Just a thought but how much of this stuff gets into wax, has anyone looked at that ?
Just a thought but how much of this stuff gets into wax, has anyone looked at that ?
There was a lot of chatter about chemicals in wax 7 - 8 years ago, particularly in the 'States, I recall. There's not been much since but it is possible that residues can build up over time.
Stupid question time - first year beekeeper, I have managed to get to the ripe old age of 32 without being overly interested in ivy...! I'm not sure what it looks like when it is flowering, I think I have buds nearby which are nearly open but not quite, just north of Aberdeen, does this sound right?
Do we normally get much from ivy this far north? I feel like it might flower when the days are too cold for flying!?
Thanks
Jambo
The flowering heads are 2-3cm globes of small green flowers (2-3mm). When the flowers open you can see the yellow stamens. Here ivy starts to flower in Sept, continues during Oct and Nov and I have even seen a small number of flowers with pollen in December. My bees take it down massively when it is mild and not too windy and I take a crop towards the end of Oct when clustering starts and temperatures fall. Frames of honey are crystalised and need to be warmed in a metal container heated by a water-bath. When cool the set wax surface is taken off to access the honey.
This year flowering has been slow, with currently only about half the flowers open.
The honey has a strong taste - delicious in porridge. It sets in the jar within 2-3weeks, then gets progressively harder - warming jars during the winter lessens the strength of the taste.
Alan.
In the milder west perhaps you have a chance...see the reply from N. Ireland.....but here in Tayside we have NEVER seen any appreciable nectar from ivy in over 60 years. They do work it keenly on open days, and bring in a bit of dirty yellow pollen, but never seen a flow that would be anything more than a few drops. If you have it in an utter abundance and not many bees around you might have a chance. Gavin has reported significant flows near Dundee and at the same time we had bees about a mile away which were getting zilch.
Its feeding time, not honey time.
Never seen it flower by Aberdeen and to my knowledge never got anything from it.
Some ivy offering to flower here in the Borders but not a bee looking at it.
Not sure how far south one has to be to get a flow but its's somewhere between here and Leicestershire. I say that because that is where I have just moved from (after moving from the NE down to there) and I can say for sure the bees were working it there.
PH
Thanks Alan, C4U and PH.
Alan I think you're the first person I've seen posting anything positive about the taste of ivy honey
To clarify I wasn't very interested in it from a nectar point of view as I've fed them loads and have no desire for another crop, but they've had little pollen available to them since the end of August really and therefore I assume some ivy pollen would be useful.
I'll keep an eye on it - some decent-ish weather forecast for the rest of this week which might push it on. It is at the stage where the flower heads are expanded but the individual flowers are not open.
Ivy, if pure, goes rock hard in the comb, the only way i find is to melt the whole comb down in for example a cappings tray. It is an acquired taste, personally I like it and eat all I get with little side effects (others who know me might think differently I have heard people say it is the UK's equivalent to Manuka honey with claims of medical properties, true or not I can not say.
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009...fe%20Cycle.htm
A lot of ivy we see clambering over things will not be mature enough to flower so there might not be enough to get a crop of any kind
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...save-bees.html
http://highburywildlifegarden.org.uk...s/english-ivy/
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