Bob I’ve watched your videos for a few years now, great stuff. I’m really impressed with your crew. Anyone who can do bee work in that heat and take 5 stings and just shrug it off deserves a raise! Let’s hear it for Selena, like if you agree 😊
Never had true sourwood until i had yours Bob.Now i know how its supposed to taste .Your sourwood is worth every penny i spend on it,so good ! Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks for this great videos!! I love them. The flow is over here in South Germany. I start feeding at the end of next week. Treatment and requeening are on the list for this week. So a little bit to do. Greetings and thanks a lot
Good morning!! We have had a very strange flow down here in South Texas. The mesquite trees bloomed in mid May right on schedule. Then we had tropical storm Alberto pass through and the mesquite started blooming again. Most mesquite still have a lot of blooms. We’ve always pulled our honey around the 4th of July, but it’s looking like it will be the middle of August this year.
Do you still have seed. I didn’t realize there are different varieties of sourwood trees. If you can give me the name I can order some. Thank you so much for all the informative videos. They sure have been helpful. You’re a great teacher. You have a Great beekeeping crew. Everybody has their moments but your people all seem to be really happy in their jobs. My husband says he’s going to bring us down there one day. I’m hoping for the spring I want a caucasian queen and 2 double screen boards . Lol
It's amazing the difference in locations, Natalee in her last video talked about sumac not bloomed yet, she's 6 hours northwest of me here in Missouri. You talked about sumac, and it has been done here for about a month.
Bob when you worked bees up here in the NW, did you make Fireweed honey. It's one of our higher dollar honeys up here. Well she got those new boots broke in right quick.😂Thanks for another very informative videos Bob, Blessed Days...
Thank you for the the videos Bob. I wish we could make some sourwood in Minnesota. I noticed a lot of your boxes have a metal frame rail. I have a few of those and like them but don't know where to source them from. Do you remember where you got them? Thank you.
Clovers and especially alfalfa are our premium high production honeys in central sask . We do get fireweed and buckwheat which are better paying but in limited amounts . And tons of canola which is producing now and some fields are just starting to bloom 😂!!! Its nice honey but tends to crystalize.
Usually July and August we don't really have anything coming in but this year there is something it's really clear trees fruity taste never really tasted anything like it but it's really good whatever it is
Hi from southern new Zealand 👋 isn't it ironic when you break your nails and stub your toes trying to keep a monofloral honey as pure as possible and someone comes along whose brought mixed bag honey labeled as monofloral honey and says "that ain't the real thing" 😂 I'd never heard of sourwood until I started watching your videos but we have a few that beekeepers in the south island try to keep as pure monofloral as possible. Thyme in my area, kamahi, manuka and rata on the coasts. I don't have hives on kamahi but I'd love to 😂 it's the best honey in new Zealand as far as I'm concerned, tastes like cinnamon toast with butter. It's incredible honey, but who knows what the future holds, maybe I'll be able to get a few apairy spots on the west coast and get kamahi myself 😂 great video 👍👋
I was surprised to see sourwood in southern Pa. I don't think I ever saw it. Very cool. Question: When you put the escapes on, I noticed that you didn't add a super underneath for the bees to move. Any reason why?
Yes, we will be running these colonies as a single deep through winter and our surplus nectar flows are over for the season. There is now a shim in place that allows some extra room for bees and treatments.
Bob, did you add the shim under the escape so you dont have to do it later when you pull honey & install apiguard? Or to make a little space for bees to congregate as it becomes a little more congested as they move through the escape? Keith / St. Louis
Bob, I think you owe all of us feedback on the Caucasian Bees how they’re doing how much honey are they producing how many yards are you running the caucasian bees?
Autumn Olive is Astringent before the first frost up here, I think even for there it will be till cooler weather comes. Birds don't touch it till then either. John has Very Odd taste buds !
Excelente… Bob It was amazing how by just opening a box you new right away if it had honey, even more or less how many Lbs. thanks for sharing your knowledge and technique.. Also is good to know about the sourwood honey 🍯… Try to keep it clean from other types of honey to be pure… That hive that did the best you think is genetic or other factors play role too on they producing more than the rest?
Something I should have mentioned was that yard was all spring splits and that colony grew a bit more than the rest. I hope to talk about how our colonies progressed this spring in another video.
I’m in central Illinois. I’ve got nothing for honey this year. 8 colonies and I might have 150lbs. Some supers were new wax and they haven’t even drawn them out. Had 1000 lbs on 6 hives last year.
I’m on NYC suburbs area I cough a swarm of that one made like 8 swarm cells I made 2of 5 splits 2 cells didn’t hatch one queen never came back or die… 2 came back of 5 now are laying., all the splits have a lot of honey 🍯 one or 2 full deep frame some even cap… I was surprised that even with no queen they still working so hard even some dark honey bread they making.. no eggs 🥚 or larvae…
Hey Bob! I’ve got some free time with some of my bees in SD. If you want some help pulling let me know. Just tell that young crew to take it easy on an old man! Lol.
I've only had a problem with absconding the first time I used it. I gave them a full dose in high temperatures. I've never had them swarm when using Apiguard.
What does sumac honey taste like? Mine are still getting a little sourwood, but hitting sumac hard right now. I dont have time to pul because of a family emergency. Dont plan on selling as sourwood this year, but still curious with the sumac. Also is sumac light in color also?
It depends on several things. Can the bees keep it policed, does it have pollen plugs in it, is it old dark comb with lots of cocoon debris? If the bees can cover or it's fairly clean it should be OK.
Always 12 volt for us. I have several 6 volt sitting in my shop that I no longer use. 12 volt is more dependable when tall wet grass or other problems are involved. "Parmak Magnum 12". The units in this video were assembled with solar panels and regulators purchased through Amazon and car batteries.
Hello Bob, I noticed in your medium supers you use frame dividers/seperators and only running 8 in a 10 frame box. Why is that? Here in Australia Ive seen that done a little bit but it seemed harder on the bees to fill the frames because the beespace was far too wide and they would close the brood down faster with honey. They created problems extracting as well with the deboxing. Keen to hear your thoughts on this. Keep up the good work Bob, very educational.
Many beekeepers here use nine frame spacers and like them for easier uncapping. We like the eight frame spacers for the same reason plus each box holds more weight and is more efficient in all ways. Every time we handle a box in processing it takes a little less time per pound. We've never seen an issue with the bees taking to them but they do need to be drawn out before switching from ten to eight frame or there will be excessive burr and cross comb.
Bob I just had my first harvest and the honey tastes sour or bitter.....Can you tell me why? Do they have sourwood in Banks County by the National Forest?
@@WhiteTeeMinistries You can smell fermentation before you taste it. If a jar is closed and sealed the cap will become tight like a drum from the expansion.
The combs shown in this video are relatively new, perhaps three years old, and have never had brood in them. Use and travel stain will darken them with time.
Hi Bob and crew. I live 40 minutes west of Cleveland Ohio and was wondering if I plant 2 sourwood trees in my yard (I have 4 acres in the country) if you think they would do well for my bee's. Thanks for your time.
I believe they will grow there but I don't think they would produce much nectar in that area. They're attractive trees, both when they bloom and when they turn colors in the fall, so I would suggest growing them anyway.
It depends on your location. It's important to watch the drone population and every year is different. We've had both good and bad mating in early September.
I find whe the bees move wax or haul in a lot of pollen and walk the pollen over the frame it makes the comb colored . This year the dandelons made the frames and the wax yellow orange . And when the bees lay in the frames they become dark It seems all new wax the bees make is white
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you very much for such a quick response. It's amazing someone as popular and important as you are, responding to a stupid question from a nobody like me lol. I appreciate all the videos you make, the info is so valuable to our community.
@@bobbinnie9872 this is my 2nd year bee keeping and I’m just north of Asheville and have a lot of sourwood. I put my supers on when they started blooming and I’m about to take them off. The honey that they have stored is very clear. Seems to have a very slight spicy after taste and has very sweet but mild flavor and a little Carmel flavoring. I would love to have a more experience bee keeper to try it and see if they consider it sourwood honey…. I do not know the difference taste between basswood and sourwood
Maybe you can't do it because of hive beetles or something... You said you're gonna treat after this flow. Could you time it like l do here. When the time comes l remove even more from the single brood.. and the queens remain on 5 -7 brood frames an empty feeder and frames on the outside of the feeder. Some beekeepers use dividers or partitions to keep a small brood box. I'm doing it last couple of years and I can see more honey and all the honey is above excluders. The problem would be that your second box isn't a deep.. to put the brood frames from below at first. And I get it. For that kind of honey there shouldn't be none brood frames. It could be divided just so the queen can't pass. This is done only for the last flow so more bees works on honey and just a small number takes care of the brood. I can say right now I'll keep doing it every year. The amount of brood is almost the same but is restricted.. there's no honey crowns only brood from wood to wood
@@TheFamilyFarmHomestead He just came into my office an hour ago for a visit with his wife and 3 month old baby. I mentioned your comment and others I've received and he responded by saying he's got a lot going on which I know he does. It seemed like all is well.
Thanks bob for crying online about honey and you are the problem with people selling honey and price of honey. HONEY is honey deal with what you get. Sourwood taste NO different
Dcrosco nobody is forcing you to watch these videos. I think the majority of viewers will agree that there is a big difference in taste between different types of honey since they are produced from different nectare sources.
@@chriskleynhans8397 no one asked you to read my comment you dont like the TRUTH and it hurts I dont care. DO not read what I write. Go and try to cancel yourself waste. There is just a little difference in taste but not price
Thanks for the quotes and the sources. Interesting topic.
Good morning beekeepers! Thanks for sharing your time with us this morning Bob and crew. I love beekeeping!
Bob I’ve watched your videos for a few years now, great stuff. I’m really impressed with your crew. Anyone who can do bee work in that heat and take 5 stings and just shrug it off deserves a raise! Let’s hear it for Selena, like if you agree 😊
Thanks Bob for sharing your wisdom. Also thanks for your integrity.
My bees still seem preoccupied. I have one hive, second year. Excited for my harvest, is an understatement! Can't wait to lift heavy supers!!
Thank you for sharing Bob! It would be interesting to see how you set up extraction and bottling to prevent contamination of the sourwood.
Thank you John for teaching me about the edibiltiy of Autumn Olive fruit. Can't wait to try it!
Good morning Bob and thank you for the video
Never had true sourwood until i had yours Bob.Now i know how its supposed to taste .Your sourwood is worth every penny i spend on it,so good !
Thanks so much for sharing.
Hola qué genio es usted me gusta mirar sus videos yo también trabajo con las 🐝🐝💪💪🇦🇷
Thanks for this great videos!! I love them.
The flow is over here in South Germany. I start feeding at the end of next week. Treatment and requeening are on the list for this week. So a little bit to do.
Greetings and thanks a lot
Good morning!! We have had a very strange flow down here in South Texas. The mesquite trees bloomed in mid May right on schedule. Then we had tropical storm Alberto pass through and the mesquite started blooming again. Most mesquite still have a lot of blooms. We’ve always pulled our honey around the 4th of July, but it’s looking like it will be the middle of August this year.
The only thing we can count on for sure is that every season is different.
Do you still have seed. I didn’t realize there are different varieties of sourwood trees. If you can give me the name I can order some. Thank you so much for all the informative videos. They sure have been helpful. You’re a great teacher. You have a Great beekeeping crew. Everybody has their moments but your people all seem to be really happy in their jobs. My husband says he’s going to bring us down there one day. I’m hoping for the spring I want a caucasian queen and 2 double screen boards . Lol
Thanks but sorry, we're out of seeds.
It's amazing the difference in locations, Natalee in her last video talked about sumac not bloomed yet, she's 6 hours northwest of me here in Missouri. You talked about sumac, and it has been done here for about a month.
Another great vid.. have a great day.
It's great when you have nice bees.
Bob when you worked bees up here in the NW, did you make Fireweed honey. It's one of our higher dollar honeys up here. Well she got those new boots broke in right quick.😂Thanks for another very informative videos Bob, Blessed Days...
I thought about going after it but never got around to it. It's definitely a "Cadillac" honey.
Hello bob, nice to see your videos, please teach us how Selena ties the hat😊
Thank you for the the videos Bob. I wish we could make some sourwood in Minnesota. I noticed a lot of your boxes have a metal frame rail. I have a few of those and like them but don't know where to source them from. Do you remember where you got them? Thank you.
We get our frame spacers from Dadant.
Clovers and especially alfalfa are our premium high production honeys in central sask .
We do get fireweed and buckwheat which are better paying but in limited amounts .
And tons of canola which is producing now and some fields are just starting to bloom 😂!!! Its nice honey but tends to crystalize.
Usually July and August we don't really have anything coming in but this year there is something it's really clear trees fruity taste never really tasted anything like it but it's really good whatever it is
Hi from southern new Zealand 👋 isn't it ironic when you break your nails and stub your toes trying to keep a monofloral honey as pure as possible and someone comes along whose brought mixed bag honey labeled as monofloral honey and says "that ain't the real thing" 😂 I'd never heard of sourwood until I started watching your videos but we have a few that beekeepers in the south island try to keep as pure monofloral as possible. Thyme in my area, kamahi, manuka and rata on the coasts. I don't have hives on kamahi but I'd love to 😂 it's the best honey in new Zealand as far as I'm concerned, tastes like cinnamon toast with butter. It's incredible honey, but who knows what the future holds, maybe I'll be able to get a few apairy spots on the west coast and get kamahi myself 😂 great video 👍👋
Thank you and good luck on the west coast.
I'll be watching for a post on Facebook where you're selling those migratory lids. One man's junk is another's treasure. 😆
I would love to see a video on how you use yourbee escapes
"How We Remove Bees From Honey Supers". ruclips.net/video/6ldD3cNGung/видео.html
I was surprised to see sourwood in southern Pa. I don't think I ever saw it. Very cool.
Question: When you put the escapes on, I noticed that you didn't add a super underneath for the bees to move. Any reason why?
Yes, we will be running these colonies as a single deep through winter and our surplus nectar flows are over for the season. There is now a shim in place that allows some extra room for bees and treatments.
Another good video. We are so dry here we expect very little honey. I will need to start feeding shortly.
Where is here
Hi Al. I've heard. There may be some moisture coming your way next week.
@@billc3405 Smyrna TN just south of Nashville. We have had less than 1.3 inches in the last 6 weeks.
Good Morning Bob !
Good morning sir!
Honey 🍯 Prices…
No one is talking about the bulk honey prices falling to an all time low…
Great video as always Bob, thank you!
Are the used top lids available to ship to Pennsylvania?
Thanks for asking but I think they're sold.
@@bobbinnie9872 okay thank you sir
Bob we need rain really bad seems like everything is really drying up and the flow stalled out hoping for cooler weather so I can treat
It looks like we're going to cool down next week here. We'll wait for that to begin treating.
Bob, did you add the shim under the escape so you dont have to do it later when you pull honey & install apiguard? Or to make a little space for bees to congregate as it becomes a little more congested as they move through the escape? Keith / St. Louis
Yes to both.
Bob, I think you owe all of us feedback on the Caucasian Bees how they’re doing how much honey are they producing how many yards are you running the caucasian bees?
Plan on talking about differences soon.
Autumn Olive is Astringent before the first frost up here, I think even for there it will be till cooler weather comes. Birds don't touch it till then either. John has Very Odd taste buds !
I tasted it and thought it was mediocre. I wouldn't seek it out but that's just me. 😀
Excelente… Bob It was amazing how by just opening a box you new right away if it had honey, even more or less how many Lbs. thanks for sharing your knowledge and technique.. Also is good to know about the sourwood honey 🍯… Try to keep it clean from other types of honey to be pure…
That hive that did the best you think is genetic or other factors play role too on they producing more than the rest?
Something I should have mentioned was that yard was all spring splits and that colony grew a bit more than the rest. I hope to talk about how our colonies progressed this spring in another video.
Bob i watched your video on you storing your honey supers in a cooler for the winter, what is the humidity in that cooler? thank you sir
It's a good question but I'm not sure.
I’m in central Illinois. I’ve got nothing for honey this year. 8 colonies and I might have 150lbs. Some supers were new wax and they haven’t even drawn them out.
Had 1000 lbs on 6 hives last year.
I’m on NYC suburbs area I cough a swarm of that one made like 8 swarm cells I made 2of 5 splits 2 cells didn’t hatch one queen never came back or die… 2 came back of 5 now are laying., all the splits have a lot of honey 🍯 one or 2 full deep frame some even cap… I was surprised that even with no queen they still working so hard even some dark honey bread they making.. no eggs 🥚 or larvae…
Some years just don't work out no matter what you do. Next year could be your best!
Hey Bob! I’ve got some free time with some of my bees in SD. If you want some help pulling let me know. Just tell that young crew to take it easy on an old man! Lol.
Hi Ron. You're safe with us, they take it easy on me. We're covered, thanks.
Do you have problems with hives absconding when applying apiguard? I had 3 of 8 swarm this year within a week of putting a half dose on.
I've only had a problem with absconding the first time I used it. I gave them a full dose in high temperatures. I've never had them swarm when using Apiguard.
What does sumac honey taste like? Mine are still getting a little sourwood, but hitting sumac hard right now. I dont have time to pul because of a family emergency. Dont plan on selling as sourwood this year, but still curious with the sumac. Also is sumac light in color also?
Sumac looks like dirty dish water when it's in a light comb and has a decent flavor. It tastes fine when mixed with sourwood.
Bob, do you use queen excluders during the honey flows?
Usually yes on singles but rarely on doubles.
Is it advisable to leave a box of honey on the hive rite now or will SHB ruin it before the bees can utilize it this winter? Thanks.
It depends on several things. Can the bees keep it policed, does it have pollen plugs in it, is it old dark comb with lots of cocoon debris? If the bees can cover or it's fairly clean it should be OK.
Thanks Bob for your video. How long do you typically have the super above an escape before pulling the honey?
At least one day per medium super and of course the longer the better as far as bee removal, perhaps as much as 4 or 5 days.
I can’t find HDO plywood locally
Try for MDO. It's used in sign making a lot.
@@bobbinnie9872 Will do, thank you!
Good morning Bob,
Thanks for another great video.
What kind of fencer are you using? Is it a 6 or 12 volt? Is the solar unit a separate item?
Thanks
Always 12 volt for us. I have several 6 volt sitting in my shop that I no longer use. 12 volt is more dependable when tall wet grass or other problems are involved. "Parmak Magnum 12". The units in this video were assembled with solar panels and regulators purchased through Amazon and car batteries.
👍✌👏🤗💝
Bob kind of reminds me of a teacher trying to point out which class student is growing fast 😅
Hello Bob, I noticed in your medium supers you use frame dividers/seperators and only running 8 in a 10 frame box. Why is that? Here in Australia Ive seen that done a little bit but it seemed harder on the bees to fill the frames because the beespace was far too wide and they would close the brood down faster with honey. They created problems extracting as well with the deboxing. Keen to hear your thoughts on this. Keep up the good work Bob, very educational.
Many beekeepers here use nine frame spacers and like them for easier uncapping. We like the eight frame spacers for the same reason plus each box holds more weight and is more efficient in all ways. Every time we handle a box in processing it takes a little less time per pound. We've never seen an issue with the bees taking to them but they do need to be drawn out before switching from ten to eight frame or there will be excessive burr and cross comb.
Bob I just had my first harvest and the honey tastes sour or bitter.....Can you tell me why? Do they have sourwood in Banks County by the National Forest?
I'm not sure about that location. I wonder if you have fermented honey.
@@bobbinnie9872 how can I tell if it is fermented? Thanks for your response
@@WhiteTeeMinistries You can smell fermentation before you taste it. If a jar is closed and sealed the cap will become tight like a drum from the expansion.
Also, why would the honeycomb be dark? My honey frames don't look like yours!
The combs shown in this video are relatively new, perhaps three years old, and have never had brood in them. Use and travel stain will darken them with time.
Hi Bob and crew. I live 40 minutes west of Cleveland Ohio and was wondering if I plant 2 sourwood trees in my yard (I have 4 acres in the country) if you think they would do well for my bee's. Thanks for your time.
I believe they will grow there but I don't think they would produce much nectar in that area. They're attractive trees, both when they bloom and when they turn colors in the fall, so I would suggest growing them anyway.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you Bob for taking the time to answer my question
What is to late to graft queen cells?
It depends on your location. It's important to watch the drone population and every year is different. We've had both good and bad mating in early September.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank You
Will new wax be white when feeding sugar/sucrose or whatever just like when there is a flow? Or will it be discoloured?
I find whe the bees move wax or haul in a lot of pollen and walk the pollen over the frame it makes the comb colored .
This year the dandelons made the frames and the wax yellow orange .
And when the bees lay in the frames they become dark
It seems all new wax the bees make is white
Feeding thin sugar syrup will result in white wax also.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you very much for such a quick response. It's amazing someone as popular and important as you are, responding to a stupid question from a nobody like me lol. I appreciate all the videos you make, the info is so valuable to our community.
@@jasonseaward8506 Thank you. That was actually a good question.
How would you explain the taste of sourwood, honey?
I'm not good at explaining the taste of honey. I would use the word smooth. Some call it nutty or buttery.
@@bobbinnie9872 this is my 2nd year bee keeping and I’m just north of Asheville and have a lot of sourwood. I put my supers on when they started blooming and I’m about to take them off. The honey that they have stored is very clear. Seems to have a very slight spicy after taste and has very sweet but mild flavor and a little Carmel flavoring. I would love to have a more experience bee keeper to try it and see if they consider it sourwood honey…. I do not know the difference taste between basswood and sourwood
@@daltonrobinson253 Spicy could be Basswood and Carmel may be Sourwood.
@@bobbinnie9872 thanks for your insight!
Maybe you can't do it because of hive beetles or something...
You said you're gonna treat after this flow.
Could you time it like l do here. When the time comes l remove even more from the single brood.. and the queens remain on 5 -7 brood frames an empty feeder and frames on the outside of the feeder. Some beekeepers use dividers or partitions to keep a small brood box. I'm doing it last couple of years and I can see more honey and all the honey is above excluders. The problem would be that your second box isn't a deep.. to put the brood frames from below at first. And I get it. For that kind of honey there shouldn't be none brood frames. It could be divided just so the queen can't pass.
This is done only for the last flow so more bees works on honey and just a small number takes care of the brood. I can say right now I'll keep doing it every year. The amount of brood is almost the same but is restricted.. there's no honey crowns only brood from wood to wood
Bob, do those paraffin lids all have rims on them? I’d be interested in a few hundred of them if you’re willing to ship?
Migratory lid, rim on each end. Love mine but I run 8 fr. They show no signs of deterioration after 2 years.
Why is no one talking about “natural Honey from Brazil” flooding the markets?
Is Seth okay, He hasn't made a new video in three months? I pray he is alright.
He's fine but very busy.
@@bobbinnie9872 Good, I can understand busy.
@@TheFamilyFarmHomestead He just came into my office an hour ago for a visit with his wife and 3 month old baby. I mentioned your comment and others I've received and he responded by saying he's got a lot going on which I know he does. It seemed like all is well.
Goldenrod is the worst, the smell alone keeps me from taking any
I don't care for it much either but it sure helps the bees get ready for winter in our area.
honey flow not good
Thanks bob for crying online about honey and you are the problem with people selling honey and price of honey. HONEY is honey deal with what you get. Sourwood taste NO different
There are many unique types honey, some unusual and some not so much. Sourwood and many others are sought out for a reason.
Dcrosco nobody is forcing you to watch these videos. I think the majority of viewers will agree that there is a big difference in taste between different types of honey since they are produced from different nectare sources.
@@chriskleynhans8397 no one asked you to read my comment you dont like the TRUTH and it hurts I dont care. DO not read what I write. Go and try to cancel yourself waste. There is just a little difference in taste but not price
Hey Bob how's it going down there the sourwood looks good here in Eastern Kentucky
Clayton is making some but won't be as good as our yards further north.