Dave Meldrum asked:

> Is there a rule of thumb about when a frame can be
> harvested?  How do you know if the moisture is OK?

Dave

Sorry if my reply was a little sharp.  You hold the frame horizontally and
give it a shake - fairly hard, but not so much that the comb falls out.  If
no drops of honey come out then the moisture content will be fine.  In fact,
even if a small amount come out of some frames then this will make little
difference when mixed into a quantity of honey.

If you want to be sure, then buy a refractometer (get one that is calibrated
for water in honey).  You can then take samples from combs and also from
your honey after extraction.  You will quickly learn to judge what you can
or cannot do.

We usually extract large quantites of uncapped honey from oilseed rape; if
we waited until it was capped then most of it would granulate in the comb
before we could extract it.  Water content averages 17.5% most years.

Peter Edwards
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