FlowHive: Our First Harvest!!!
Үй жануарлары мен аңдар
This was our very first Flow Hive harvest!
It took the bees one full month (June) to fill the flow frames with honey.
It took about 2 hours to harvest all honey. On a 90 degree F day.
We believe our honey was flowing so fast and overflowing due to it being such a hot day. So, if you are harvesting when it is over 90 degrees definitely only break open 1/3 of the frame at a time, otherwise you should be good to break open the entire whole frame at once.
We yielded about 3 1/2 gallons of honey, weighed at 45 pounds (excluding containers)
Пікірлер: 2 000
The folks complaining about you taking all the honey and not leaving any for the bees, don't understand how this works. That is what the other one or two boxes are for. You don't leave the flow super on during the winter. You all did a great job congrats. You don't get that kind of production without being great beekeepers
@HappyBearAcres
8 жыл бұрын
Thank you! It's nice to hear from someone who knows what's up :) we love our bees!!
@MikesManCave
5 жыл бұрын
Excellet, reading the comments I finally found a commenter with a brain. well done.
@johnchase4408
4 жыл бұрын
Yes. Absolutely Right!
@mrbuck5059
4 жыл бұрын
@@HappyBearAcres the people that complain are hypocrite liberals from the cities that learn from Democrat programs like common core. I'm a farmer in northern Minnesota by the way.
@stacyeandrew2
4 жыл бұрын
Can you tell me how you start one of these? If this only for professionals? Because I am NOT lol. I know you buy the hive and it’s like 800$ but how do you get bees in it? Do you just set it up in ur yard pour honey on it and hope bees come? We r wanting to start a garden as well and bees are great for gardens? Where does a newbie start?
you were meant to put that white board at the bottom 2:25 , in the slot above it so the honey didn't drip out, and the bees could clean it back up
@rhysmuir
7 жыл бұрын
I watched the FlowHive creator's tutorial on it and thats what they said to do. I don't understand the workings of it
@sweetfry
7 жыл бұрын
rhysmuir its so the bees have honey to feed on and collect and save for winter.
@edwarddougherty-youp2051
7 жыл бұрын
rhysmuir I was thinking the same because I came directly from that video and I personally think that they should learn how to properly use it even though they said they did a lot of research they clearly didn't do enough because of the fact they didn't put the board on the top notch and left it on the bottom
@Bullzeye211
7 жыл бұрын
rhysmuir .. from bottom to top with the honey catcher board .. may want to drain b4 too long .. yup .. then put it back after while...
@Vousie
7 жыл бұрын
That's great, but what about the honey going all through the hive, causing all that clean up in the first place? Not liking that at all. Bees can drown from having puddles of honey in their hive. If the Flow frames can't be made to not leak through the hive at all, then it's a very bad design. The normal method of harvesting honey is gonna disturb them a lot less than making them clean their entire hive of all that honey that you've just spilled everywhere.
you can tell the bees were ready to get back to work but the cells were full of honey. They make you honey and you make them happy to get back to work. Beautiful cycle - wish people could work together like that!
Still by far one of the best basic farming inventions; lovely harvest!
I have not read all 928 comments, the ones I have read have missed one important point. It takes the bees far more energy to make wax than honey. By not having to rebuild comb such as with a top bar hive or rebuild much of it with a langstroth hive they can produce more honey in a flow hive over a given season. Any time there is change people bad mouth it. Time will tell if this works or not. If the plastic holds up, If the bees prosper.
@aarontuplin
5 жыл бұрын
Bees don't recycle the wax from the caps, so that wax is tossed. The flow box is not any better for the bees in that regard.
@mikeries8549
5 жыл бұрын
There is no way to test the moisture content in the honey frame until you're committed to eating it all. I saw no refractometer in the video therefore I assume there's a chance that once in the jars it could ferment. There are flaws in the flow hive and I only described one.
@thecynic807
4 жыл бұрын
Im surprised the bees dont chew on the plastic. But this is a great invention. The price is way too much though and you have to assemble it. Ive seen video where screws were missing and the dove tails didn't line up.
@bodacious2276
4 жыл бұрын
Except that the bees clear out all of the old wax and re-cap when ready. How do you think they refill them if they are capped?lol
@PHIL5251
4 жыл бұрын
Mike Ries The bees evaporate the water from the honey naturally before it is ready , then capped
Your video is making it easier for the rest of us newbees! Amazing and fun to follow the many new beekeepers who are all learning together! And your patience with the people who haunt youtube with negative and ignorant comments is admirable! Thanks for posting!
Long live our divine creatures - bees. Super hive, just class! Thank you Flow, prosperity and success to you. Thank you for the video beekeepers!
Nice to see how other beekeepers work :)
I enjoyed this vid. When I start my homestead, I will be investing in one for my green house. Thank you.
you should get some sort of tax break when you have a bee hive like this. We need these bees. If more people had these, we might be helping the bee population.
@HappyBearAcres
7 жыл бұрын
As long as people dont abuse it I am inclined to agree with you. Bees are doing well and have had no problems. Its a new product so there is plenty of skepticism with no experience to back it up.
@mycrazyfamilyid
5 жыл бұрын
That would mean more government intervention, which we don't need...
@look4keith
4 жыл бұрын
@@mycrazyfamilyid That's a ludicrous claim. People get tax breaks for many things. In fact, you can get an agriculture exemption on your property if you are a beekeeper. There are acreage minimums, but it's the same with cattle.
@PleaseNoMoreFarmhouseDecor
4 жыл бұрын
@@look4keith the government needs to mind its own beeswax
@Makermook
4 жыл бұрын
@@shotgunsam23 -- Do you have any evidence for that? Bees dying in a flow hive?
I know that the bees are happy, because we saving the bees and our planet, all of you inspired me!
This is so awesome to watch, LOOK AT ALL THAT HONEY! Bees are amazing.
This video was so neat! Really satisfying! I can't wait to start a flow hive and try to bring back more of an awareness of bees and what they do for us. Your setup looks clean, organized, and natural to the bees. Way to go!
Beautiful, well done video...Loved the dog Too! Thank you!
Thank you for the video. I am just now looking into the honey process and regardless of the negative comments I really enjoyed and appreciate you taking the time to show me a little something about the process. Thanks again. Great job!!!
First time I heard of the frames overflowing aswell, good to know you should crack the frames 1/3 at a time at 5 minutes intervals ... also good to know each frame has a different taste ... great video.!
You're supposed to move the bottom board up to the top slot before harvesting. Keeps the drips inside and the bees will collect the honey off the floor.
I just love to see the delicious harvest, thank you. Our Beekeepers are my heroes...... gold2black.
Thanks for uploading I really enjoyed watching the whole process 😊❤
This is amazing!! I'll definitely be looking into this in the future when I finally have my own property!!
I'd like to hear all your pros, cons, tips, tricks and lessons learned after you go through your first season. I am a traditional beekeeper, but this is very interesting, and I especially like the fact of not disturbing the bees. I hope you will follow up.
*Wonderful invention.* This will help nature to be more pollinated and we can enjoy the sweet honey :-) I am happy they have found a productive hobby for their back yard !
@lanman758
6 жыл бұрын
epSos.de it doesn’t help pollinate.
@pompeii1275
5 жыл бұрын
Sure it does... encourages people to build hives. The more hives people build, means more pollination.
Thank you so much. I really have been wanting one of these. Nice to see someone doing it. 🐝💕
I am impressed!! Thanks for buying that and filming that, you are the first that has told me about why it overflowed, quite impressive. one guy said his did the first time, but he didn't seem to know why it didn't the next, he thought the bees sealed it up at the bottom, but I like opening a few and there by not letting it overflow.
You guys are so blessed, I enjoyed every moment of that video! Good stuff! :-) 🐝🐝🐝 I rate this video three Bees! 👍🍯🍯🍯
Thanks for sharing :) Getting some this spring. Here. We. Go!
Seen a few videos about flowhive over the years. Thoroughly enjoyed yours. Huge fan of flowhive.
Wow... you guys are great. Love the video and I can't wait to buy my own hive.
great video! We have a flow hive (here in Australia) and also had some honey leak down and through the hive. We found if you crack the frames in increments- it is not only easier to turn the handle- but if you wait 5 minutes between increments the flow is not so great- the tube doesn't fill entirely and less honey leaks. You could also place a few bits of wood under the front of the hive to increase the tilt towards the rear so the honey flows out faster. Also if you remove the coreflute bottom- and place a metal or plastic tray there you can catch the honey and put the tray in front of the hive for the bees to clean up once you are done. Happy Flow Hivnig!
@billiamc1969
8 жыл бұрын
Flow hive is junk...terrible investment!!!!
@sorrentinacoffee
8 жыл бұрын
ah- another flow hive hater. Good for you hater. Hate on! My mum got two complete flow hives- we did so well in our first half season- I just bought two more last week. This year I plan to set between 5 and 10 hives with flow frames. Wish me luck with my crap junk investment Mr know it all hater!
@psych0tic359
8 жыл бұрын
good for you! I hope you do well with your honey. I'm not really an expert on bees, but I am every interested in how honey harvesting works, and how bees themselves function. I wish you the best of luck with your hives, I hope the honey turns out great! :)
@OhhFuckYeh
7 жыл бұрын
personally i'd rather buy 2 - 3 producing hives than an empty flow hive that I then need to fill with bees
@trentasenzalode
7 жыл бұрын
BeeFriendlyApiary why?
My intuition was right on. The greatest invention in beekeeping ever
@merk8504
4 жыл бұрын
Was it worth 700 dollars for tho?
@escapetherace1943
3 жыл бұрын
until you get hard honey and realize getting it out of plastic is impossible without destroying the honey (very little heat will ruin honey's beneficial properties, like barely over our body temp).
Thank you for the video. This is something I would love to have one day
I was thinking of buying a flow hive and found this video very helpful thank you
This is soooo awesome guys! It makes me want to do my own.
This is an older video so I am going to assume that you learned from the few mistakes you made with your flowhive. The first being that you have to tip the hive back to extract your frames the second which is not your mistake but a glitch in the the design of the flow hive is that the very first harvest will result in some honey loss through the hive. As the bees build up and propalyze the flow frames this becomes a non issue with all subsequent harvests. Great video and fantastic harvest.
You just sold me on the flow hive. Thanks for a great video!
Extremely helpful info - thank you!
I was just curious as to how many harvests you can expect this season, when should you do your last harvest and how do you know how much honey to leave unharvested for the winter? Also, would you mind telling me which state you are in? Thanks!
You forgot to move the board up to the top space! Watch the video about harvesting from the people who make it
@sbdonlon
6 жыл бұрын
Joli Kelly they also forgot to make sure it was tilting forward as well
@KrishnaHurree
6 жыл бұрын
That was like the first Step to do from the FlowHive guys :X
@MikesManCave
5 жыл бұрын
@@sbdonlon It needs to tilt back not forward.
@maranathaafrica
5 жыл бұрын
@@MikesManCave where does one get all these instructions from, are they in the box from.the manufacturers,?
@MikesManCave
5 жыл бұрын
@@maranathaafrica Yes they are and there is plenty of videos on youtube that will show you how to do it.
i loved watching the dog in the background with the music...the honey was mesmerizing too
Awesome job. This makes me feel more confident about trying bee keeping
This video makes me so happy I can't even tell you. I would like to try beekeeping in the future and you both make it look so personally rewarding. Thank you for sharing.
Tilting the hive a couple of degrees will solve the overflow problem.
Thanks for posting this it is great. I have,been watching this product,since their kickstarter entry. Wanted to see someone use it in real world/real time. This is perfect! Looks like I will be ordering in the next,few months. Thanks again.
@psyched1231
4 жыл бұрын
I had a great harvest from my Flows this year. Since you're getting one, you might be interested in some ideas: kzread.info/dash/bejne/noqf26VmmZSxYM4.html
I just got done watching another flow hive video, and the guy said to move that drop slot to the upper slot before extracting the honey... I really love the design of this flow hive, and it dose not harm the bees at all, and you can get honey every year which to me is just awesome...
It's a learning process. They are doing no harm. This is like a fun hobby for most but a lifestyle for many.
That was totally awesome, you guys rock. My two favorite parts were when he says he's going to try opening part "like they suggest", and the bee rescue. Did she survive? Thanks for helping to dispel the naysayers.
My grandma in Mexico has bees and my cousin harvests the honey. I personally don't like honey but I've seen how it's harvested traditionally and hundreds of bees are killed. I love that it looks like no bees were harmed.
Wow that looks like at least 15 L honey from just one hive. Good job.! A efficiënt and easy must have for self sufficient people.
oh, and awesome video! i am so wanting to do this...
...you were supposed to take the bottom floor board and place it into the top slot prior to opening the honey flow...that would have kept the honey inside the hive so the bees could lick it back up...
@rjpena6273
5 жыл бұрын
@ResidentEvil302cuba rican215 You are right.
Awesome , thanks 4 showing to us!!
Definitely a great idea to have two deeps.....great work guys!
it's fantastic... I like honey so much
Man you gotta love You Tube.I've never seen or heard of "Flow hive" before. So cool!
@HappyBearAcres
8 жыл бұрын
It really is a cool invention, so much easier on the bees!
wow. just WOW. congratulations to you!!!
I've never seen this set up before. Very sweet!
2:31 Your tapered shim appears to be installed backwards, sloping the hive to the front. The tubes overflowed toward the front landing board.
This is so cool! Just starting to look into having bees. When should we order bees and get things set up?
excellent job! that was beautiful! keep up the good work
Wow I’m speechless great job y’all 🍯
this makes me wanna try bee keeping
@Makermook
3 жыл бұрын
@@LawrenceReitan -- Beekeeping isn't rocket science. There are intricacies, sure, but if you have a mentor and take the advice you're given, it's pretty easy to keep healthy bees.
@jonathanodell9507
3 жыл бұрын
Me too
@therealrobbdee672
3 жыл бұрын
@@Makermook are u a bee keeper then? I am interested in learning
@coachmatt216
2 жыл бұрын
It’s a lot of fun, but don’t use a flow hive. They don’t work as advertised and many people have tons of issues that nobody ever mentions. These paid KZreadrs don’t give you the entire story.
@coachmatt216
2 жыл бұрын
@@Makermook amen on getting a good mentor. Our local bee club has a mentorship program for new beekeepers. I don’t know one master beekeeper who would ever recommend a flow hive. They don’t work as advertised and the owners are con-artists.
There seems to be two schools of thought on these flow hives. Those who love them and those who hate them. No in between.
@jonny7491
4 жыл бұрын
Zoes Dada it’s like Vegemite “ you either love it or hate it” 😀
@andrewdobson8745
4 жыл бұрын
From those that have them, seems to be a large large love for them. For those who don't have them, you can safely discount those people's opinions
thank you for sharing the cool video and dont let negative people drag ya down your doing great.
I like it...it was interesting and fun!!!
3:50 that one bees 🐝 like “what’s going on back here?” 4:30 a bees supervising you two 😂
I want my own bees; so I can have my own army and take over the world!
thank you for posting this its fascinating!!!
Girl you are definitely the sweetest part of this video.
What I'd like to know is...how do the bees know that you drained those frames? If they have them all capped with wax, what tells them they need to refill them again?
@ROMEYYOUROCK
8 жыл бұрын
natural instinct
@Pwhisperer
8 жыл бұрын
+ROMEYYOUROCK I envision them peeking under the wax caps and finding all the cells empty, then standing around scratching their heads, shrugging their shoulders, trying to figure out where all that honey went.
@ROMEYYOUROCK
8 жыл бұрын
Jeffro Doe that too
@Abeaness
8 жыл бұрын
When you turn the key mechanism to start the flow, the cells split open so there will be a split in the wax cappings and when they go to repair it they will be able to see that it's empty and needs to be filled back up again.
@TreSneaky
7 жыл бұрын
In other of videos of people harvesting with this system they watch the bees a bit more and somehow all the bees near that frame instantly know the honey is vanishing and immediately start working to remove the caps.
Id like everyone to know that I see the amount of feedback I'm getting here warrants a response video. I will be posting a video in the next couple days with answers, and unfortunately defense as well, as I'm noticing a lot of aggressive ignorant comments. I would have posted sooner but I moved so I've been busy, but I'm glad I waited because I get new questions and criticisms daily!
@TheoSloat
8 жыл бұрын
Well when you get a negative comment put an English muffin in the toaster then put some honey on it and enjoy! Soon you will be looking forward to people getting upset about nothing.
@HappyBearAcres
8 жыл бұрын
+Theodore Sloat +Theodore Sloat I guess I just wish people had more sense and weren't so unnecessarily aggressive and negative. I know I know "can't fix stupid" but you CAN fix ignorance :) so I'm happy to enlighten those who are just that. Also...if I ate an English muffin every time I had a negative comment id lose my girlish figure lol
@TheoSloat
8 жыл бұрын
Hmm...for safety reasons then you better send the honey to me for you know "disposal"
@masterbeekeeper30years18
8 жыл бұрын
Some people get caught up in "hating" just because they think they should go against something they don't understand. Mark Twain quote "a man with a new idea is a fool, until that idea succeeds"... (';') stay awesome! Let the haters hate.
@12sin8
7 жыл бұрын
I'd see the negative comments or criticisms as a positive for bees... sadly there are going to be people who buy a flowhive and mistreat their bees due to ignorance and lack of education, and it takes videos like this and clarifications from yourself to demonstrate the right way to do things!
I really love this stuff it does very little or no harm to the bees... I hope everyone adopts this method of bee keeping....
@agentsmith8379
2 жыл бұрын
Old fashioned hive does no harm to the bees too. You just have to be a bit careful.
Gratz on the harvest
5:58 I see a black bear come out the woods looking for the honey 😆
@non-stickfryingpan6242
4 жыл бұрын
Luis Torres that’s there dog
@forrestaustin7050
4 жыл бұрын
@@non-stickfryingpan6242 wooosh
the day the bees gonna find out where all the honey goes... :>
As a non bee keeper I'm very impressed, and I love honey too.. Nice video
That is so cool to have your own bees !!
Now you can start your mead production :)
@kieranh2005
7 жыл бұрын
goagăl minus +1
Hi Happy Bear! Super video! Just a quick question, how often can you harvest the honey? What is the rough time fram. Thanks
@zigazalar599
Жыл бұрын
i think two to three times a season.
As a beekeeper thanks for posting. I've heard about this product for years it's nice to see it. Hat off to you for trying and posting it. Screw the other idiot comments, tell them to open a hive end of summer and commune with the bees (and get the living daylights stung out of you). I love our bees but they are the meanest SOB's on the planet in fall when you take excess honey away from them. Good job.
Very, very cool ! Thx so much !
Your hive is too crowded, it needs another honey super or else your bees will take off. I already have 5 honey supers on my strongest colonies.
@user-bo5vr1ib6i
8 жыл бұрын
Yeah
@samanthadobler7184
8 жыл бұрын
With Flow, you continuously harvest honey through the honey season, the bees continue to have new places to add honey- so it's never full. As long as you keep harvesting.
@japaneseaggression
8 жыл бұрын
still doesnt stop your bees from swarming.
@Daltonownzyoulol
8 жыл бұрын
the comment was saying about the population of the hive, not the honey storage :P
@samanthadobler7184
8 жыл бұрын
+Daltonownzyoulol we have the flow. we harvested twice this summer before replacing with regular frames so the bees could get ready to winter. we never had a swarm. 2 deeps,one flow and then 2 harvests of just the flow. then replaced with 10 frames. no swarm.
@happybearacres thank you for your explanation... when you accomplish your second review, could you explain anything else you've figured out. I noticed several comments included tips about bottom boards, incremental opening, etc. I'm new and trying to get all the info before buying... and it appears that all beekeeping care and expertise is still viable. So, is the setup as follows: two bottom langstroth boxes; one for the Queen and babies, and one for their honey stores with the Flowhive on top and the benefit being the ease, safety, and visibility of harvesting surplus honey. (@fredrickdunn also...) Thank you happybearacres and Fredrick-for your helpful reviews.
Wow amazing so much honey and easy collection 🤩👍
Somebody start a gofundme and get this poor girl a steady cam! Sidenote these taps significantly reduce the bees workload by providing a ready made comb and immensely reduces their stress and bee deaths at harvest time. Some traditionalists complain about anything that's new but I consider the idea the best honey super one can have. It just makes it so much easier for the bees, the ease for the keeper is only a bonus and a selling point.
I find this oddly satisfying, no clue why.
omg that looked soo good i just want to eat it all
that is an amazing amount of honey from one hive.
Thanks for the video!
do the bees try to sting you when collecting the honey?
@aurelia5776
5 жыл бұрын
Sarah walshaw no, the reason the flow hive was made we so you don’t disturb the bees.
Fascinating! how long did it take for the bees to fill all the frames ?
@alissameade-fields9615
2 жыл бұрын
The description box said a month.
@cesarjimenezsalazar9322
2 жыл бұрын
@@alissameade-fields9615 omg, thats pretty quick
Very cool!
Great job!!
That's the 1st video I've really seen by an actual user. Looks very interesting how it just pours out, how is the hive going?
@growingorganic5382
3 жыл бұрын
I would love to know how its held up and if you still recommend it years later. Do you have an update video?
Wow how long does it take to accumulate that amount of honey?
@christianterrill3503
7 жыл бұрын
read the description ya fuck
@BJEAKE
7 жыл бұрын
be nice
@saborguerito
6 жыл бұрын
@Happybearacres can you answer the question about time?
Fresh and natural. Amazing your video Mis.. Indonesia watching...
bloody hell great work!
I found out about this thing in a story on my final exams for english
I can dig the only major complaint being it overflows with honey.lol
Thank you for cutting to the chase and having your title match your content. I'm really tired of videos that have one or two minutes of intro that only they care about. Yours was straight to the subject at hand. Again -- thank you.
Not sure if anyone told you, but moving that bottom panel to the top slot before harvesting allows for the honey that comes out of the bottom to stay in the hive for the bees to reuse.