Richard wrote:
>I had 2 shallow supers full of
>last falls honey(probably goldenrod)that I have no use for.  I am using
>strictly mediums.  So, I decided to use some of this for practice and it
went
>well.  5 frames yielded about 16 pounds (10+ pints).
>Now what to do.  The honey is dark and strong.  Might be ok to bake with
but
>I wouldn't.  I thought about using these frames to feed in the spring but
if
>I give it back to the bees,  won't it make the rest of their honey strong.

Assuming the honey is from a colony known to be free of diseases (especially
AFB), why wait until next spring to feed it back to them?  Use it this fall.
That way they won't be storing it in frames of other, "more desirable" honey
and it won't get mixed.  Once you've pulled the last of your supers for
extracting at the end of the season, thin the honey with enough water to
create a thick syrup that you can use in your feeders.  Since it didn't
crystallized over the winter it should make good winter stores.  The one
thing you might want to take extra precautions with is to make sure your
feeding doesn't cause robbing (DON'T use a boardman entrance feeder!).  At
the end of the season, when the flows are winding down, honey bees are more
prone to rob.

Now, if the honey was heavily crystallized in the comb (which some Goldenrod
is likely to do), IMHO I would not feed it back to them in the fall as it
makes it more difficult for them to use (and they can use all the support we
can give them to make it through the winter).  Give it back to them in the
spring before the major flow, and they will use collected water to dissolve
it down.

>Is this honey that I need to dispose of.  I wouldn't want anyone to get any
>and be turned off on honey.

>Thanks
>Richard
>West Ky USA

The only honey I would dispose of is honey that is foul tasting AND was
collected from a colony with a contagious desease (like AFB), or ruined by
overheating (left-over from any wax rendering in a solar wax melter).  These
are not good for eating in my opinion (though I have heard of some people
that use solar wax-rendered honey left-overs for baking), and should not be
fed back to bees, either.

--David Scribner <[log in to unmask]> - Ballwin, MO, USA
  Niche on the Net! - <www.bigfoot.com/~dscribner>