Fondant fancies

[jenkinsbrynmair]

presumably you spin the top box with no great blow outs?

why should brood frames blow out? I can't recollect even one doing so - whether previously brooded (therefore a lot stronger) or virgin fresh comb.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Neither have I, which is why I'm keen to try it - and some of the frames I have are so old that the propolis lining is really reducing the diameter of the cell, plus I've colonies with chalkbrood that I'm determined to clean up, with a new queen in the spring and fresh comb was to go alongside that approach. Several other beekeepers have told me their shook swarms built up better for the summer flow and I've no reason to disbelieve them, I only get one crop from my home apiary and that's mostly heather so a slow build-up isn't necessarily a bad thing for me. I'm curious, though I know there's a bit of a backlash currently against shook-swarming - just like there is for and against AMM bees, I like to try different things before I decide if it's for me or not though - beekeeping is a very local thing I think and some of the combs in nearly all need replacing so was thinking that doing them all in one year would mean I knew where I was as, back issues allowing, I'm going to double my numbers next year as I've been obsessed with beekeeping since I started in 2015 - find it really helps with my mh and autism to enter bee-time and be outside with nature.

Have you thought of using demaree as a way to get new comb in the bottom box ?

 

[Rory Fields]

why should brood frames blow out? I can't recollect even one doing so - whether previously brooded (therefore a lot stronger) or virgin fresh comb.

I've never tried to extract brood frames yet, and I stupidly bought a load of wireless foundation when I bought it in bulk a few years ago to save money. I'm also mostly used to heather, which is obviously a scrape back to the foundation job in the main unless you've swing cages which I'm a long way off affording - got a couple of different looseners from Abelo but the smaller one certainly is more faff than it's worth. I also like using starter strips a la David Evans with two skewers for support- I'm doubtful they'd stand upto extracting without being heavily used for brood first

 

[Rory Fields]

Y

Have you thought of using demaree as a way to get new comb in the bottom box ?

Yes, but only this year's had sufficient a spring flow to make a demaree workable - ordinarily I'm just bimbling along until the heather harvest - I should make better use of my OSR out apiary for comb this spring. I find brood frames a bugger to uncap mind, especially ones that have been well propolised and well used