Harvesting Honey, Part 5 - Bottling

[MsBetterbegood]

Great Video Series. Thanks for posting. Where did you go to get the honey extracted?

[Nightjourney90210]

utterly facinating. Thanks for posting these five parts.



[cincinatus90]

"Sticky mess" Said by both husband and wife...

[Broden124]

You should make an updated video if you're still bee keeping. It would be good to see the progress you've made on your hives.

[jamal6421]

plz u watch my wild honey bees hunting videos.hazro honey part1,2,3,,,,....

[mkjredemption]

honey butter honey cakes honey in your doughnuts??? nah MAKE MEAD!!!!!

[XXUNDERCROSSXX]

honey on your veggies? why would you do that? veggies are so yummy on their own=].

[nasnmo]

Thank you for demonstrating honey extraction.

I imagine this process is considered raw and unheated as opposed to commercial honey which is heated and not raw.

[jkaeklolber]

how much does a batch of bees cost or a box?

i think that it might be cheaper building them wont they?

[newpotatohead]

@jkaeklolber - you can build one yourself if you are handy with woodworking. search for "Langstroth hive" to get an idea of the correct dimensions. The price of the bees varies, depending on where (and how) you get them...

[cali311soca]

It would be a lot less messy if you had a spigot at the bottom of that bucket.

[Xbigseekprox]

if you sell the 2 top boxes full whit honey how much should cost it?? and nice i subscribed ;)

[local1114]

do you sell them too? on ebay? :)

[newpotatohead]

@local1114 - maybe I should! check out raineshoneyfarm(dot)com . They sell their honey online and locally. I gave away all those little jars, and made mead with the rest...

[T0bb5]

how much honey (in oz) do you think you got out of just those 2 top boxes (or honey supers or whatever)?

[newpotatohead]

@T0bb5 - I'd guess about 320 oz...

[juute2]

How long can you store this honey?

[Riversland6544]

@juute2 honey never goes bad !!

[TamboresDeJaykub]

is this a hobby, or what you do for a living?

[newpotatohead]

@TamboresDeJaykub - beekeeping is something I wanted to do. these videos document some of that experience... It would be great to make a living this way - (hey) - thanks for the inspiration!!

[matcotech]

You guys are so awesome, I love your videos.

[newpotatohead]

@KOOLANCE720 - it's all gone now, sorry. try my friend's website raineshoneyfarm (dot) com . He probably has some honey available.

[DFD737]

You should title this, HARVESTING HONEY, CLUELESS ON HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY !

[newpotatohead]

@DFD737 - hahahaha! you are absolutely right. we had honey all over the place, but most of it ended up in the jars in the end. live and learn, I guess. Thanks for sharing..

[Alexmg123]

very professional! enjoyed the series. Best wishes

[cssbeast]

just watched the all these vids YUM! and AWESOME! eating honey on toast as i watched XD

[hmfmi]

Very informative... i thoroughly enjoyed this series.

Thanks for taking the time to document and post these vids

[wderwder]

Thank so much!

I guess I didn't really think about the fact that the bees probably don't seal their canned honey. :)

[wderwder]

Thank you so much for posting this series! I loved it and it helped me out so much. :)

I had two quick questions though if I may.

1 - Do you scrape off the wax after extraction or just put them back in the supers for the bees to refill?

2 - Did you seal the jars you put the honey in? If so, how?

Thanks so much! :)

[newpotatohead]

@wderwder - hi there! After extraction, I usually will put the super back on the hive for a day or two for the bees to clean out any remaining honey. Then, the empty supers go into indoor storage until the next season. About sealing the jars, there really is no need. Just a tight closure, so the honey doesn't leak out. It will not spoil, and is anti-septic in general. The only exception to this is if the water content is too high, but proper harvesting and storage techniques make this unlikely.

[ffincoree]

There is something special about a careful conciencious teacher. The wonderful videos and your narative have helped explain things so clearly.

Thank you very much

[imthefrogman]

thank you for posting this video. this has been very interesting.

do you sell the honey or just keep it for yourselfs?

[newpotatohead]

@imthefrogman - we haven't sold any honey, yet. Perhaps someday with a few more hives we could...

[perazh]

Honey is my staple food

I live on honey.

[newpotatohead]

@perazh - That's awesome!!!

[omfgomfg17]

That's so gross. *Puke*

[hydrohobbyist]

that honey looks clear, how do you get set honey?

[donttrustsnowmen]

Thanks for the videos,I enjoyed them.Anyone wishin to start beekeeping,buy new hives.Old hives can carry dieases/mites/hive beetles.I bought 2 old hives from a local beekeeper and they were sick n weak,they didnt produce honey and after 2 years and lots of wasted $ they died.I bought 4 new hives a package bees and got 75 pounds the first year having them.This is my third year,and waitin for another package of bees.The 4 last year lived through winter.Good luck.

[eapo254882]

awesome

From havest start to bottling

Seeing this video let me want to become a beekeeper, too.

[TheShells2]

how much is it to buy a bee hive and a bee suit

[newpotatohead]

Just checked Dadant, a big supplier. They are offering "starter kits", including "everything except the bees" from US$130-US$300, depending on the equipment supplied. The last time I looked, a package of bees was going for around US$60.00. If you can make friends w/ a local beekeeper, you may be able to get started for much less...

[mkirefu]

awesome videos i learned a lot thank you :-)

where do you get the bees from when you are starting how much do they cost?

what kind of honey did you make and how do you tell ?

[newpotatohead]

You are welcome! I purchased a "package" of bees through a beekeeper friend who was ordering them. You could get your bees through a mail-order (internet) beekeeping supply house, another beekeeper (your local Beekeeper's Association is a great source, if available). Mine cost me about a day's worth of labor in my friend's bee yards.

My honey is "Urban Floral", meaning it is made from whatever flowers the bees find in the neighborhood.

[chaserehn]

them bees worked hard as hell all year for that! Will you give them a jar? lol Im thinking about getting some bees. going to get a book soon but would like to know what you do with the wax. also do you ever clean out the (supers?) boxes you don't harvest or do the bees do that themselves?

[newpotatohead]

The honey I left in the hive gets used by the bees, and I will supplement their food supply with sugar syrup (since I greedily took their honey!).

I melted the wax cappings (from extraction) in a coffee can on the stove. The clean wax I poured off in to a plastic container. Also, I have been saving bits of burr comb to melt down. When I get enough wax, I will try my hand at candlemaking.

[billpeart]

i strained some honey into a jar a few days ago. I scraped the wax off the top, but i have two distinct colors. the top is a brown, and the bottom is a yellow. are these impurities? if so, almost half of my 12oz jar is brown!

[newpotatohead]

Not sure exactly. That could be tiny bits of propolis and wax which fell through your strainer. Maybe it will settle out, or you could try a finer strainer.. Congrats on your honey harvest!!

[TheDouglasFarm]

It is kind of a sticky situation isn't it! lol

Where do you get your jars from?

Thanks:)

Lisa

[newpotatohead]

We used jelly jars from the supermarket. Beekeeping supply houses (Dadant, Betterbee, etc.) also sell honey containers.

[fortheswarm1]

How much money could you make from that load of honey ?

[vinnyc73]

Excellent videos. Great detail and you covered all the main steps involved. Surprisingly simple to harvest your own delicious & organic honey .

You've satisfied my curiosity. Nice work!!!

[newpotatohead]

Thank you!

[plowboy20002007]

if you have a honey gate at the bucket it will be easyer to bottle. you just put the jar under gate and open it. you will not get everything as sticky. have you ever tried makeing cut comb honey or chunk honey?

[newpotatohead]

yep, the escape board works perfectly for the home beekeeper! the year before, I didn't use one, and the bees followed me into my house...

[curiousbastard]

Thanks for posting these videos. I was always curious how beekeepers extracted honey without bees coming to defend their property.

[newpotatohead]

That's great to hear, thanks! Good luck getting started; if you can meet a few fellow beekeepers, chances are good you will be on your way before you know it!

[bluegrasshoppa]

I really enjoyed that, thanks for taking the time to put this up. If I wanted to get started in making honey, how much would it cost me for a basic set up?

[newpotatohead]

thanks - I believe you could get a decent "Everything except the Bees" kit from a mail order house for around $150. But I bet you could get started for far less than that if you can find a beekeeper or two in your area. See if a search for "Beekeeper Association" turns up anything in your area. Good Luck!!

[XxFLUxX]

awesome vids man, hope farming goes well :D

[newpotatohead]

thanks!! Spring is coming...

[AKHP35]

Thank you so much for taking the time and making the effort to put this series together. I just took a beginning beekeeping course and have ordered my first package. The course didn't really deal with the harvesting part, however, so this was very nice to watch!

[newpotatohead]

You are most welcome! It is gratifying to hear that this series was helpful to you. Congratulations on ordering your first package!! Let me know how it goes...

[EbolaV1rus]

Wonderful series, I really enjoyed it! I especially love the little house your beehive is in! What a fantastic idea!

[newpotatohead]

Thanks! That little house was a play house the former owner of my house left behind. I moved the bees into it to keep them out of the cold, and to keep them out of sight. It seems to be ideal for them...

[ccoasterdesigner]

Get a nozzle on the bucket and pour it out into the bottles. It will be less sticky and it will be easier.

[newpotatohead]

yeah, it was all I could do to keep the whole operation from becoming a sticky mess. Next time, I will do just that!

[dabedouin58]

Fantastic series! I will definitely watch it again.

[newpotatohead]

Thanks! I am glad you liked them.

[neogeo328]

Great videos. They were informative and...hm...it kept you watching. Lol.