"I think that he destroyed half a super. It was still uncapped and he was worried about fermentation. He said he got a about a quart and a half of honey. He doesn't need to worry about fermentation. It will be gone before that happens. I really don't think that was worth bothering with. I would have left that for the bees.
I understand his situation. He shared this with me from the beginning. His father wanted the honey and purchased all the equipment. He wanted to do something for his dad and when his first year was a failure he really wanted something to show for his efforts." bakers, i get it. i understand now, thanks for filling us in. hard to say what i might say to him about his father's wishes, only he will struggle with that. when folks realize just what exactly goes into a bees life (knowledge/experience) and producing honey and what we do as keeps to extract it irregardless of the method used, maybe one can really truly appreciate honey bees? many new keeps want honey. we have all witnessed it or been 'guilty' of taking from the bees, not just in honey but wax as well. we learn.
comb is very, very valuable to me. i run 8 frames in a 10 frame super. i have learned not to take as much wax when i uncap my frames. it is better to leave the wax for the bees so they are not rebuilding as much next season. i still get the honey, maybe not as much wax, but the bees don't have to work so hard at building wax but rather filling the cells with lots of honey. i can purchase good wax for candles, etc, but i what i can't purchase is honey for my own hives if i don't have good drawn comb to do so.
