Post by motj3 on Jul 22, 2014 22:06:21 GMT -7
I live in an odd micro climate on the edge of the coast range off the Willamette Valley. By example, poison oak stops growing a quarter mile east of my house but there is no change in elevation and it grows to my west a couple miles north and south of me. Blue berries are just ripe enough to start harvesting and blackberries are all green still.
Anyway, I have a ton of hardhack, some plants that look like fireweed and a couple acres of what looks like goldenrod growing in a non-cultivated area near me. The area in general is fir trees, maple and other plants found in clear cuts and clearings.
My bees really ramp up honey production mid-July well into August. They put on more honey the last two weeks of July last year than they did during blackberry bloom. There are tons of blackberries and some minor blooming of those until frost.
I have tons of the dreaded QAL. I know that will mess with the flavor of honey. I have a colony I put a third deep on and they filled it in the spring (maple). I did this for purpose and won't extract that honey. I will use it for insurance feed.
That colony with the third deep is huge. I pulled two large splits off it and it threw a small swarm which I caught. It is still huge.
So my plan is to extract around the first week of August. Treat with MAQS if cool enough and put one or two supers back on that huge colony. I want to see what they do. They should have plenty of stores for winter with that third deep. I want to see what the honey they produce ends up being like.
Anyone see any harm in this experiment? I figure worst case, I extract and feed the late stuff back to my bees. I have seven colonies on my home place and some more off site that come home in August. This is only my third full summer so I am learning a lot still. I also understand, depending on the resource you check, goldenrod is either native to Oregon or not. All I know is there is a bunch of flowers that look like it growing down the road.
What do you all think?
Anyway, I have a ton of hardhack, some plants that look like fireweed and a couple acres of what looks like goldenrod growing in a non-cultivated area near me. The area in general is fir trees, maple and other plants found in clear cuts and clearings.
My bees really ramp up honey production mid-July well into August. They put on more honey the last two weeks of July last year than they did during blackberry bloom. There are tons of blackberries and some minor blooming of those until frost.
I have tons of the dreaded QAL. I know that will mess with the flavor of honey. I have a colony I put a third deep on and they filled it in the spring (maple). I did this for purpose and won't extract that honey. I will use it for insurance feed.
That colony with the third deep is huge. I pulled two large splits off it and it threw a small swarm which I caught. It is still huge.
So my plan is to extract around the first week of August. Treat with MAQS if cool enough and put one or two supers back on that huge colony. I want to see what they do. They should have plenty of stores for winter with that third deep. I want to see what the honey they produce ends up being like.
Anyone see any harm in this experiment? I figure worst case, I extract and feed the late stuff back to my bees. I have seven colonies on my home place and some more off site that come home in August. This is only my third full summer so I am learning a lot still. I also understand, depending on the resource you check, goldenrod is either native to Oregon or not. All I know is there is a bunch of flowers that look like it growing down the road.
What do you all think?
Normy