Entrepreneurs

The usual October ivy flow is on here in our hedged landscape - air temperature (shade) in my apiary is 11.5C. There is massive activity, with just about every returning bee heavy with ivy pollen loads. Probably the super (no frames) I keep under my national brood boxes (to help reduce wind effects) is filling with honey (hives were fed in September and have loads of non-ivy stores). Last year when I put supers with drawn frames on top of my hives during the ivy flow, I got more honey than I harvested during the Summer.

Surely, there is scope for a budding entrepreneur to capitalise on the bee-productive mild autumns of western Ireland and Scotland to develop a process for harvesting and marketing ivy honey, despite the awkward time of year, rapid crystallisation and "acquired" taste issues?

Hi Alan
somebody would like ivy honey
I don't like heather honey myself
so it takes all sorts

Same here Alan. Colonies were really busy bringing in pollen yesterday and it hit 14c in the afternoon.
Ivy honey granulates even quicker than oilseed rape.
I extracted a couple of supers of it a few years back and it really needs to be taken straight to the extractor.
If nothing else it reduces the sugar bill.
Another problem is that if you fed colonies syrup in September this will get moved up and mixed with the ivy honey.

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Originally Posted by Jon

Another problem is that if you fed colonies syrup in September this will get moved up and mixed with the ivy honey.

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If you're lucky as it'll improve the flavour.

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Originally Posted by Jon

Ivy honey granulates even quicker than oilseed rape ........ and it really needs to be taken straight to the extractor.

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Yes - last year I got about 40 lb from two hives (one super each). The supers were on for just a week to ten days at flow, then I extracted leaving another 40 lb on the frames. Some of this I let the bees clean up in the spring. The rest I cut out of the frames (another drawback) and heated over water on a wood-burning stove. It stayed clear for about two weeks then gradually formed large crystal-clumps.

- and for DR: Most of the few people I know who do like ivy honey take it in porridge - this is how I have it. My rapid breakfast recipe is: porridge and milk in the microwave, when cooked, I add frozen blackcurrents to cool it and defrost, then stir in a couple of honey dollops to make the blackcurrents palatable....mmmmm.
Is this canny? - or what?

Canny indeed - and appealing to this porridge enthusiast. Chris Slade of Dorset was a regular on the Irish Beekeeping List. Catch him on the BBKA Facebook page these days. Chris used to (and perhaps still does) harvest wild comb ivy honey, break it into pieces (once solid) and dip it in chocolate. A sort of medicinal tasting Kendal Mint Cake.

I live near masses of ivy (both species/subspecies) on south facing slopes. Don't have any bees nearby and have missed the chance for this year but perhaps I'll try one next year.

I will have to have porridge with honey and fruit tomorrow morning :)

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Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger

I will have to have porridge with honey and fruit tomorrow morning :)

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I have it every morning, even better now with my own honey yum yum ;)

I used to play chess with a Canadian beekeeper and he sold flavoured honeys including chocolate.
Apparently they were big sellers