{"id":1712,"date":"2014-07-04T14:43:36","date_gmt":"2014-07-04T22:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.PeaceCrops.net\/CSA\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2015-04-10T18:32:07","modified_gmt":"2015-04-11T02:32:07","slug":"honeyflow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.PeaceCrops.net\/CSA\/honeyflow\/","title":{"rendered":"Honeyflow"},"content":{"rendered":"

When all the flowers are a-bloom, and the bees are up to strength and are working their hardest, that’s the time of the year beekeepers refer to as “honeyflow”. \u00a0Right now, we’re well into it. Today I visited my new hive at Gravel Creek, to see how the colonies are coming along. My hopes for them are modest, since they are just starting this year: get a lot of comb built, store enough honey to last\u00a0through the winter, build up enough bees to thrive and survive. \u00a0I don’t really expect much if any honey from the newbies.<\/p>\n

\"superupSM\"<\/a>Sometimes, though, my expectations are exceeded. The second hive I opened today was literally exploding with bees, and packed to the gills with honey. Wow! So fast! I put a super (honey box) on top, so they can keep up the good work. I went into all 11 of the new hives, and was pleased to discover that 7 of them were in this state. Amazing.<\/p>\n

I did notice something odd, though. Look closely at the picture. The hives that are taller are the ones that were doing so well that I had to add extra boxes. They are also, with the exception\u00a0of one, the hives with north-facing entrances. I don’t know what to make of this. Does a south facing entrance hamper the bees somewhat? I will have to pay attention further. A further point of interest is that in the old apiary, all of the hives have the entrances oriented north. \u00a0Maybe I will turn the south facing hives around.<\/p>\n\n\n