Reddy Charlton’s Honey Harvest

Our latest update from the Reddy Charlton beehive: jarring the honey.

Our bees have been most industrious all summer producing an impressive crop supported by the flowers, canals and gardens of Dublin 2.  In fact, the hive in Fitzwilliam Place produced more honey by far than any other of Paul’s hives.  He may be seen in the short clip below enjoying the pleasurable task of jarring our Rooftop Crop.  There is no fancy bottling plant – all is done by hand.

The bees are now readying the colony for the winter.  The bees need to have stores that will support them until the warmer weather in the spring comes again.  The unfortunate drones, having fulfilled their purpose during the summer, are excluded from the hive and die in the cold.

There is still pollen and nectar to be gathered on goods days.  But when the weather gets colder, the bees gather into a cluster to maintain a liveable temperature, with bees on the outside doing duty for a period in the chill, before being rotated by others.

Our beekeepers, Paul, Elaine and Kevin will make sure the hive is insulated and dry and hope that next year we will have an equally good year and news to share with you.