Anybody like honey?

[haymon]

Please go to site and watch video.

Awesome, will revolutionize the industry for small or large production..

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-hive-honey-on-tap-directly-from-your-beehive

[moneysoon]

Thanks Haymon,

 

I have been looking at this. Maybe this summer I will try it out.

[Saintsfan]

Thank...

[haymon]

Any orders are nit shipping til December, plan ahead. :-)

[RodandStaff]

Not trying to be negative...but after reading an interesting article from a bee keeper in Nashville the author suggested that the habit of extracting the honey too early in the season stresses the bees and consequently the hive has more of a tendency to succumb to colony collapse. I'm not sure drawing honey like this won't have a negative effect. Bees need an adequate food source to ensure they don't stress out and lower their ability to ward off outside influences such as pesticides and mites. The gentleman in Nashville draws off his honey later in the season to be sure his bees don't have to struggle or get stressed due to lack of a food source. His numbers prove he's on to something...he has never lost a queen and his hive survival rate blows commercial growers out of the water. Bottom line...I just think this new method of extraction...though cool...should be carefully researched before it's fully embraced...IMO!

Edited March 1, 2015 by RodandStaff

[haymon]

Correct Bee keeping still needs to be followed, but when it's time to harvest, this will help.

Edited March 1, 2015 by haymon

[moneysoon]

So if I were to puchase a system, when would I be able to get my first batch of honey?

[Markinsa]

Going Against The Flow: Is The Flow Hive a Good Idea?

February 26, 2015 | Beekeeping, Gardening, Natural Beekeeping | 137 comments | Author:Kirsten Bradley

 

It’s fab, it’s new, and the honey flows straight into the jar. It’s so easy. But then, powdered instant potato is easy, too. Does that make it a good idea?

 

Despite my mission to focus on positivistic messages of change, at Milkwood we’ve got a charter of calling a spade a spade.

 

And to call yet another plastic beehive addition which does not benefit the bees but only the beekeeper… what it is.

 

We’ve seen a lot (like, a LOT) of media about the Flow Hive ™ in this last week and after a few hundred questions about what we think of it, we thought we’d spell it out.

 

The basic innards of the Flow Hive™ system seem to be sets of plastic half-built comb, which face each other, and which the bees then finish off and connect up, fill with honey, and cap.

 

Then, with a drumroll, when the beekeeper is ready, they turn a key, the two plastic hive foundations crack apart, the honey flows out down a channel and out a spout, into the jars provided below.

 

Is it good for the backyard beekeeper looking for a trophy moment? Heck yeah. The effect of the honey drizzling out looks great, and has caught imaginations world-wide.

 

SAVE THE BEES. Because anything (like, anything) that has to do with bees, or that uses bees, is good for the bees. Right?

 

Actually, no. Not so much.

 

Bees want to build their own wax comb. It’s part of the bee superoganism. The wax is literally built from their bodies.

 

The comb is the bee’s home, their communication system (which doesn’t work nearly as well if it’s made from plastic rather than bee-drawn wax, as discussed in Tautz), and functions as a central organ.

 

The comb is the bee’s womb – it’s where they raise their brood.

 

And given a choice, bees do not want a pre-built plastic womb, home or larder, any more than we would.

 

It’s the birthright of bees to build comb.

Natural wax comb, 100% bee-built, in a warré hive – the bees set their own cell size according to the season and the colony’s particular needs.

But that’s not all.

 

The other concern we have with this device is that it encourages + celebrates beekeeper-centric beekeeping, and infers that bee stewardship is totally easy. It’s all about the punchline.

 

Is it good for the bees? Who cares. We’ve got flowing honey.

 

Actually, this conversation is not just about the Flow Hive.

 

What we’re really talking about here is the wider, industrialised profit-driven approach to beekeeping (as exemplified by the langstroth hive design), which places production above ethics + long-term bee health.

 

Read More: http://www.milkwood.net/2015/02/26/going-flow-flow-hive-actually-good-idea/

[RodandStaff]

Mark...well said buddy!

[RodandStaff]

I'm not trying to "bee" a contrarian Haymon but as Marks article points out...honey bee's are in trouble right now and "anything" that doesn't improve their situation can actually be detrimental in the long run! I was working with some partners to develop another little known aspect of bee keeping, we were developing improved houses for "Native Bees" also known as "Mason Bees". The down side to our project...Mason Bees don't do honey...they are ferocious pollinators however and since pollination effect 1/3 of our food source that's pretty important! It takes 250 Mason Bees to pollinate an acre, where it takes 30,000 Honey Bees to do the same job. Mason Bees don't waste time on making honey...and one aspect of these Native Bees that delight gardeners...they don't have stingers!!! So why diversify with Mason Bees? One... they are better pollinators that don't sting, and two they are more resistant to disease and the pesticides that are plaquing the Honey Bee! That said...I'm waiting for the RV to sink some capital back into this business and get it up and running again without tempomentail partners! I don't think it needs to be restated how important bees are but I feel we need to really analize every aspect of the bee industry so we don't further endanger an already struggling species that is so important to our existence....IMO!

[haymon]

Well it just goes to show that excitement can take one in the wrong direction..... I wanted to have a hive but was not up for all the production work. Thought this would be nice.

[RodandStaff]

I hear ya Haymon...but wether it's gardening, raising small animals or bees...there is usually more involved than we initially imagine! ;o)

[Markinsa]

I also admit, I jumped on the hype.  I even sent the link to a friend of mine who has his own brand of honey.  Then I ran across a video and the article I posted above which opened my eyes.  It just goes to show, as with anything, to do your due diligence before reacting.

 

-

[haymon]

Pulling the trigger is so easy.... catching the bullet safely is not. LOL.

[RodandStaff]

That's a good one Haymon...I'm gonna have to remember that one!!!

[divemaster5734]

Well it just goes to show that excitement can take one in the wrong direction..... I wanted to have a hive but was not up for all the production work. Thought this would be nice.

 

Plus for that comment.

 

I got caught up in the pot thing.

Went to doc and got med pot card.

Built a top level greenhouse,( triple insulated including floor, graded site by hand using transit for level,  with insane environmental controls that I designed. one month of evenings and weekends with CO2 tanks, AC unit, Heaters,dehumidifier, power distribution, external monitoring system, etc)

Bought some of the best chems nutrients and sterile soil

 Total spent on greenhouse materials, $800

Spent another few month's every night mixing, watering, trimming, researching what to trim, how, why etc.( average of minimum 1 to 2 hours a night, every night)

electricity bill jumped additional $450 every 2 month from $150 to $600

Spent hours on my knees, using a portable microscope to determine exact time to harvest.

2 hours x 15 plants to harvest, including trimming to look like pictures on the internet.

Proudly carrying several 1 gallon bags of pot to a dispensary, complete with professional lab test results to prove THC characteristics.

Watched as owners tried not to wet themselves laughing, as I was not a licensed commercial grower, and they wouldn't touch it.

 

Was able to sell the greenhouse for nice profit, I really hope those folks know about the little recreation vs commercial grower thing.

[haymon]

Something's are a full time job...

I have just started realizing that I stick to my day job and pay for the rest.

[RodandStaff]

That's hilarious Dive!!! Sometimes ya just gotta laugh so ya don't cry!!! ;o)

[haymon]

Watch out for those profits going up in smoke........

Yep, thought of moving and doing the same. LoL.

Edited March 4, 2015 by haymon

[vietnam1969]

Interesting article haymon. Thanks 

Good one Divemaster. It appears all your long hours of research and hard work went up in smoke.  LOL