Friday, September 11, 2009

Crisco-covered file folders

Crisco-slathered file folder put on a cookie sheet and shoved under the screen-bottom board of each hive this morning. Remove tomorrow (24 hours later), and must attempt to catch up with the YBKeep to count the varroa mites and estimate the burden. If this remains as low as we've experienced this summer, we can leave the honey supers on for another week for capping; remove Saturday, 19 September or Sunday, 20 September depending on whether the goldenrod bloom is close to finished, take off the honey supers, process the capped honey, treat the hives for varroa mites; next step, when the weather gets cool, lift the brood boxes and remove the screen bottom boards, examine the brood frames for stored honey and pollen; reduce the entrances; finally, before the real cool weather, wrap the hives, which will nevertheless need openings top and bottom so humidity can escape, and the bees can emerge on warm winter days, to relieve themselves.

Question for an expert: what happens to the uncapped honey in the honey supers? Do we freeze this? Or put these out in front of the hives, so the nectar can be finished into honey and can be stored in the brood boxes?

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