Honey and Maple Syrup

[Whisky]

I’m going to be tapping some of the maple trees here at my house and I’ve got a couple of Bee Hives I’m going to get going probably mid-May. Anyone here keep bees or make maple syrup?

The trees I’ll probably tap in a few weeks, although the weather should be perfect starting next week so I may do it earlier than I had anticipated.

Nucs are ordered for the hives, just have to wait until they’re ready to go. Around here in the Indy area that’s usually mid May.

More to come.

 

[Eric_75]

I'll be following this thread, Adam. Have a great weekend, sir.

 

[Old Hippie]

Langstroth Deep? Coffin Hive? Whatcha runnin'?

We found that letting them make their own comb instead of providing foundation led to slightly smaller cells, about a day shorter incubation time, and much higher resistance to pests. You'll be in the hives quite often if you do that, making sure they're "colouring inside the lines" but it was worth it.

Around here we have trouble with the cold -- most of the time it's not too bad but we get Arctic outflows that just crush the hives even with insulation and supplemental heat. We've thought we'd like to keep on with the bees, but losing the herd like that takes a lot of the fun out of it. There are plenty of beekeepers in more protected areas locally, so we support their efforts.

O.H.

 

[Whisky]

Langstroth Deep? Coffin Hive? Whatcha runnin'?

We found that letting them make their own comb instead of providing foundation led to slightly smaller cells, about a day shorter incubation time, and much higher resistance to pests. You'll be in the hives quite often if you do that, making sure they're "colouring inside the lines" but it was worth it.

Around here we have trouble with the cold -- most of the time it's not too bad but we get Arctic outflows that just crush the hives even with insulation and supplemental heat. We've thought we'd like to keep on with the bees, but losing the herd like that takes a lot of the fun out of it. There are plenty of beekeepers in more protected areas locally, so we support their efforts.

O.H.

Starting off with Langstroth, two deeps for the hive bodies and mediums on top for honey supers. The idea of getting rid of all the plastic in the hives is very appealing so eventually I’ll learn to tie frames and let the bees go naturally. I also like the idea of the horizontal hives.

I’ve got a local place that sells Nucs with VSH (Varroa sensitive- Hygienic) queens, supposedly leads to “tidier” bees that keep the Varroa mites at bay. I’m also going to be dusting with powdered sugar so the bees clean each other and remove any mites they find while grooming.

I’m lucky that I’ve got a really active bee keeping club here and have some great mentors to bounce questions off of. We’ve got a power line easement that runs through our property so I’m going to place the hives southern facing with the tree line to the north. Hopefully that’ll create a decent wind block for the winter winds. I’m going to plant the easement with native wildflowers and clover to augment the blackberry brambles that grow wild there. I’m not sure I’ll get honey the first year, but really looking forward to some next year for sure.

 

[Whisky]

Around here we have trouble with the cold -- most of the time it's not too bad but we get Arctic outflows that just crush the hives even with insulation and supplemental heat.

We had some brutally cold temps for our area, lows in negative teens ands highs in the low single digits. The cold lasted about 10 days which is a long stretch for that kind of cold here. It hasn’t been warm enough for anyone to open their hives yet and check on them. Next week it’s supposed to be sunny with a few days in the 50’s. Everyone is anxiously waiting to see if any of the girls start flying out for potty breaks, if they’re flying assume the hive made it.

 

[Whisky]

Hives are painted, kind of. I gave brushes to my 4 and 6yr old. All we had on hand was old paint samples my wife has collected over the years. I’m going to clean the lines up a little and put on a second coat. Today I bought gloss red, yellow, and white. I’m going to let the kids loose again with hand prints etc in the brighter colors. The bees shouldn’t have any trouble spotting their hive.

 

[Whisky]

3 trees tapped. The sap is flowing, tastes like watered down simple syrup.

 

[Whisky]

First full day of good sap flow. I got almost 2 gallons of sap out of 3 trees. I’m going to need to break out the 5 gallon buckets sooner than I expected.

 

[Whisky]

So far I have about 7gallons of sap. We’re in for a decent warming spell the next 4-5 days before it gets back down to prime sap flow temps. I decided to go ahead and boil what I have so far so I don’t have to try and keep it refrigerated or frozen. Sap boiling

 

[luvmysuper]

Anyone here keep bees

@seabee1999

Roses are red,
Violets are purple,
Honey is sweet,
And so's Maple Surple

 

[seabee1999]

@seabee1999

Roses are red,
Violets are purple,
Honey is sweet,
And so's Maple Surple

Due to the passing of my dad and some other family drama, sadly, I won’t be minding bees this season. It’s a fun thing to do, hard work but quite rewarding in the end.

 

[Whisky]

7 gallons of sap boiled down to this. Finishing it in the house.

 

[luvmysuper]

Due to the passing of my dad and some other family drama, sadly, I won’t be minding bees this season. It’s a fun thing to do, hard work but quite rewarding in the end.

Just thought since you had done it, you might be a source if @Whisky had questions.

 

[Whisky]

Here’s what a day of boiling made. Started with probably 6-7 gallons of sap. This is probably 16oz of syrup. It’s very light but I was really worried about burning it. My candy thermometer said it was at 222f which is about 3 degrees higher than all the books say it should be. I’ll try for a darker syrup next time.



@seabee1999 and myself have a running PM on bees.

 

[seabee1999]

Here’s what a day of boiling made. Started with probably 6-7 gallons of sap. This is probably 16oz of syrup. It’s very light but I was really worried about burning it. My candy thermometer said it was at 222f which is about 3 degrees higher than all the books say it should be. I’ll try for a darker syrup next time.

View attachment 1792891

@seabee1999 and myself have a running PM on bees.

@luvmysuper

I’ve just never done the maple syrup. I’ll be following this thread though.

 

[Whisky]

I’m beginning to think what I have is concentrated Maple sap but not syrup. I’m going to test it with a hydrometer once the kids are asleep.

 

[DrStrange]

I am visiting friends at the moment.
They make and sell maple syrup.

Typically, they reduce the sap 40:1,
but that's for their typical 2% sap.
That seems to be about what you're doing.
They told me just now that last year they had 0.5 % sap,
so much more boiling.

Most folks get their ideas about what syrup is supposed to be like
from their experience with artificial syrup.
Real maple syrup is typically much more runny.

 

[Whisky]

I am visiting friends at the moment.
They make and sell maple syrup.

Typically, they reduce the sap 40:1,
but that's for their typical 2% sap.
That seems to be about what you're doing.
They told me just now that last year they had 0.5 % sap,
so much more boiling.

Most folks get their ideas about what syrup is supposed to be like
from their experience with artificial syrup.
Real maple syrup is typically much more runny.

A sap hydrometer is next on my list. My wife is already rolling her eyes at my new “hobby.” At least the season only last 2-3 weeks. I’ve got at least 15 more maple trees on my property I can tap, so I’ll probably go a little bigger next year and finish some of the syrup over a fire.

 

[DrStrange]

A sap hydrometer is next on my list. My wife is already rolling her eyes at my new “hobby.” At least the season only last 2-3 weeks. I’ve got at least 15 more maple trees on my property I can tap, so I’ll probably go a little bigger next year and finish some of the syrup over a fire.

This is them:

 

[Whisky]

This is them:

That’s quite a set up. I’m not going to try and sell anything. It’s mainly for personal use and to give as gifts.

I tested my syrup with a hydrometer and it’s actually heavy, so more concentrated than I thought it would be. That’s better than light syrup as far as I’m concerned.