Honey Harvest

The day has finally come. Harvest day. the culmination of our efforts will present itself today. I think I may make it sound more dramatic than what it has to be, but it seriously is fun! It is extremely satisfying to extract your honey. That golden deliciousness is a nice perk of beekeeping! 

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In northern New Jersey, it is recommended to ensure that each hive has at least 60 lbs. of honey for over wintering. If a hive has surplus honey you may remove and extract it, but the main priority is the colony's overwintering success. 

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There are many methods to actually extract the honey. We invested in an electric honey extractor that can hold 8 frames at a time. The honey extractor uses centrifugal force to take the honey off of the frames while keeping the drawn honeycomb foundation intact. Before putting the frames in the extractor we had to uncap to honey. The uncapping method we used for 2022 was a serrated bread knife and a metal fork pick to puncture the caps of hard to reach corners. It was a very time consuming process, so we intend to try a roller pick next year.  Beekeeping is all about learning and trying new things!

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After starting in 2021 with just one beehive, it was truly the best feeling to be able to gift many friends and family a honeycomb shaped bottle of Tubbs O'Honey.