Perhaps I'm being too optimisitc, but I've been researching honey extraction techniques in the hope that my hive will produce at least a little surplus honey.
It looks like there are essentially two ways for me to extract honey:
1) The crush and strain method. This is pretty much what it sounds like. You take the honeycomb, crush it up, and put it in a strainer. I found a great video of the process at:
http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2007/06/honey-harvest-crush-and-strain.html
Pros - Minimal equipment needed, easy to do.
Cons- You have to destroy the honeycomb (some people consider this a pro, since you can use the wax for candles, also some people think that it's more hygienic to use new honeycomb each year).
2) Mechanical extraction. For this you get your hands on a spinning extractor.
Pros - Preserves the honeycomb for next year, very easy and efficient.
Cons - You have to build, buy or borrow an extractor.
I don't want to buy an extractor, not sure I have time to build one, and I've decided to not bother to rent one from my beekeeping club (I think it'll be more fun to have a method where I can do my harvesting whenever).
So that leaves the crush and strain method. Not much in the way of equipment to gather, just a matter of getting the surplus honey. The weather has been great and the bees have been busy, so we'll see how things go.
-Paul
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