How was your harvest?

[Gypsi]

I seem to remember
That I sold off my extra hive, lost one to a swarm and a virgin queen that hadn't come back, and was down to one hive this spring, and that is where I was staying. I looked in the apiary at the end of my days handiwork today and there are 4 hives out there with queens in them, and I gave away the trapout bees, lost a 6 lb swarm and had 2 cutouts that didn't have 2 cups of bees in each that either took off or joined my hives in June...

2014 has been an odd year, ready to toss in the towel and the darned things multiply!  The golden queen in hive 3 provided the brood for most of the harvest though.  I sure hope she is ok...

My garden so far this year produced 3 yellow summer squashes and half a zucchini, there is a little asparagus out there to cut tonight, and about 8 tomatoes if I count the ones from the pond and the ones from the garden... rather pitiful, but I think total rainfall at my house since april has been less than 4 inches, and total water bills in that time close to $600.  went to $100 a month as soon as I put garden in the ground in July... I didn't water much prior to that.

Gypsi

[riverbee]

well gypsi, 2 1/2 yrs ago, i had 10 productive hives. i could harvest anywhere between 650 and 950 pounds of honey in a season.  then the anaphylaxis,  and allergy diagnosis came.  i have one hive left  that has managed to survive pretty much on her own since that time, untouched, it's amazing.  survival of the fittest i guess.  i could not manage them properly. i might have lost them anyway (what i tell myself). i might have saved them with proper management.  three i could have saved with extra feed this past winter.  it's just the way it is.  i can't look back now, i can only look forward.  i did the best i could under my circumstances......actually WE as beekeepers can only do the best we can under each of our individual circumstances. some of us (okay probably most of us ) don't make any extra money to cover our expenses.  i really don't and never have.....maybe i am doing it all wrong....but i really don't care.....it's a passion, not a hobby.  i hear ya on throwing the towel in.....but you love bees....and you won't throw that towel in......

passion is when you really care about something, irregardless of the 'cost' and i am not talking all about dollars, there are many costs outside the dollars. to quote what you said:
"The golden queen in hive 3 provided the brood for most of the harvest though.  I sure hope she is ok..."

you have the passion gypsi. hang in there.

the one hive i have left provided me with a good harvest of honey this year, about 200 pounds.  i hope she makes it through winter so i can divide her in the spring, whatever queen is in that hive is genetics i want for a divide come spring.

our gardens?  shaw....that was a crapshoot again this year.....all the hard work; not a good year again for tomatoes, we harvested some. squash; we harvested some yellow, butternut and acorn,  but really was not good.  a few pie pumpkins.  the beans and peas got ate up by critters. very few cucumbers and peppers of all sorts a small harvest.  potatoes  this year was a great harvest.  reds, yukon golds and russetts.

missed picking the wild blackcaps this year to make jam with.......

so the harvest?  .........

[Gypsi]

Interestingly enough my peach harvest just came in. I bought a dozen quart canning jars today. Peaches normally ripen in June in Texas but mine didn't get enough rain or water, and on the twice a week soak system the fruit finally picked up some size. (I also lost the center of the tree about 2 weeks ago, too much fruit, the top came down and I had to cut it off, so I thinned the rest of the peaches down to what small branches could bear).

So my 3 harvest seem to be bees, a little honey, and peaches, and a bit of asparagus.  My tomato plants are still alive but not large on the pond rack, I'm going to move them into the green house, I think. And maybe I can get them to set fruit. I suspect that the water is too cold to encourage fruiting, but they do look good and are alive and healthy on that water.  I have some more playing around to do with the aquaponics system, and artificial lighting. Will probably have a garden in the fish room this winter too.  Artificial light plus some sunlight, it faces south

My 4 year old granddaughter and I are going to sell off some fish tomorrow at the fish auction, so I am having an early night.

[riverbee]

gypsi, might have to trade you honey for canned peaches.....LOVE PEACHES!!!

have fun with the granddaughter tomorrrow!

[Slowmodem]

I started off the year with two hives.  One swarmed and I didn't get it.  The other swarmed and I got it with a bee vacuum.  So both original hives were starting behind this year.  I got 30 quarts from the two hives.  I put the supers back on and hoped for a fall flow.  Since the first of the month, we've only gotten 1.88 inches of rain.  The golden rod and other fall flowers are beautiful and prolific, but it's too dry and there's no nectar.

I looked in the tops of the hives today and it looks like the two hives had cleaned up the supers and maybe built some more comb, but I didn't see any capped honey.

The third hive (the captured swarm) seems happy as a lark, building comb in the second deep.

So I guess I'll take the supers off the first two hives and stick them in the freezer for a few days and start feeding all three hives for a while to get them ready for winter.  I might put some MAQS in there before I start feeding.

But after having no honey last year, I feel successful this year.  People keep asking me if I'm going to sell any of the honey and I hate to.  I ran out last year and that's a bad feeling.  So everyone keep that in mind.  Keep enough for yourself!

[kebee]

 Well after getting around 60lbs of honey back at the end of July didn't expect much this time and and was not disappointed, only got 2 gals this time yesterday, the suppers were full of honey though and I am glad of that, should be enough for them in to the winter. Have to be a draught on  for I have never been brother by the bees so bad while extraction, and they sure came at me when I put the medium back on for them to clean up. We have not had but a half inch of rain here since back in Aug and not much that month. Got me a sting on the finger also.

Ken

[Gypsi]

Got a fairly nice price for my 2 clown loaches, more would have been nice, but $18 each isn't bad, don't know what my other fish sold for, the auction was huge and I'd bought a school of rainbowfish and a big beautiful Geophagus Surinamensis which my granddaughter has named "mouthy" for the impressive size of his mouth.  They are amazing and beautiful fish not to be kept with small fish.

Don't know if maybe hive 1's queen has come back or not, will check tomorrow afternoon.  She decided to wait til next year to be a bag runner, it was a very large fish auction.  (Texas Cichlid Association show & auction for those that wonder.)

[lazy shooter]

My harvest has been about 50 pounds all year, and I have another 60 or more pounds ready to harvest.  I started the year with one large hive that I split, and two other first year hives.  I now have four hives at home.  Three are going great guns, and one is growing at a slower rate.   I have another hive on my ranch.  That hive is four years old and has never produced any honey.  That hive has gone through supercedure this summer and looks better than ever.  That hive has never been treated or requeened.  It is from a four year old Italian package, and it has made it's own way through our worst drought in a hundred years.

@Gypsi:

I attended a steak dinner and an auction for our local county hospital.  I bought a registered Black Angus heifer.  That took care of several of my "charity" dollars.

[Papakeith]

My goal for the year was to earn enough to pay off the extractor purchase.  I've made that goal and then some.
I started the year with three overwintered colonies. Only one of the three came through strong.  I'm going into winter with 9 double deep colonies and 4 doublenuc colonies.  All in all I think it was a successful year.
My fall harvest was about 100 lbs.  Not nearly as much as I had hoped for, but with how dry it has been I'm happy with what I got. 
All told I was over 200 lbs for the season.
Now I'm feeding the lighter hives to try to build them up for winter.

[Slowmodem]

I guess I'll take the supers off the first two hives and stick them in the freezer for a few days and start feeding all three hives for a while to get them ready for winter.  I might put some MAQS in there before I start feeding.

Got the supers off yesterday and put them in the freezer.  Got the feeder set up today.  I'll bet when I get home from work tomorrow, it'll be covered up with bees.  85F yesterday.  39F Sunday morning.  Fall is here I guess.

BTW, we had 0.87 inches of rain between 4:00 am and around noon today.  Too little too late I think.  But it's always welcome.

[Gypsi]

any year I get any honey is an impressive harvest.  But what I make enough of to sell are modestly sized double box hives ready to go in late May, if I am fortunate and purchased queens don't take off.

in addition to my 30 lbs, just about a bushel of September surprise peaches.  I will know after first frost if I got any sweet potatoes. I am up to 4 summer squashes for the year, lol  Going to sautee some amaranth leaves with a pepper I saw out there earlier, and a couple of mushrooms.  Harvesting fall asparagus now too, just enough for dinner about twice a week.

[Slowmodem]

Got the supers off yesterday and put them in the freezer.  Got the feeder set up today.  I'll bet when I get home from work tomorrow, it'll be covered up with bees.  85F yesterday.  39F Sunday morning.  Fall is here I guess.

BTW, we had 0.87 inches of rain between 4:00 am and around noon today.  Too little too late I think.  But it's always welcome.

Got the feeder set up.  Looks like they appreciate it.