Questions Beekeepers Aren’t Afraid to Ask (and LOVE to Answer)

Questions;

1. How can I extract my honey?
2. How do I know how much honey to leave for the bees?
3. What about honey containers and labels?
4. What do I do with wax to process and use?

Responses;

1. Depends on equipment.  Extraction equipment is expensive ($0.55 per pound of honey) but you take into consideration your cost-effectiveness.  Some contract extraction can be really pricey. Co-op extraction is an option – when people share equipment – you could find a co-op through the club to be able to connect to those that are also extracting and make it easier.  Varying ways of costing that out.   Rental equipment from other beekeepers, or having to purchase, etc. Or take to another beek for extraction. Or self-scrape and drain (takes a long time). Purchasing equipment can be found new and used.  Beekeeping supply places are good for connecting on that. Do the research. Ask the club!   Not all beekeepers extract in their early years.  First year hive (nuc) will usually not have excess for harvest.  Allow a super of bees to have one super of honey to feed.  Some beeks keep honey to put on their hives for later feeding.  Some beeks will keep honey in their sheds as storage for nucs and queen-rearing. Mid-August or before, the conversation starts about watching hives for capped honey – majority capped means that you can start to take it off.  “Tap Test” by holding a frame upside down and checking to see if any honey falls out then it isn’t ready.  Margaret uses the toothpick test where if an inserted toothpick pulls out a string of thick honey then it is ready.  Some beeks use a refractometer to determine when it is 17% moisture then it is ready to extract.  18% is “too green” or “not ripe”.
2.  We leave about 100 lbs. per colony. Only take extra honey.
3.  We have a local man who does our labels. 
4. We do our own labels, buying our own self-stick paper at Staples. Be careful not to get the extra sticky (security labels) – that look a little different, because they are hard to remove. Food safe rules say that you must not reuse jars. We always recommend to people who want to return them, that they use them for dry goods. We buy our honey containers from Richard’s Packaging or Ampak. Sometimes club members coordinate the pickup of those supplies. It takes effort to separate the honey from the wax. Some beekeepers use solar melters. You can take the cappings wax and put it into a large pot of water, and remove the wax when it cools. This process may need to be repeated many times. 
5. If you don’t want to do the wax processing, you can give it to other members to do that. We make candles and beeswax wraps. Making candles can involve purchasing molds, or just using a cardboard milk carton, or other shape to make your own candles. It’s important to do some research about wick sizes. Wicks & Wax in Burnaby ( sells wicking, as well as. I purchased silicone molds online, but am disappointed with their sturdiness, as they have lost shape and stability. I make beeswax wraps from wax and cotton material.