Obviously, the production chart at the bottom of the page indicates, notwithstanding my complaints, that we had a positive year at the Farm (better than state average, even with the hives lost to pesticides). Our best hive, which was about equal to the one that was poisoned, was the champion: four full supers of surplus from the spring. The late Mr. Jim Herndon (Florida Apiary Inspector) would have described this hive as "boiling over" (right, taken June 03, 2012). Just seconds after pushing the bees down with smoke, they would re-emerge from the brood nest and cover the top bars. I was exceedingly fortunate to have the few hours that Mr. Herndon and I spent together, and wish there could have been more--we shared an interest in gardening and I was enthralled with his accounts of beekeeping along the Apalachicola River in the old days. Regrettably, that was not to be as he succumbed to prostate cancer.

a

We are in our 14th straight year of bottling honey, and from time-to-time, we have also made cut comb, chunk, and creamed honey. None has ever spoiled. The key, of course, is to keep the water content low (honeys with a water content ≤18.6% qualify for U.S. Grade A and are considered safe). In other words, we have merely replicated the work of innumerable beekeepers around the world over the past few millennia. No bragging rights there. Notwithstanding, I am always concerned about moisture, living as we do in the very humid south. I hesitate, though, to make an extended comment. I do have a tendency to not let well enough alone (about my writing, Shuqiu Zhang--shown here (mid-late 90s) with our GSD Timber--once said, "You draw a good snake, but then don't stop without adding legs."). My writing has always had a tedious quality, I think, an effort to immunize myself against criticism over facts. In this regard, one Saturday morning stands out. I was working on a paper with my fourth and final academic mentor, Oliver Lowry, at his home in Ladue, MO. I presented with a paragraph of reservations, caveats, denials and doubts. After studying it for a moment, he looked at me and said, "You mean, in broad terms, . . . ." He had captured my lengthy convoluted construction in one brief sentence of small words and I immediately realized he was right. Looking back, I am further humbled to recall that I myself was by then an anonymous peer reviewer, receiving manuscripts from my senior colleague Joe Varner. I was not up to task, and, really, young reviewers should be mentored, too. I hope I improved in writing reviews over the years and regret any harm my earlier reviews might have caused authors. So, trying to learn from my mistakes, here I will stick with basic general notions, though a little unhappily and dismayed that I skip details (even conceptual concerns). Water deserves more, but for another day.

The basic observation is that bees fan dilute nectar, drying it hopefully until the osmotic potential is too negative for spoilage organisms to grow. Of course, water will only move from the nascent honey to the atmosphere if the event is spontaneous, i.e., ∆G˂0. Similarly, water can move from a moist atomosphere into the honey. An equilibrium chart is shown here (developed, I think, for 80F). In broad terms (thanks Dr. Lowry!), at RH<60%, the driving force will be for water to move from sufficiently dry honey to the air. Calculations of the rates of water movement into or from bulk honey would be prohibitively complicated and probably would provide little specific insight (e.g., the results would be different for thick frames than for thin frames). Suffice it to note that honey in ventilated supers can lose 1% moisture in 24 hours in a warm dry honey house³. There are two take-home messages for me. The first is, when possible, harvest the honey after a day or so of low dewpoints. As an example, I selected a harvest time when the forecast was for low dewpoints and high temperatures (chart below, from the NWS). In fact, the dewpoint reached 50F mid-day June 02 and was 60F (RH~40%) when I harvested 3-5 pm the following day. (For reference, a dewpoint of 70F is typical this time of year here.) Thus, the honey could not have gained moisture during harvest. And, I expect the honey lost moisture during the 36 or so hours before harvest (screened bottom boards and hive covers propped open for ventilation). Anyhow, selecting a period of low dewpoints to harvest won't hurt and might help. <continued>

I only have myself to blame when I do not take Nedra's advice. She was strongly in favor of my buying a motorized extractor, but, at the time, I was in my early 50s with yet abundant energy (and also more importantly, my high-anxiety personality goes into a tailspin if I frivously relieve myself of money). Times change, but the extractor is still not motorized (below left). After about 5 supers, it is definitely NAPTIME, which--in a way--is a reward in itself. The other image (below, right) depicts the first step in clarifying the honey, namely, straining through two stainless screens into a bucket. The second screen (not visible) is 500 μm and before bottling, the honey is strained again through a smaller synthetic mesh as shown earlier. We do not filter and remove pollen (indeed, recent Florida law makes it a crime to label a product as honey if pollen has been removed).

btw, the apron was a gift from Nedra, implying our shared interest in Southern Matters. The beautiful sign above the window was a gift of the William Outlaw family.

I close on two positive notes. First, people identify with and are identified by their hobbies, interests and passions. Beekeepers are hardly the exception. Second, most of my life has been spent creating intangible products, particularly research. As gratifying as that is, a hole is still left in my need to produce something of discernable immediate and tangible benefit. The honey chart below speaks to that need.

We hope you have enjoyed this note but emphasize that we don't hold ourselves out to the public as bee experts, just as backyard beekeepers.

Last edit: 2012-11-13