We have just one intro product, but we'll be adding more. My favorite LOTION BARS! These are so cool -- I love them because they even make my cuticles soft! (None of my regular lotions do that, ever!) We have some Kiss-a-Bee lip balm to make up, but if you want a free sample, send me an email!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BFolkHoneyWorks
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, September 7, 2009
Honey season's over
It's robbery! This is our medium honey super that wasn't quite full enough to harvest. We left it out for the bees to clean out -- robbing honey from here to fill the hive where they will spend the winter.
Time to clean and melt the wax we harvested with the last two honey supers prior to this one.
Boiling the wax with water will help get the honey and some of the debris out. I'll have to filter it after this. When I get around to it.
Time to clean and melt the wax we harvested with the last two honey supers prior to this one.
Boiling the wax with water will help get the honey and some of the debris out. I'll have to filter it after this. When I get around to it.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
More carnage than I care to share
This weekend marks our first honey harvest wherein we discovered our honey super had pockets of brood. Drrrrrrgh!
My dd had the keen eye to first spot this troublesome fact, as she looked into the bottom of the super before we even began. I had stupidly wondered why we still had so many bees in residence when our escape board had worked so well on the other hive!
Well, I thought, maybe there will only be a tiny bit of brood. We'll just cut that part out and move on.
Easier thought than done. Especially considering this was a super I had place on the hive before realizing I had not finished an important job that must be done when using foundationless frames. I had not turned the wedges to provide a guide for the bees, and they had drawn comb in an intestinal pattern turning every which way throughout the super.
This was the messiest, most time consuming extraction I never hope to do again, resulting in the death of many bees and many bees-to-be. I had nightmares about it afterward. Dh couldn't even sleep after that, the poor man.
From now on, that particular hive gets the benefit of a queen excluder as soon as wax is being drawn on the frame GUIDES that I will never forget again when building frames for foundationless use.
I think we probably ended up with only 15 to 20 lbs. of usable honey and a very small amount of usable beeswax, since much of the capped honey was backed by uncapped nectar and/or brood, which had to be removed.
My dd had the keen eye to first spot this troublesome fact, as she looked into the bottom of the super before we even began. I had stupidly wondered why we still had so many bees in residence when our escape board had worked so well on the other hive!
Well, I thought, maybe there will only be a tiny bit of brood. We'll just cut that part out and move on.
Easier thought than done. Especially considering this was a super I had place on the hive before realizing I had not finished an important job that must be done when using foundationless frames. I had not turned the wedges to provide a guide for the bees, and they had drawn comb in an intestinal pattern turning every which way throughout the super.
This was the messiest, most time consuming extraction I never hope to do again, resulting in the death of many bees and many bees-to-be. I had nightmares about it afterward. Dh couldn't even sleep after that, the poor man.
From now on, that particular hive gets the benefit of a queen excluder as soon as wax is being drawn on the frame GUIDES that I will never forget again when building frames for foundationless use.
I think we probably ended up with only 15 to 20 lbs. of usable honey and a very small amount of usable beeswax, since much of the capped honey was backed by uncapped nectar and/or brood, which had to be removed.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
People buy honey!
I can hardly believe this! Not only do our bees make honey, but when we put up a sign, people buy the stuff, too! I really didn't believe it would happen so easily.
I've discovered the popular size around here seems to be the 5-lb. jug. People think "food storage," and the 5-lb. jug is so convenient. For one thing, it pours nicely into smaller containers for table use. It pours nicely into measuring cups for baking and cooking. And 5 lbs. is light enough that most people can easily carry and shelve it. I had to buy more jugs for our next honey harvest, which is this weekend. And this will be the last of the season.
This honey will be from our Minnesota Hygienic bees; the last was from our Italians. I've never heard there's much difference in honey between the bee varieties -- it's mainly from the flower varieties they visit. This super of honey was a long time in the making, so we'll see what blend of flavor we get this time!
Our next project will be our beeswax products: "None of your beeswax" lip balm and a nice lotion bar. The girls at Honey Folk are excited to get busy on that line.
I've discovered the popular size around here seems to be the 5-lb. jug. People think "food storage," and the 5-lb. jug is so convenient. For one thing, it pours nicely into smaller containers for table use. It pours nicely into measuring cups for baking and cooking. And 5 lbs. is light enough that most people can easily carry and shelve it. I had to buy more jugs for our next honey harvest, which is this weekend. And this will be the last of the season.
This honey will be from our Minnesota Hygienic bees; the last was from our Italians. I've never heard there's much difference in honey between the bee varieties -- it's mainly from the flower varieties they visit. This super of honey was a long time in the making, so we'll see what blend of flavor we get this time!
Our next project will be our beeswax products: "None of your beeswax" lip balm and a nice lotion bar. The girls at Honey Folk are excited to get busy on that line.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Supply going fast
I can't believe how fast the honey disappears once we get it bottled! We have a few 5 lb jugs available, some 4 lb bulk containers and some half pint jars left.
Prices
1/2 pint jar $3.50
4 lb bulk $23.00
5 lb jug $30.00
Prices
1/2 pint jar $3.50
4 lb bulk $23.00
5 lb jug $30.00
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Honey in a jar looks good, too
This honey was actually from July's harvest, but you can see how nice it looks after the wax is strained out through the filters in the bucket. This shows a quart, a pint, and a 5-lb. jug in the back.
Second harvest -- Hurray!
Coming into this year, I was a bit skeptical that back yard bees actually made honey. I figured I'd picked up another hobby I was no good at and couldn't help but bungle. As it turns out, I had a medium super, again, completely filled with honey in a matter of a few weeks.
This time half the comb was nice and straight. The other half of the frames were drawn together here and there, but the bees did a nice job filling the super right up! It was so heavy -- it's a good thing my dh helps me heft the thing home each time.
After several hours of cutting comb, crushing and scraping wax and honey into a filtered bucket, we were done for the day. I kept one cut comb square, just because it was so absolutely beautiful I just love to look at it. I'm taking it to a youth activity tonight to let the girls have a taste, if they'd like. I don't think I'd particularly like eating the comb, but some kids might. I do love to just admire it!
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