Hit 300lbs more or less

[Michael Bush]

>>If you pulled 250 pounds then I'd say you hit 250>

>Getting technical are we MB?

Just trying to clarify terminology so we are all on the same page.  I count what I harvest, not what they made.

[Zoot]

Fair enough. My interest this year and in the upcoming seasons is to see how specific "non-traditional" beekeeping practices can enhance a colony's performance both in mite/disease resistance and in stores production. Honey harvvesting is simply a collateral benefit as far as I'm concerned but it is also an indicator of a hive's state. A queenright colony at it's peak should theoretically be producing it's maximum output of honey. Obviously, as an amatuer, I have few controls in place so will hope to observe results over numerous seasons.

[rdy-b]

 :)now you can buy your self that new radial extractor to help with that collateral benifit  thumbs up RDY-B 

[Zoot]

Nah, more like buy a new shirt or 2. Seriously, EVERYTHING I own has holes in it. I suspect I've taken the slightly shabby gentleman/farmer/artist thing a bit too far judging by the attitude here at home lately if you get my drift. As for an extractor I indulged myself last year to an Italian 9 frame radial which was an extravagance at the time but has been nice to have this year.

I extracted my first starter strip frames today and they held up nicely.

[Brian D. Bray]

Zoot,

You realize of course that what you're reporting supports the positions of Michael Bush and I have been promoting.  Conclusions, I might add, that both of us derived independently as I had never heard of MB (or Lusby, for that matter) before I joined this forum and I'm sure he had never heard of me.

I have developed a method of beekeeping that tries to utilize the bees natural tendencies as much as possible and then enhance certain areas (like ventilation and space) to take advantage of those natural tendencies.  You have proved that it works for somebody beside myself.  I'm interested in your results for next year.

[annette]

This is good to hear as I have been transitioning to starter strips, and was truly wondering how they would hold up in an extractor. So tell me more - did the combs totally stay together? Were you careful when you extracted these???Meaning did you slow down the speed???

thanks for the input
Annette

[Zoot]

Annette,

I just went at it as usual, cranked away as with any other frames. They do seem a bit more fragile than foundation but I had no problems. I made certain that each frame was secure in it's slot and they were fine. The advice here has been that they firm up steadily as the bees use them and this seems to have happened.


Brian,
Ditto on all of the above. Personally, I'm really not interested in being a "medicator". I'm not condemning it at all, it's simply that it's not how I want to keep bees. It's been interesting and satisfying to experiment and get positive initital results. I am deeply indebted to you and Michael and the other adventurers here and elsewhere in my periphery who haven't been afraid to try new methods.