As an avid beekeeper, I’m often asked how many times honey can be harvested in a single season from a beehive. Many people assume you only get one honey yield per year. But the truth is, in many areas, bees produce harvestable honey multiple times annually from different nectar flows. That said, honey production isn’t always consistent – the number of harvests and quantities gathered depends on several factors.
In my area, I aim to harvest honey twice per season typically – once in mid-summer after the spring bloom, and again in fall after late flowers. But heat, drought, or other issues can limit yields. Some years allow more frequent harvesting, while other times I choose not to take any honey at all to protect the colony. The key is managing hives sustainably rather than maximizing immediate harvests.
In this article, I’ll share insights on how often honey can realistically be gathered based on location, bloom periods, colony health, and good stewardship practices. The number of annual harvests certainly varies, but with experience a beekeeper learns to balance production and sustainability.
The Honey Flow
The key to understanding potential honey harvest frequency starts with the bees’ food source – flower nectar. Bees collect and process nectar from blossoms into honey. In most temperate climates, major nectar flows happen in spring and fall when certain plants are blooming.
For example, spring flowers like dandelions, apples, locusts, and clovers produce abundant food that bees convert to a harvestable honey surplus. Then after a summer dearth, fall-blooming plants like asters, goldenrod, and spanish needles yield another flow.
So typically here in the northeast, I get a larger spring honey flow followed by a smaller fall flow. The bees work hard gathering the seasonal nectar to store honey. As a beekeeper, I have to time my harvesting not to disrupt their natural honey production cycles from the blooms.
Spring Harvesting
Once the major spring nectar flow ends here in Vermont, usually in early June, I’ll do my first honey harvest of the season. The spring buildup stimulates the bees’ foraging and honey production, filling up their combs. When spring flowers like dandelions fade, I inspect the hives and take any excess, capped honey frames beyond what the colony needs.
As a responsible beekeeper, I’m very careful not to take too much – I always leave adequate stores for the bees to eat, at least 40-60 pounds. I never harvest honey that is not capped either. And I watch weather forecasts closely, leaving more honey if a dearth or drought is expected after the spring flow.
Spring is typically my biggest harvest each year if conditions cooperate. But I’m mindful to take only what the bees can spare after their hard work gathering nectar all spring – no beekeeper should be greedy when spring harvest time comes!
Midsummer Harvesting
In certain regions with ongoing summer nectar flows, beekeepers can do a second round of honey harvesting in midsummer. Where I live in Vermont, production typically drops off after spring. But in places like the Midwest where clover blooms all summer, surplus midsummer honey may be gathered.
When I lived in Illinois, the prolific clover provided tons of nectar that the bees turned into honey. I could harvest frames of capped clover honey in July after taking spring honey in June. The hives there yielded honey nearly nonstop from spring through summer.
But here in the northeast, I don’t usually get a midsummer harvest – our dearth lasts from June through August. That’s why it’s important to understand your local flows. If strong summer blooms exist, a second harvest may be possible, though the quantity won’t match the spring yield.
Late Summer/Fall Harvesting
Even if I don’t get a midsummer harvest here in Vermont, I often get to collect another round of honey in the fall from late-blooming flowers. Plants like goldenrod, asters, and spanish needles provide tons of forage in late summer through fall.
My bees work hard gathering and processing all that fall nectar. If the fall flow is strong, I’ll go into winter hives in early October and take some frames of capped fall honey if they have a sizable surplus beyond their winter needs.
The fall honey harvest is smaller than my main spring take, but still provides that seasonal variety that customers love. I let the bees keep the lion’s share for overwintering, just skimming a bit of the fall bounty. It takes watching the weather and being conservative, but fall allows many beekeepers to harvest at least twice yearly.
Overwintering Honey Reserves
One key factor limiting harvest frequency is making sure to leave enough honey reserves for the colony to survive winter. Here in chilly Vermont, bees need at least 60 pounds of stored honey to generate heat and energy to survive until spring blooms.
As a responsible, sustainable beekeeper, I never take ALL the honey, no matter how abundant the flow. Bees’ lives depend on having adequate food through long winters or periods of dearth. That often means even if the hives are bursting with honey, I must curb my harvesting to ensure their health.
It takes experience to get that balance right at each time of year. But it’s not worth risking the lives of my colonies for maximum personal harvest – I’d rather leave more honey with the bees than take too much and jeopardize their survival. Keeping colonies alive and robust year to year has to take priority over short-term yields.
Regional and Yearly Variations
It’s important to note that potential honey harvest frequency and quantities can vary significantly depending on region, climate, and changing weather patterns year to year. As a beekeeper for over 20 years spanning several states, I’ve experienced quite differing results.
For example, Georgia’s long, mild seasons and wealth of pollen sources allow nearly year-round harvesting – I could pull honey every few months when I lived there. But here in Vermont, winter lasts over 6 months with a limited fall flow. My yields are far lower.
Even in the same area, rainfall, temperatures, new development, and many factors affect the flows. Last year my spring harvest was double the previous because of abundant rain. As a beekeeper, flexibility and tracking each year’s unique conditions determines when and how much honey can be responsibly gathered.
Hive Strength and Health
As I’ve grown as a beekeeper, I’ve learned that strong, thriving hives yield far more excess honey for harvesting than weak ones. A colony bursting with 30,000-60,000 bees foraging at full capacity produces much bigger honey surpluses than a small, struggling hive.
My management practices all focus on sustaining maximum colony health and population size: proper mite treatments, supplemental feeding, disease prevention, young robust queens, etc. Keeping colonies very strong, especially headed into major flows, allows them to gather and store astonishing amounts of honey.
A weak, sickly hive may produce barely enough resources to sustain itself. But a huge hive overflowing with bees becomes a honey-producing powerhouse! As a beekeeper, I can harvest more frequently by first ensuring my hives are as robust, productive, and populous as possible going into each major nectar flow.
New Beekeepers Should Harvest Lightly
When friends new to beekeeping ask me how often they can harvest honey, I always encourage them to be very conservative starting out. It’s far better for novice beekeepers to leave the majority of honey with the bees those first few seasons and just do “practice” harvests.
Taking too much honey risks damaging new colonies. I suggest only harvesting extra frames once they really get a feel for the hive’s needs year-round. Don’t harvest at all the first year – leave it for the bees!
Light honey harvesting in a beekeeper’s early years allows them to make some mistakes without collapsing their hives. Removing too much honey is a common beginner error that can quickly lead to colony starvation. Caution and restraint is key when starting out.
By taking it slowly, new beekeepers learn proper harvesting techniques while their hives strengthen and stabilize. It’s a patient, gradual process every apiarist should follow in those crucial first years.
Consider Sustainable Practices
As a conscientious beekeeper, I always prioritize the long-term health of my hives over maximizing personal honey harvests. Taking too much honey, even if abundant, can tax bees’ reserves and make it harder to rebound from challenges.
My goal is keeping colonies strong year after year, not short-term yields. That often means leaving more honey than I’d like or passing up late-season harvesting entirely. A 60 pound reserve may get them through winter, but 80 or 100 pounds gives them an extra buffer.
I want my management practices to be sustainable for these colonies I care for. That means never pushing the limits of their resources too close to the edge. Conservative harvesting that prioritizes their stability and survival allows me to enjoy these complex, unique creatures for many seasons to come.
The bees always come first – that mindset makes me a better beekeeper than focusing on my own take of their honey. Their health is the top priority.
In closing, while some regions and seasons allow harvesting honey multiple times per year, the key is always balancing the bees’ long-term welfare with sustainable personal yields. As a beekeeper, my top priority is maintaining thriving hives with adequate food reserves year-round.
This means I never take all the honey, regardless of how much surplus exists. And I start conservatively when getting started. Understanding my local flows, monitoring the hives, and harvesting judiciously when the bees can spare it has allowed me to gather honey sustainably for decades now.
With experience, a beekeeper learns when and how much honey can be taken while still supporting strong colonies season after season. Patience and putting the bees first provides sweet rewards for both bee and keeper!