Permacultureglobal.org - the interactive map and database of the Worldwide Permaculture Network

No Small Dreams

Details

Commenced:	01/06/2010
Submitted:	06/02/2011
Last updated:	07/10/2015
Location:	Graceville, Queensland, AU
Website:	http://nosmalldreams.net/
Climate zone:	Sub-tropical

My Projects

(projects i'm involved in)

Graceville Community Garden

Graceville, AU

Followers

Back to No Small Dreams

Top bar bee hive maintenance #3

Project: No Small Dreams

Posted by Tim Auld over 13 years ago

My first attempt at harvesting honey from my top bar bee hive. Exciting and messy!

The hive hadn't been opened up for quite a while and It turns out that the bees had build comb out of alignment with the top bars. This made it impossible to extract some of the combs because they just broke off the bars. I believe this is because a) the comb guides were too short - beyond the guide the bees got off track and combs further out had to follow suit and b) honey comb is wider than brood comb. In the next hive I'll try to address both of these issues.

I managed to take out an almost full comb of honey and part of another which broke while I inspected it. I tried to sew the brood comb back on but this appears to have failed as I can see it laying on the bottom of the hive. I got about 1.2 kg of honey and 50g of wax. It's amazing how little wax the bees need to contain their honey!

To extract the honey I mashed up the comb and let it strain in the sun. It wasn't as difficult or messy as I expected. Certainly a good method for small scale production, as opposed to spending ~$400 on a centrifuge for Lang frames. I'm still interested in setting up a Lang hive to compare the two designs.

The remaining honey was separated from the wax by melting it in the microwave. I made a candle out of the wax using a simple newspaper mold and a medium sized wick from an art & craft store.

There is still a lot of honey left in the hive and I think the bees will be fine over winter in Brisbane's mild climate.

Oh, and the honey is probably the most sweet and delicious I've ever tasted!

Comments (4)

You must be logged in to comment.

Mark Brown : Did you uncap the comb before mashing? It sounds as if it could have been really serious. Thanks for sharing Tim

Posted over 13 years ago

Tim Auld : Hi Mark, as far as I know uncapping the comb is something you do for a centrifuge. Since it's all mashed up the caps come off anyway.

What could have been serious?

Posted over 13 years ago

Simon Chauvette : Hi Tim we are using this design http://www.backyardhive.com/General/General/BackYardHive_Beekeeping_Shop/ (the "Golden Mean" hive) and it's working really well. The guides are longer and higher and they usually build straight combs. It looks like the topbars we are using might be bigger, too. Cheers!

Posted over 13 years ago

Tim Auld : Hi Simon, thanks for the link. That's almost the conclusion I came to - my guides were too short and the honeycomb bars (at the least) had to be wider - but I didn't consider the depth. For the second hive I've decided to try string attached melted wax most of the way across, and 42mm bars on the outside.

Posted over 13 years ago

Courses Taught Here!

Project Badges

Administrators

Team Members

(close)

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

	Member A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Permaculture Matchmaker One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.
	PDC People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.
	PDC Verified People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	PRI PDC People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.
	PDC Teacher People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.
	PRI Teacher With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable. PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.
	Aid Worker The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Consultant The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Community Project Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.