{"id":1041,"date":"2026-08-02T17:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T17:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romseybeekeepers.com\/?p=1041"},"modified":"2026-08-02T17:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T17:19:14","slug":"the-honey-harvest-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/romseybeekeepers.com\/?p=1041","title":{"rendered":"The honey harvest 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s been a strange year. Beekeepers say that every year but 2026 has already broken records by starting exceptionally wet and then having a prolonged heatwave through July coupled with almost no rainfall whatsoever. Plants stopped yielding nectar, but hopefully the bees found enough to be getting on with in fields of borage and phacelia, parks and gardens that have drought-resistant plants, woodlands and verges that have been left to evolve as nature sees fit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s time to take a step back from detailed hive inspections, although it’s wise to keep watch. Wasps and robbing bees are aways a threat at this time, especially if a colony is somewhat small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can check the Varroa load by means recommended by the National Bee Unit,<\/a> then take appropriate action to make sure it’s at a level that the bees can cope with. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Hopefully all our members have harvested any surplus honey by now, leaving the bees more than enough for their needs and bearing in mind that there is a dearth of nectar. This is when the sticky work begins and – hopefully – we can see a reward for our work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first honey that a newcomer to beekeeping harvests is amazing. Natural honey is distinctive: sweet, but also very complex with the unique combination of enzymes, minerals and elements that originated in the mix of nectars and was enhanced by the worker bees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey from hive to jar is a slow process and hygiene is paramount at all stages. We spin honey from its comb using a centrifuge (or we can scrape it) before letting it run through a coarse then finer sieve to remove lumps of wax and the larger, gritty pollen grains. It’s allowed to settle in an airtight container so that air bubbles can rise through the viscous liquid (that can take a while!). Finally, we warm it ever-so-gently until it’s just runny enough to put into clean jars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t forget that the Honey Show season is almost here. Members: Please visit our honey show page<\/a> to check which classes you will be entering this year. Be proud of your bees’ work!<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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It’s been a strange year. Beekeepers say that every year but 2026 has already broken records by starting exceptionally wet and then having a prolonged heatwave through July coupled with almost no rainfall whatsoever. Plants stopped yielding nectar, but hopefully the bees found enough to be getting on with in fields of borage and phacelia,… Read More »The honey harvest 2026<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-training-for-beekeepers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t