On Fri, 17 May 1996, Rick Grubbs wrote:
 
> I have heard a couple of different methods of supering. I have been told
> to wait till all of the frames are drawn completly then add another
> super, and some say to super when they have drawn 7 frames. Also is top
> or bottom suppering better?
>
 Hi Rick , Part of this is straight forward.Give the bees plenty of room
to dry and store honey. Now that is the bottem line. Some honey flows
come fast and short and some may go on for a month.It has been said ,
that there are pheromones in drawn out comb that will get the bees out
gathering honey faster then foundation or nothing.
 I have a rule, when I'm up in the mountains going after fireweed honey ,
I start with 3 supers on day 2.Day one is moving them up and thats an all
day job.Now the rest is up to Mother nature. If it gets warm - hot the
fireweed will flow like water.I have had a deep with foundation put on on
one sunday and went back on the next sunday and found it drawn out and
full, plus being capped.It is better in the spring to put more on than
less. Maybe that is just positive thinking, but it works for me.
 I do bottem supering most of the time. It is one of those , how many
hives your working and are you going fishing after your done.I bet some
expert can tell us , what is the best to relive congestion in the top of
the hive and which way it is easier for the bees to ripen the honey. (
dry it out to 18 % or less. Two years ago I did get a good flow of
fireweed that came in at 14,6 %. I had it judged at the Washington State
fair. I did get a first place with it and did not filter it at all.
 Your the beekeeper and over time,you will get to know how many supers to
start with.Maybe one if your just starting up a new hive.If your bees are
working hard give them room to dry the nectar.
 Best of Luck
  Roy