully! As usual there are so many different opinions about this… I use 14×12 frames, so I aim to have 4 frames of honey in the brood box for winter. I put some fondant on around Christmas and keep an eye on the consumption, adding more if needed.
      Last year I had a couple of supers that hadn’t been capped by September, so I left them on the hives. These hives didn’t need any fondant. Some people put the super under the brood for the winter, I might try that this year if I’m in the same position.
      I hope this is helpful

      Reply
      1. 

         24 August 2015

         Jacky Gawne

         Yes it is, thank you. Are you concerned about low temperatures if the supers are on either below or above the brood box for winter or do you not feel this is a problem due to where your hives are situated?

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         1. 

            24 August 2015

            Helen Rogers

            I insulate my hives – some of them are poly hives anyway, in the rest I put a sheet of insulation in the roof. When I put fondant on I put insulation around it too.

            Reply
2. 

   25 August 2015

   Jacky Gawne

   Thank you, you have been very helpful.

   Reply