August 2013 Honey Harvest

Brushing Bees off Frames 2

I pretty much had 20 frames full of honey earlier this week when I checked on my girls!  Which by the way is super awesome!!!  I intended to buy another honey super (box) and frames to give more room for the bees to work on, but the woman at the bee store encouraged me to extract the honey instead and let them work on the same frames again increasing my honey harvest so I can pull more out in September.  They literally filled the top 10 frames in one month!  We’ll see what we get in another month and a half… I love beekeeping!

The process of extracting honey is just plain good old fashioned (fun) hard work!  I had help from my mom and a friend this year.  Those frames of honey can weigh 10 pounds each and with 10 frames in a box, well, I was grateful for the help!  Here are the basics of extracting honey.

Smoking Bees

The first step is to get all the equipment ready that is needed, including a smoker!  I light mine with burlap and small wood chips.  This produces a “cool” smoke.  It distracts the bees into thinking there is a fire so they gorge on honey and get ready to leave the hive.  Of course we aren’t there that long so they don’t fly away.  A few puffs at the entrances and the opening and they didn’t even know we were there… for the first part anyway.

!st Frame is always most difficult to get out

Once the top came off I pried the frames apart stuck together with propolis.  Getting the first frame out is always the most difficult.  I wouldn’t be able to do it without my hive tool!

1st Frame Out

Pulling out the first frame full of honey!

Brushing Bees off Frames

Brushing the bees gently with my bee brush… this is when they realized we were there!  A little more smoke and they were okay!  I needed to get all the bees off each frame and put them into an empty box with a cover so we could extract the honey without any potential problems with bees.

Inside the Honey Super

Here is a small look inside the honey super.  You can see there are no bottoms to the boxes so they can go all the way up and down the entire hive working where needed.

Decapping Honey

Once all the top frames were pulled out and placed into an empty box with a pan on the bottom to catch any loose honey we went into my husbands workshop and pulled them out one by one to remove any honey that had been capped with a hot capping knife.

Extracting Honey 2

The extractor is a large barrel that fits 3-4 frames in it and spins the honey to the outside.  It’s important to do this on a warm sunny day so the honey comes out easily.  This is a hand held crank so it took  quite a bit of muscle to get the job done.  Thanks to my mom, she did most of the hard work!

Extracting Honey 1

My sweet friend Angela helped this morning!  Couldn’t have done it without them!  They definitely took honey home with them!

Straining Honey

From the extractor we poured the honey into another spouted bucket lined with a small strainer net.  This caught any of the small pieces of wax and gave us beautiful smooth golden honey!

August 1st Honey Harvest 2013

We harvested a total of 22.5 pounds of natures medicine!  And we aren’t even finished yet!  Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Growing and Using Medicinal Herbs: St. John’s Wort

St. John's Wort Plant

St. John’s Wort is a sun-loving, hardy perennial, which prefers a more dry soil.  However, it isn’t too picky and will adapt in most places.  It grows best in zones 3-9 and prefers a Ph of 6 to 7, making it an ideal medicinal plant to grow in Utah.  There are many hybrid forms of St. John’s Wort that look pretty and provide pollen for honey bees, however, they do not hold the medicinal properties like the species H. perforatum.  When gathering the fresh flowers for use, make sure it is on a sunny day when the buds have just opened.  I usually go out every morning and the new ones that have just opened over night.  You can tell they are ready because they will leave a reddish purple stain on your fingers.   The optimum window for harvesting is usually mid June to the first of July.   Some say that the peak of harvest is on June 24th!  I have found that I can get a little more as I continue to pick the blossoms on a regular basis.  This is another great one to attract honey bees and other pollinators.

Medicinal Uses

  • St. John’s Wort can be very effective for treating mild depression, anxiety, stress, tension and nerve damage.  Like many herbs it needs to be used over a long period of time to feel the full effects, usually  2-3 weeks at a time.  It is known that the hyperforin found in the plant is an important constituent contributing to emotional stability by slowing the uptake of the “feel good” neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, allowing them to circulate longer in the body.  A word of caution to some who may become sensitive to the sun.  If this is the case discontinue using St. John’s Wort and soak in the vitamin D instead!
  • St. John’s Wort is also know to be an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral, which makes it useful for treating bacterial and viral infections like shingles and herpes.
  • St. John’s Wort red rich oil is made from the fresh flowers and is a very good remedy for trauma to the skin.  It can be applied topically to soothe and heal bruises, sprains, burns, and injuries of all kinds.  It also relieves pain and promotes healthy tissue repair.  I add garlic to my St, John’s Wort oil for earaches too!

 

St. John’s Wort Recipes

St. John's Wort and Garlic Oil

As I have gathered St. John’s Wort fresh flowers and buds every morning I have simply kept adding them to the oil.  Eventually it will turn a beautiful deep red.  This particular oil has garlic added to it.  Making it a great oil for earaches.  You can certainly make it just with St. John’s Wort too.  The best ratio between buds, flowers and leaves for the oil is to use 70% buds and 30% flowers and leaves.  Cover the flowers and buds with an inch or two of oil.  I like to use olive oil.  Set in a sunny window for 2-4 weeks.  The deeper the red color, the more powerful the medicinal properties will be.  When it’s ready strain and bottle.

To Use:

To use simply spread the oil over a burn, bruise, cut or other skin injury.  It can also be used with garlic for an ear oil helping with pain and infection. Use 2-3 drops 3-4x daily.

Another great oil can be made for a skin salve.  Use 1 part calendula flowers, 1 part comfrey leaves, 1 part St. John’s Wort leaf and flower.  Cover with olive oil by 1-2 inches and let steep for 2-4 weeks.  Strain and bottle.

For each cup of medicinal oil, use 1/4 cup beeswax to make a salve.  Heat the oil and beeswax together, until the wax is melted.  Be careful it is extremely hot!  Test to make sure it is the consistency you want, by taking a small spoon, dipping it into the mixture and then putting it into the freezer for a few minutes to see how it sets up.  If you want it softer, add more oil.  If you want a more firm salv,e add more beeswax.  It’s very simple.  Once it is the consistency you desire add it immediately to jars and keep in the refrigerator for storage.

 

St. John's Wort Tincture

St. John’s Wort tincture  can be made with either vegetable glycerin or an 80 or 100 proof alcohol like vodka.  I like to use vegetable glycerin for my family and the vodka for long term storage.  The glycerin tinctures last only 2-3 years.  Tinctures made with alcohol can last a very long time.   This picture shows the beautiful red medicinal properties being pulled out of the flowers within just a few hours from the alcohol.

 

St. John's Wort prep for tincture

Place freshly picked flowers and buds into a glass jar.  Fill with a 1:1 ratio of water and vegetable glycerin or straight vodka.  Cover with 1-2 inches of liquid and let steep on the counter for 2-4 weeks.  Strain and bottle.

To Use:

Use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon tincture twice daily for 3 weeks. Or alternately for 5 days on and 2 days off.  This is especially good for those who struggle with mild depression from the darker days in the winter that comes with the changes of the seasons.  Be sure to stay active and get as much sunshine as possible.  It can also be used for pain in the same way.

Beneficial Insect and Butterfly Loving Plants

Wegelia

I love to be in nature!  Whether I am in my own garden growing something beautiful and delicious or up hiking in the mountains I always feel a sense of peace!  Being in nature is my therapy to get me through the stress of life!   There is a spiritual side to nature that brings a feeling of reverence and thanksgiving for the Creator of all things as each multiplies and replenishes this earth.  Each insect, animal, shrub, plant and tree all have a purpose.   Some of those purposes include pollination of many plants.  In fact 60% of our food has to be pollinated by insects.  That’s a lot!  The honeybee is a big contributor to pollinating the food we eat.  Many honey bees have been dying off for reasons no one quite understands.   Recently there has been a great movement happening!  People are keeping honeybees in their own backyards in the cities and suburban communities!  I have been keeping bees for 2 years now and love it!  There is a lot to know and understand, but once I got the hang of it, it really has become very low maintenance and thoroughly enjoyable!  I plant lot’s of beneficial insect loving plants!  They not only beautify my yard and home, but also provide the necessary pollen and nectar for my bees as well as wild beneficial insects too!  Here are some I like to grow, both perennial and annual!

Bee balm

Bee balm is  from the mint family and is a perennial.  It’s not as invasive, but still can spread.  The flower is a a favorite to the humming bird and also edible for humans!  Try throwing a few blooms into a salad!

Green Onion in Bloom

Bees love onion blooms!  Onions that bloom the second season are great for saving seeds!  This honey bee was hard at work collecting pollen as I harvested my chamomile!

blue perrenial salvia

Blue Salvia is a beautiful June perennial.  Cut back the dead after it blooms and it will flower again!

yarrow

Yarrow attracts many types of beneficial insects and blooms all summer long!

Cosmos

Cosmos is an annual that self seeds very well!  It comes in many colors and both tall and short varieties.  Honeybees love this one too!

Echinacea

Echinacea is a perennial that gets bigger every year!  The leaves, flowers and roots can be harvested for medicinal purposes!

Blue Sage

Blue sage, an edible herb used for stuffing on Thanksgiving day at our house!  Can you see the honeybee?

English Thyme

Another favorite herb for both bees and humans, but especially bees if allowed to flower!

Horehound

This low growing perennial is covered in bees in the spring when it blooms!  It can also be used to make homemade cough syrup!

Lavender

Lavender is a favorite of honey bees.  So is Russian Sage, both look similar but I grow the lavender to harvest for myself!

ground cover 1

Wooly Thyme is a great perennial ground cover to help prevent weeds and the honeybees love it too!

Oange Zinnia

Zinnias come in all shapes, colors and sizes!  Many insects are attracted to this beautiful annual, like butterflies, honey bees and humming birds!

St. John's Wort

Honey bees are all over this beautiful perennial towards the end of June!  I’ll be harvesting some of my blooms for making a skin healing salve soon!

These are just a few  plants that benefit our much needed insects to do the hard work of pollination!  Other plants  not shown are Blue Beard, Butterfly Bush, Coreopsis, Black Eyed Susan (Rebekiah), Chrysanthemums, Yarrow, Red Clover and many more!  Grow your own beautiful plants to help the honey bees and our local farms and neighborhood gardens!

Early June Bloomers

Check out what’s blooming in my yard this week!

Blue Perennial Salvia

A Honey Bee favorite!  Blooms late spring early summer just before lavender!  Cut it back once it’s finished blooming to give it another chance to bloom a second time!

Daylilies

Day lilies add bright vibrant color to the garden blooming all summer long!

Jackmanni Clematis

This beautiful Clematis blooms all June long right by my back door!   Give it a big enough trellis to climb and you will see blooms everywhere!

Dianthus

A pretty vibrant pink perennial that grows low to the ground.  Great for borders and edges!

blue sage

Blue sage is another bee loving plant when in bloom!  This medium size perennial is beautiful and aromatic!

Chives

Another perennial herb that can be placed in the flower beds with it’s pretty purple blossoms!  Be sure to pluck off the flowers once they dry, unless you want to spread new chive plants all over for next year!

Corabell's

I love corabell’s!  Their long blossoms make for beautiful bursts of color in a spring bouquet!  The foliage is low growing with taller wispy blooms.  They do best in part sun/shade.

ground cover 1

My yard is filled with different kinds of water-wise perennial ground cover to keep the weeds at bay !  I love this one because the bees benefit too!  Just be sure to watch your step!

English Daisey's

These little plants create a nice border bursting with color all spring and early summer long!  They may even last a little longer in shadier spots!

Lavender

Some of my many lavender plants are getting ready to bloom and will be soon covered with honeybees!  I’ll be harvesting the blossoms for may purposes!

English Thyme

Thyme!  One of my favorite herbs!  The bees love this one too since I didn’t cut it back before it flowered!

Mock Orange

This lovely shrub can get up to 6 feet tall!  It is known for it’s lovely citrus scented blooms and sits on the east side of the workshop out in back!

Old Fashioned Rose

These old fashioned roses have a divine scent!  They also provide rose hips high in vitamin C after the blossoms produce!

Pin Cushion Flower

A dainty perennial that blooms all summer long!  Low to medium growing in height.

Pink Peony

One of many peonies in my garden!  This is the first one to bloom in my yard.  This year she had 24 blooms!

Salmon Pink Poppy

Have you seen a prettier Poppy?!  I need more of these!

Wegelia

Another bee loving shrub with blossoms I wish would last all summer long!

yarrow

Yarrow’s  bright and cheery flowers bloom all summer long!  Not only does it add color to the garden but it also has medicinal purposes too!  Look for my post on medicinal purposes for yarrow soon!