A very good first ever honey show for Lytchett Bay Apiaries, and I won what I considered to be the creme-de-la-creme, first prize for my honey in the Commercial Section. I got two First places for honey, a second for honey, a second place for Honey cake, a second for photography, a third place for … Continue reading We have a winner – or two!
Not quite right…
I've been rendering and cleaning wax for entering into the honey show, and moulded some wax yesterday to see how it came out. The 8oz blocks were a dismal fail, I must've got some water (probably from steam) into the wax, because this happened; This would have been my entry into class10; Class 10 One … Continue reading Not quite right…
Show wax part 2
Here is the update on my show wax preparation... For a first try at cleaning wax to this level, and moulding it, I don't think it was that bad. I need to control the cooling down period more to prevent the wax shrinking too much in the mould, and losing shape - you can see … Continue reading Show wax part 2
Honey Show Preparations
I'm thinking that it was time I entered my hive products in the honey show, so am currently cleaning 2lbs of wax to make some 8oz and 1oz blocks for part of my entry. Now to sit back and see how it comes out, this is the first time I have attempted to clean wax … Continue reading Honey Show Preparations
Bargain!
I bagged myself a bargain on eBay yesterday, and it has just arrived. A nice 27 litre capacity electric wax melter, that can also take a 30lb bucket to soften or re-liquify honey. It is virtually identical to the well known Kochstar wax melter, and is sold at a similar price. It is usually on … Continue reading Bargain!
Thieving gits!
My honey for sale sign always attracts a lot of attention - some of it unwanted. I've had to replace the screw eyes and chain with heavy duty one's, as somebody has been trying to cut them to steal the sign. The base has 2 paving slabs in it, so it's (hopefully) too heavy to … Continue reading Thieving gits!
2018 Vintage
After extracting the first batches of honey last week, I gave up waiting for my jar order to arrive, and bottled what honey I could with the jars I still had in stock. When my jars (finally) arrive, I will decant the honey from the storage buckets into the jars and put my "Honey for … Continue reading 2018 Vintage
Extraction Day
It was another hot day, but slightly cooler than of late - 'only' 26° C, and as I have all but run out of supers, I had to do some extracting so I had some supers I could put back on the hives. Extracting is a hot, sticky process however much you prepare. I donned … Continue reading Extraction Day
Harvesting Honey
How to Harvest Honey Ethically? I do not favour taking all the honey from the bees. Harvesting honey from a beehive should only be done when the bees have surplus. Beekeepers do not normally get a harvest of honey from new hives their first season, but there are exceptional colonies and exceptional nectar flow years … Continue reading Harvesting Honey
The many uses of beeswax
One of the great benefits of keeping honey bees is the potential of the many homemade uses you can find for the beeswax the bees produce to build their honeycombs. There are dozens and dozens of uses for beeswax. I’ll include the following: Basic Information About Beeswax Great Uses for Beeswax Around the House and … Continue reading The many uses of beeswax
