It is a very small harvest even with the pint that leaked. Thats only about 5lbs of honey with up to 6.6lbs of honey to be expected when a single Flow Frame is completely full, it seems like there may have been a large portion that was not completed. -Kieran
Thanks for explaining that! Such a simple, logical reason for waiting for the capping on a flow, but too often the simple things don't get explained all the way.
Yeah it surprised me that in all of the things I read and watched I never learned that the cappings were functional to the flow frames. They always said wait for 90% capped but that's said in "regular" harvesting too and the reason is the moisture content. Figured I would test it and all would be well, but nope 😅😅
Great video! I'm new to your channel. Found you while researching bee keeping & different hives. It's something we've always wanted to do & now we're finally in a place where that's possible. Thanks for sharing your experiences
Thanks for being here! I hope it helps clear up confusion for some people!! I found this information on message board threads AFTER the fact. I can't belive it's not talked about more!
I wonder if the spill happened because the bottom channel was "overflowing". If the honey doesn't flow out of the channel fast enough, the only way for the honey flowing down is to spill over to the sides. In that case it might help to open the frame in two or three steps by not pushing the key in all the way? People have also mentioned that FHs tend to spill more during the first harvest.
Definitely see if you can go to a local beekeeping meeting and get thiae fears taken down a few notches before you start beekeeping! Usually I get stung 2-5 times every year and if they happen all in a row I get pretty wary of bees too. ❤️ Thanks for watching!!
plus I noticed you opened up the whole frame up at once I think not sure but to only insert the key a third or half way in so as not to overwhelm the honey channnel, personally I think its a design flaw and should be looked into to fix it
I partially opened the frame with they key and still there was so much leakage. Fortunately, I heard about this flaw beforehand and drained my hive on my kitchen table, most went into the borttle but quite a bit leaked under the bottom of the frames which would have ruined the brood below.
@@SageandStoneHomestead You don't have to open the entire Flow Frame, you can open just the capped portions allow them to drain and then close them depending on how far the Flow Key is inserted, honey will run out of uncapped cells if there is honey above especially if the gradient is too steep. The reason being that honey will pool in the edge of cells and not fully drain. -Kieran
@@carolgabriele1495 Harvesting off the hive is almost guaranteed to result in leaking. Wax changes temperature quickly as does honey, this results in brittle wax being more ridged throughout and splitting capping, with a slowed harvest, also depending on the gradient and the support the Flow Frames have this can all increase the quantity of leaking. 1-2 tablespoons is common from a Flow Frame especially on the first harvest and usually a result of some uncapped cells. Bees lap this up quickly, honey that lands on wax is cleaned off by worker bees, bee larvae swim in honey and consume this. Honey on bees is also cleaned off quickly by other bees, pooling honey is a risk however as bees jump in and becomes submerged and honey spills outside of the hive should be cleaned up to avoid robbing behaviours. In regards to partially opening the method of reducing leaking the emphasis is on waiting for the portion to drain before moving on to the next portion. This is done to reduce the total amount of honey in the honey trough and avoid bottlenecking and overflow if there uncapped cells directly above the honey trough. -Kieran
All in all I got 3 quarts out of the two frames, another pint or so went into the colony and got cleaned up by the bees. 5 more flow frames to go!!
It is a very small harvest even with the pint that leaked. Thats only about 5lbs of honey with up to 6.6lbs of honey to be expected when a single Flow Frame is completely full, it seems like there may have been a large portion that was not completed. -Kieran
Thanks for explaining that! Such a simple, logical reason for waiting for the capping on a flow, but too often the simple things don't get explained all the way.
Yeah it surprised me that in all of the things I read and watched I never learned that the cappings were functional to the flow frames. They always said wait for 90% capped but that's said in "regular" harvesting too and the reason is the moisture content. Figured I would test it and all would be well, but nope 😅😅
Good morning Heather. Thanks for explaining so thoroughly. All your videos are so educational. Love you guys
Good morning/afternoon Nollie! Hope you are well!!
Very much enjoy your bee keeping videos! That honey is beautiful; what a blessing for your family! 🙂
I can't wait to get it all harvested!! I need to put on a bee escape under the flow super tomorrow.!!
I love your bee videos!!! Best of luck with your harvest!!!! Stay safe!!
Thanks Cindy!! The bees are definitely one of my favorites to film and edit as well!!
Great video! I'm new to your channel. Found you while researching bee keeping & different hives. It's something we've always wanted to do & now we're finally in a place where that's possible.
Thanks for sharing your experiences
Thanks so much for watching and welcome to the channel!!
outstanding explanation! Thank you
Thanks for being here! I hope it helps clear up confusion for some people!! I found this information on message board threads AFTER the fact. I can't belive it's not talked about more!
Great video Heather! I'm learning every time I watch your bee videos! It's great you got the three quarts!! Have a great week!
Thanks Rich!! We are so excited to have honey coming in!!
That honey looks great! Thanks for explaining about the Flow system, always love to learn from others’ experiences.
It's so golden and delicious! Fall honey is an underappreciated treat.
I wonder if the spill happened because the bottom channel was "overflowing". If the honey doesn't flow out of the channel fast enough, the only way for the honey flowing down is to spill over to the sides. In that case it might help to open the frame in two or three steps by not pushing the key in all the way?
People have also mentioned that FHs tend to spill more during the first harvest.
That's interesting about them spilling more during thr first harvest! I just put it back on for the spring flow!
I really enjoyed this video. You’re very thorough. I want so bad to start trying this but I’m scared to death of bees 😂
Definitely see if you can go to a local beekeeping meeting and get thiae fears taken down a few notches before you start beekeeping! Usually I get stung 2-5 times every year and if they happen all in a row I get pretty wary of bees too. ❤️
Thanks for watching!!
Now that you have harvested, what method of beekeeping do you prefer, traditional boxes or using the Flow hive?
Traditional but maybe in a long langstroth configuration.
plus I noticed you opened up the whole frame up at once I think not sure but to only insert the key a third or half way in so as not to overwhelm the honey channnel, personally I think its a design flaw and should be looked into to fix it
Yes I did do it all at once. Even if you do it the slow way it will 100% leak if not fully capped. It just runs out the side.
I partially opened the frame with they key and still there was so much leakage. Fortunately, I heard about this flaw beforehand and drained my hive on my kitchen table, most went into the borttle but quite a bit leaked under the bottom of the frames which would have ruined the brood below.
@@SageandStoneHomestead You don't have to open the entire Flow Frame, you can open just the capped portions allow them to drain and then close them depending on how far the Flow Key is inserted, honey will run out of uncapped cells if there is honey above especially if the gradient is too steep. The reason being that honey will pool in the edge of cells and not fully drain. -Kieran
@@carolgabriele1495 Harvesting off the hive is almost guaranteed to result in leaking. Wax changes temperature quickly as does honey, this results in brittle wax being more ridged throughout and splitting capping, with a slowed harvest, also depending on the gradient and the support the Flow Frames have this can all increase the quantity of leaking. 1-2 tablespoons is common from a Flow Frame especially on the first harvest and usually a result of some uncapped cells. Bees lap this up quickly, honey that lands on wax is cleaned off by worker bees, bee larvae swim in honey and consume this. Honey on bees is also cleaned off quickly by other bees, pooling honey is a risk however as bees jump in and becomes submerged and honey spills outside of the hive should be cleaned up to avoid robbing behaviours.
In regards to partially opening the method of reducing leaking the emphasis is on waiting for the portion to drain before moving on to the next portion. This is done to reduce the total amount of honey in the honey trough and avoid bottlenecking and overflow if there uncapped cells directly above the honey trough. -Kieran