Honey Flow 2023
'Nectar of the Gods'
According to Greek mythology, Ambrosia and nectar were the staples of the gods’ diet.
Honey Flow 2023
Emerald Astronomy Observatory, Emerald Victoria
The Honey Flow is well underway. Here at Emerald 300m above sea level the temperatures are much colder than Melbourne suburbs, Up, here the bees get only one chance to collect enough honey for winter, this is the month of February. What a variation in honey type it is. In the first week of February our bees produced a light clover based honey. In the second week the honey is dark and has the strong flavour you expect of honey made from flowering eucalyptus trees. By using the FLOW super frame system each frame can be harvested individually allowing us to enjoy the different types of honey produced by the hive.
The Honey Flow
The last week of January has herlded the start of the Honey Flow here in Emerald Victoria for 2023.
February Week 1
Swallowtail hive was honey bound within six days. Harvesting 6kg of clover flavoured honey to free up storage space.
February Week 2
Week two resulted in Swallowtail replacing the harvest of week 1 with 6 kg of a dark strong flavoured honey reminiscent of Flowering Gum.
February Week 3
Grasshopper as well as Swallowtail are in full honey production with Ladybird not far behind.
February Week 4
Every five days we have harvested 3kg of honey from each hive, ensuring each hive has 15kg of honey stores left for the coming winter.
Honey Flow Calendar
The evidence that here in Emerald the Honey Flow is restricted to only 4 weeks in February. This graph shows the weight of Ladybird hive sitting fairly constant at just below 50kg for all of December and January. In February note the rapid weight increase of the hive by 20kg to a peak of 70 kg. The data also shows the end of the Honey Flow with rapid weight drop in the first week of March.
Data is collected from an electronic scale supplied by www.beehivemonitoring.com in Slovakia.
Honey Flow 2023
Our first honey harvest. We currently have three Flow hives, Swallowtail, Ladybird & Grasshopper on site at the Emerald Astronomy Observatory.
The honey flow took off the first week of February. Within one week Swallowtail hive had added 18kg of honey. By the end of the week we harvested 6kg (2 Flow super frames) to make room for more. This honey was light in colour with a hint of clover taste. At the end of the second week all six Flow super frames were full and we again harvested 6kg of Honey. This honey was darker and had a strong flavour characteristic of what you get in honey from flowering gums. Week three Swallowtail provides 3 kg of a strong Teatree (Manuka) honey and Grasshopper 3 kg of a delightful dark honey.
Each hive is making 3kg or more of honey per week. The advantage of the Flow hive system is that we can harvest each frame individually and that way enjoy the unique varieties of honey the bees bring in.
