Harvesting the Spring Flow
Arbeiten am Bienenstand
Harvesting is done when the honey is ripe, not by the calendar.
Harvesting is done when the honey is ripe, not by the calendar. Ripe means: the combs are at least two-thirds capped, and the shake test no longer shows droplets flying out. The refractometer gives certainty. By law, at most 20 percent water is allowed; for Real German Honey in the German Beekeepers' Association's jar, less than 18 percent; and honey is only truly stable in storage below about 17.5 percent.
The best time to harvest is late morning in good flying weather. The bees are removed from the combs with a bee brush or a clearing board, the boxes are covered bee-tight, and taken quickly to the extracting room.
Rapeseed honey must not stay in the comb: it crystallizes within a few days and can then no longer be extracted. Here, without exception: harvest as soon as the honey is ripe, do not wait for the next nectar flow.