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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Blair Christian <blair.christian AT gmail.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [ocba] Fall nectar flow estimates? Fall maintenance?
  • Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2012 09:46:14 -0400

Hi All,

I was feeding last fall and didn't really notice what the fall flow
was like. Is there somebody with experience who can tell us what the
fall flows can be like around here?

- Is there always sufficient pollen (looks like that's never a problem)

- What is the variation (time of year, volume) of the nectar flows?

- Is it enough of a fall flow for them to draw comb? (usually?)

- Is it enough for a strong double deep hive to fill a deep with
capped honey between now and November? Or should I plan on feeding?

- When is the time to "take our winter losses" around here?

I went through about a dozen of this year's hives last night pretty
fast. They are all queenright, but have varying amounts of undrawn
frames/stored honey. Most of them have moved the brood nest down into
the bottom deeps (In June, most were in the top deep). They all seem
to have plenty of pollen. I'll probably do my fall varroa
check/treatment in September. Other than that, all I foresee until
spring is feeding as necessary and occasional checks. Most of my
hives have had entrance reducers on since the summer dearth, and I
guess I'll keep them on unless the flow really picks up. And if
anybody wants a good method for working with sugar syrup in 5 gallon
batches, here's my advice:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bnTDpiU3o3XZ8U7rvhU319MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
The modified Cauble method, if you will. Fill up a 5 gallon bucket
half way with warm water, take it outside, throw in the sugar and a
sump pump, and run it for 10-20 min. Cover any extra with a cheap
lid, and it will keep for a while. You can leave the bucket for the
bees to clean up, so there's not much clean up, no inside mess, etc.

Best,
Blair




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