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  • White Lupin (agricultural) Cattle feed crop

  • Bee's Need Flowers...… whats more to say?
Bee's Need Flowers...… whats more to say?
 #8208  by stechad
 12 Jul 2020, 16:24
NigelP wrote:
01 Jul 2020, 16:52
Sounds very promising.
I'm not sure what mine have been on recently, except probably hawthorn and recently bramble. But have taken a sample of hiney today to send to the National Honey survey....as always it will be interesting to see what they find in it.
Hmmm Might be worth getting mine tested when the lupin has finished, the farmer has said that the fields are buzzing with bees very early in the morning and I have looked at the flowers and they are nothing like the common lupin in that they are open at the side giving easy access for the bees. How much do they charge for honey testing?
 #8214  by NigelP
 13 Jul 2020, 07:45
It's free. Just apply for a sample pack
https://honey-monitoring.ac.uk/
They need honey sampled directly from the comb with wax, so leave at least one frame unextracted.
 #8220  by NigelP
 13 Jul 2020, 09:29
You may have to be slightly economical with the truth as they need samples from a hive that has remained in one spot for over a year.
But their finding are quite fascinating.
Here's the result of my last years summer blossom. Mainly Bramble, clover, Balsam and Alder......

Image
 #8221  by stechad
 13 Jul 2020, 10:23
NigelP wrote:
13 Jul 2020, 09:29
You may have to be slightly economical with the truth as they need samples from a hive that has remained in one spot for over a year.
Looks interesting, Hopefully it will give me a better idea if they are foraging the Lupin, there is so much of it that it should show up if they are visiting it and I will post the results once I have them later in the year.
 #8236  by nealh
 14 Jul 2020, 12:50
Make sure the samples are both the same from the same frame and has the wax also scraped off in to the tubes with the honey, if you only put in pure honey you wont get the results and the info will just be catalogued for future reference.
 #8254  by NigelP
 15 Jul 2020, 17:33
You do get the % water quite early.
I was astounded that my early spring honey was reading 16.5% moisture, something the center confirmed today with a later batch agreeing with my refractometer reading of 18%.
By the end of this year (or early next) I will have a nice database of what pollens are actually in m,y honeys from different times of the year. Something that will help me enormously to identify them down the microscope..
 #8256  by Steve 1972
 15 Jul 2020, 17:40
I thought my refractometor was playing up as most of my extracted runny spring honey is also reading in the low 16 %..i tested it with a jar from last year that was 18% and the refractometer still said 18% so it must be telling the truth.