Fall Honey Harvest 2011
On July 31st we harvested and then bottled our first honey crop from the blue/purple hive at my house.
I put the empty super back onto the hive for the bees to clean up, and they were able to fill it again!
Today was a nice day in the upper 80's with clear skies and I decided to extract the honey before the weather got any cooler. I also wanted to satisfy my curiosity for what our fall honey crop tastes like.
The bees did not cap the honey frames, so I used my refractometer and determined the moisture content to be 17.5% which was dry enough for me to extract.
Below you can see the refractometer, right after I placed a few drops of honey on the glass, and before I closed it up and took the reading.
![Honey Harvest](images/8282011/DSC07080.jpg)
Once inside the basement (honey house) our helper Garrison (20 months old) was at the ready.
![](images/8282011/DSC07091.jpg)
![Honey Harvest](images/8282011/DSC07089.jpg)
When we were all done, we harvested almost exactly 1 gallon (14 lbs) of honey today. That brings this year's total for the purple/blue hive to 4 gallons (52 lbs) - an awesome amount for a first year hive!
![](images/8282011/DSC07096.jpg)
This fall honey has a different taste then our spring honey. I'd say it's a touch sweeter...but then again, I am partial to my own honey!
![Beeson Fall Honey](images/8282011/DSC07099.jpg)
I put the empty super back onto the hive for the bees to clean up, and they were able to fill it again!
Today was a nice day in the upper 80's with clear skies and I decided to extract the honey before the weather got any cooler. I also wanted to satisfy my curiosity for what our fall honey crop tastes like.
The bees did not cap the honey frames, so I used my refractometer and determined the moisture content to be 17.5% which was dry enough for me to extract.
Below you can see the refractometer, right after I placed a few drops of honey on the glass, and before I closed it up and took the reading.
![Honey Harvest](images/8282011/DSC07080.jpg)
Once inside the basement (honey house) our helper Garrison (20 months old) was at the ready.
![](images/8282011/DSC07091.jpg)
![Honey Harvest](images/8282011/DSC07089.jpg)
When we were all done, we harvested almost exactly 1 gallon (14 lbs) of honey today. That brings this year's total for the purple/blue hive to 4 gallons (52 lbs) - an awesome amount for a first year hive!
![](images/8282011/DSC07096.jpg)
This fall honey has a different taste then our spring honey. I'd say it's a touch sweeter...but then again, I am partial to my own honey!
![Beeson Fall Honey](images/8282011/DSC07099.jpg)
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