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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Katja Sage <katjasage AT yahoo.com>
  • To: "ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: Mark Smith <mgeesmith AT juno.com>
  • Subject: [ocba] All That Sugar Syrup!
  • Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:31:20 -0700

Hello,

Mark and I feel very fortunate as newbees this year that our hives are buzzing with active queens, good brood patterns, and honey stores.  One is more active and productive than the other, but both are doing well overall.  We've had an excellent mentor, and he's been a great help in guiding us (thanks, Dave!).

We thought we'd open Pandora's box here and ask for opinions on feeding.  We chose top feeders for our hives from the start, and fed 1:1 sugar syrup through mid-May.  In mid-June, we thought we should start feeding again, especially the weaker hive, as the nectar flow dwindled.  However, the bees are going through 2 gallons per hive of syrup every few days!  We are careful to check to add supers as needed for the honey, but at this rate, we are getting feeding fatigue and the sugar isn't so cheap, either.  We know the overarching answer is, "it depends on what you want to do."  Our goal is to make sure our hives are strong enough to winter over well.  We don't expect honey this year, as seems to be the prevailing wisdom for the first annum.

So our questions are, should we be feeding now?  If so, when can we stop again?  If not, when should we start up again?  Does anyone have an easier method (short of buying vats or truckloads of syrup) than mixing sugar with hot water and slowly adding the latter to the former?  Is there a trick to help the sugar dissolve when we move to a 2:1 ratio for the winter? (It is challenged to dissolve now with the current "lighter" ratio).

Thanks in advance for advice and wisdom!

Katja Sage and Mark Smith





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