Other than the number of hives, your experience last year mirrors most of us
in Maine. This year is great.

Your setup also mirrors mine- back of a field, E-W, good southern sun but a
forest for a windbreak behind the hives. I do not wrap. Instead of shims I
have a homasoate board over the inner cover with a notch, so it adds to
ventilation and soaks up moisture. Also I have solid bottom boards. Tried
the screens and did not see any advantage.

I still think Allen's comment on honey type may be the best answer.

I use George Imire's method of harvesting in late July early August, putting
a slotless inner cover over the deeps and then putting the extracted supers
back on. The bees seem to fill the lower boxes until fall honey arrives and
the upper boxes are mostly dark honey, aster, goldenrod and anything else,
including honeydew. In late September I extract it and usually get another
20-40 lbs of excellent tasting honey. But it granulates quickly. I can have
summer honey stay liquid until the next fall while the fall honey is solid a
few weeks after extraction.

This method works for me in my area mostly becasue of the near proximity of
a pine forest and lots of goldenrod and aster close by the hives. Before I
used George's method my bees had lots of problems with dysentery because of
the honeydew and granualted honey. Since then, zero problems.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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