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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1163 Location: Campile. Wexford

I shall very much be on a learning curve with the harvest next year. The conditions around here are so very different from that of the Fens. I would have finished the season by now but with all this heather flowering you locals must take a later harvest. It would be interesting to here how the seasons in Ireland influence the bee keeping year. Forewarned is forearmed so to speak. Anyone?

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Rebecca · Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:50 pm Post subject:

As you know I'm a beginner so I was over the moon with 20lb of honey from my first ever hive at the end of August. I've been told that was a good crop for this very bad year, in exceptional years it can be up to 140lb a neighbouring beekeeper told me.

I have no heather in my vicinity, but a friend who has kept bees for a few decades in slap bang in the middle of a bog covered in heather. He said this was the first year they had ever worked the heather ... he wasn't expecting it, he was on holiday then came home to find frames that his hives were chocka with heather honey ... he wasn't too pleased losing frames of foundation to heather honey ... he tells me it can't be spun out as its too thick.
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Camile · Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:16 am Post subject:

Hi Wayland !

Well our bees worked well for us as we got 20 jars of honey (some is coming your way in the near future) ...

But you can have a later harvest than september here because then the ivy is in bloom, and it's crystalising and make it impossible to extract.

PLenty of heather in their flying path but almost everyday are too cold for the m to fly now apparently.

Varroa stroke everyoone around here but surprisingly our hive is doing great after the treatment .. so happy days ...

Camile

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1163 Location: Campile. Wexford

Nice one Camile Very Happy

. We have agreed a deal with a Bee keeper locally to supply me with Nuke`s this summer so hopefully we will be back in production next year. The season seems extended at these latitudes compared to the East Anglian fens so we may well get to try some Ivy Honey for ourselves. Good luck in the new season Wink

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