I just finished extracting and am pondering next year’s foundation choices.
We had a fair to poor honey flow – good for two weeks and then it just
stopped – so I had issues getting foundation drawn. I am not a fan of
plastic frames ........
I use, and like, Plasticell foundation that I got from Rossman Apiaries ( http://www.gabees.com/store/index.php?cPath=29&osCsid=6c55140415cda8083df633d8bd72f53f ) and use it in conjunction with slotted end bar frames I get from Walter T Kelley ( http://kelleybees.com/CMS/CMSPage.aspx?OrganizationId=3&pageName=productDetail&productId=6567|ProductGroup ). Just got through extracting honey from my hives and the hives of one of my beekeeping friends. He had some frames of wired, wax foundation. Even taking care with the extraction, we had one or two blowouts with his wax foundation frames. This was the first year they were extracted so the comb was "tender". I know after repeated extractions, the comb gets tougher and can be handled more roughly. But.... with my Plasticell foundation I didn't have to worry about any extraction problems at all. If you really want to help the bees when using Plasticell roll an extra coating of beeswax onto
the foundation. With that extra coating the bees don't have to add very much wax at all to draw it out for honey storage.
Mike in LA
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