A few pics from the market we have been going to on Saturdays this Summer. The regular market ended in August, but they had a special "Fall Market" Saturday. There was actually very little fresh produce available. There were some tomatoes, okra, pumpkins, etc. A lot of craft vendors showed as well. We still had a good supply of honey for our booth.

I love trying raw honey from different parts of the USA. Would you ship to Tx?

BP...

Sell me some honey? My grandpa's is long gone. His was fairly dark blackcaps and wildflower. A couple quarts shipped to Montana.

I love the raw honey too. That's what really got me into beekeeping to start with. Now we have over 30 hives.

We do ship honey. Shipping usually runs around $12-$13 though. PM me and I will send a link to our web site. It has our contact info, and you can check the the different size jars we have available.

Thanks and TTT

My wife is getting into selling cut flowers. We spent a lot of Saturday mornings at the local market t his summer. I peddled some excess cukes and cantaloupe since we were already there. I'm not crazy about being there. I have lots of other things I'd rather be doing.

I'm honey ignorant. Why do you put the comb material in the jar?

We get lots of request for comb honey. Folks like to chew it like chewing gum.

Some of the appeal is nostalgic. Back in the day honey was usually harvested and sold in the comb, and that's the way they remember Dad's and Grandpa's honey.

Now most beekeepers cut the cap off the comb, extract the honey in an extractor (a big centrifuge), and reuse the comb. Reusing the comb saves the bees the trouble of rebuilding the comb, and increases our honey output. It takes several pounds of honey for the bees to produce one pound of comb. For this reason, and because of the extra labor involved, the comb honey is more expensive.

Here are some pics showing how we harvest honey:

Pulling the honey supers off of the hive:


Loading up the truck:


Capped comb straight from the honey super:


Removing the capping from the comb:



Loading the extractor:


Continued...

Spinning out the honey:



Through a strainer, and into the bucket for storage:

My son in law has bees now, we haven’t been given any honey yet!

Making me hungry.

Very nice.

That stainless equipment looks like something that might come with "financing available"..

Buy once, cry once. MAXANT makes top quality, made in the USA equipment at a surprisingly reasonable price. I also have two of their 16 gal. bottling tanks. Producing 160+ gal. of honey a year requires something more than a plastic, two frame, hand cranked extractor.

Beoceorl, thanks for posting this. Very interesting pictures. From what I understand, honey never goes bad. Is that right?

As long as it is kept in a closed container. Honey in an open container can absorb enough moisture to allow fermentation. Otherwise, it will pretty much last forever. The sugar in honey will crystallize over time, but gentle warming (110-115 deg. F) will liquefy it.

Back when times were much tougher, I worked for one day as a temp extracting honey on a farm just west of Billings. That was back-breaking work!

Beoceorl, how long can honey be heated at those temps without degrading its quality?

As long as you keep the temps below 115 you can warm the honey for a couple of days or more. Usually it doesn't take that long to liquefy it. Temps over 115 will accelerate the breakdown of the Fructose into HMF. Temps above 122 def. F will start denaturing the proteins and enzymes in the honey. You also start driving off some of the essential oils and other volatiles that give the honey its flavor.

So keep the honey container closed, and the temps below 115 deg. F, and the honey will be fine.

No kidding!

Hang in there. I'll be boxing up your honey this afternoon.

Good to hear! Grandpa's looking down on this thread with full approval. The bees make the sweet goodness and the beekeeper shares the wealth!

Hey hey hey, look at this! No breaks or leaks. Sweet.

Daughter is wanting the bears and wife is digging into the dark Fall honey. I will have to wait a couple more weeks!

Thank you very much. It was a pleasure dealing with you. Appreciate the extras too...

Astounding. Love me some raw honey.

BONUS: If you don't want to say in public then PM me but how much would one of those quart(?) jars cost shipped? Or three of them little bears? Thanks!

Very cool. That comb honey sure looks good.

Beoceri,

thanks for sharing your hard work with us.

Down there in N AL, do you folks have to feed your bees over the winter? If not, do you leave a super on top for them?

I'm thinking about putting together a hive next spring, haven't had one in 18 years. Retirement will allow me to have the time to do it right. Will have to feed here most likely, or leave them lots of honey as we see temps well below zero every year (-26.5 this past winter)

I hope next year is profitable for you.

Geno

I always breathe a sigh of relief when those glass jars arrive intact. My wife carries one of the honey bears in her purse. It has just enough honey to sweeten a couple of cups of coffee or tea.

Enjoy!

I don't usually have to feed during the winter unless I have a hive that is really weak, or if I catch a late swarm. Its rare, but I have picked up swarms as late as September. I run double deeps on all my hives, so the bees usually have a deep body full, or near full, for winter feed.

It’s a good place to buy pecans

Thanks again! I had a surprise opportunity to spend last night at home and to try the dark Fall harvest. Very reminiscent of grandpa's wildflower honey from Oregon, with maybe a hint of citrus or something...

Highly recommend anyone that likes excellent honey to give Beoceorl a go. A GoodGuy with a great product of Mother Nature! If you missed it earlier, just pm him. I rather cover the shipping than buy from an unknown or commercial source anytime I can.


Buzzzzzz... .