# Honey



## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Has anybody stored honey? I have read some about it, and archiologists have found honey that the ancient Egyptians stored 2,000 years ago that is still edible today. I was also wondering if any of you with small orchards or gardens have put bee broods in to house bees and generate you own honey. Foxfire 2 talks about this and finding natural bee broods. This would be a good way to suppliment your nutrition with some thing that is natural and possibly get bees wax for candles and possibly canning.:scratch


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## Littlebit (Apr 20, 2010)

I am storing as much honey as I can get. Great for all kinds of stuff. I don't know to much about bee hives. Its something I try and avoid.


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## GroovyMike (Feb 25, 2010)

I kept bees for a few years before I developed allergies to them. Every time I get stung it is worse than the last time so I decided I shoudln't keep bees!! Honey stores forever. After a few years a sealed jar or less time for an open container it crystalizes (turns light colored and hardens). To return it to its natural liquid state warm in gently (like set the jar in a pan of warming water). Bacteria will not grow in honey. It literally keeps forever.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Just started putting extra honey on the shelf. I have about 20lbs so far. Around here it goes for about $5.00 a pound for the buckwheat honey that I really like. Sometime soon I'm going to do a bulk purchase but haven't found buckwheat in bulk yet.

Azure Standard - Search - bulk honey

You can't see the prices until you register so I copied a couple to post here.

Price: $29.25
Code: SW011
Size: 1 Gal.
Shipping Weight: 12 lbs.
Quantity:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Price: $130.25
Code: SW012
Size: 5 Gals.
Shipping Weight: 60 lbs.
Quantity:


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## pdx210 (Jan 8, 2010)

in the past honey was used on wounds to stop infections because of it's antimicrobial proprieties


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

We have been getting honey in 5 gallon buckets for 30 years.
With the blight happening to the bee hives we have been buying as much as we can. 
Oh yeah and look into what will happen if we keep loosing our bees....... So add that to the SHTF thingy.
Thank you UncleJoe for the website. Great site. They sell glycerine too.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We had bees a few years back ... they were great for the garden and our orchard. :2thumb:The honey was just a plus to having them ... 

Our problem was a mother bear and her cubs, she loved the honey also. :surrender: I just need to sit down and find a way to 'bear proof' our next hive. (and a bear skin rug is out of the question  already been over that with my son. LOL)


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

On life after people they said honey would be the last thing to survive that was made by the hand (ok, processed) of man. It would virtually last forever. Just found a honey company in a town I'm working in, gonna stop buy and see what I can do on bulk honey and a stainless steel barrel for the next smoker!:2thumb:


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

I just found out there is a guy about 4 miles from me that has bees and sells honey. I think I'll stop by and introduce myself and take one of my 5 gallon buckets along.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

One good cure using honey is for athletes foot. You just wash your feet well and then smear honey on them in a nice thin coat and cover your feet with clean socks right before you go to sleep at night, usually only takes about a week to clear up. I have used it this way and it really did work.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Emerald said:


> One good cure using honey is for athletes foot. You just wash your feet well and then smear honey on them in a nice thin coat and cover your feet with clean socks right before you go to sleep at night, usually only takes about a week to clear up. I have used it this way and it really did work.


Yall don't live in bear country do ya?

Honey really is good for so many things, health an food wise. Once considered for the gods, so it must be some perty good stuff.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

What about electric fencing around the hives? The bees could still fly through without trouble. And it could be turned off while tending to the hives/bees.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

OldCootHillbilly said:


> Yall don't live in bear country do ya?
> 
> Honey really is good for so many things, health an food wise. Once considered for the gods, so it must be some perty good stuff.


No, not really, we only see them every few years and usually they are the young ones that mama just booted out-does make people a bit skittery for a few weeks tho.. And we have had many sitings of a cougar the last few years, and while MI DNR said that there is not a breeding population, two of the last sitings have had kittens, so I tend not to believe the DNR. so I have been taking my biggest mag light when going outside at night to check on the chickens. But lucky for me the worst I've seen so far is the darned family of skunks that seems to think I am one of their buds, they walk right up to me like cats... makes for a stressful walk in the back yard!
If I wasn't so allergic to bee stings I would have a hive of my own set up in the back yard. I make mead and cook with honey and it is soooo expensive.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

We lived on the west side of Glacier National Park...anyone wanna talk bears? Black bears, grizzly bears, we got 'em, along with wolves, mountain lions...!

We visited a guy about 50 miles away that builds his own hives and we took pictures and got specs, and we plan to build a couple this summer. In the spring we'll get our bees and see how it goes. 

We made our garden fence big enough to encompass our orchard of fruit trees and berry bushes, as well as the veggie garden. It's a "bear" fence, 7' tall with 2 strands of electric wire as well as the wire mesh fencing. We also have to keep out the cute critters like the deer and rabbits. Still working on discouraging the chipmunks!

We plan to put the hives at the back, with extra electric wires around it, to keep bears out. We use a solar fence charger to power the whole thing. 

The whole bee thing has been a daunting endeavor since neither of us have any experience with them. We recently ordered the "Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping." A beekeeper on another site recommended it over "Beekeeping for Dummies."


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

I know what ya mean bout them skunks! Was way up north at a camp in Canada an took a walk ta the outhouse one night, heard somthin in the woods, now mind ya I was all of say 10 years old? Things in the woods in the dark sound huge, specially when all ya got is a lantern. Well there's bears all over there, this turned out to be a skunk. 

Nobody wanted to beleive me, but bout two weeks after we was home, the lady from the camp sent a letter, yes indeed there was a skunk, nother feller wen't out late one night to well lets say releive himself and instead of goin all the way to the out house just wen't round the corner a the cabin. Seems he pee'd on the skunk!oops:

Be carefull a them cats, if there havin little ones the setting is gettin right for a good breedin population. We even got a couple a strays hear (well a bit west) the oldest boy lives bout an hour due west an they've had a few cattle tore up from em.

Fewer folks raisin bee's round here. But I use a fair amount of honey in my smoked stuff. The price is gettin up there. I found a honey plant in one a the towns I'm workin in, gonna stop an see what kind of deal I can make on some in bulk.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

At least I buy my honey from an apiary that is only about 10 miles from here and so it's local. But my mom brought me back two pints of Orange Blossom honey from Florida, that is some yummy honey!

And even tho some people say that there is not enuf food for the big cats in MI any longer, I beg to differ- we have so many deer that they are coming right into towns now to eat and the wild turkey population is doing stupendous. An old friend of mine used to be a zookeeper and told me that they would get calls all the time from people who own big cats/exotic animals like pythons and don't want them any longer. And for every permit for a big cat there are at least 5 that have no permit. the hubby and I also saw an animal that we had not ever seen before ( I have spent plenty of time hunting and hiking in the outdoors here in MI and know what I am looking at usually)- the size of a coyote but looked like the face of a cat and the biggest fluffy tail ever- so my friend told me to look at the list of wild animals that people have gotten permit for and to see if any of those types of animals looked like what we saw-- one did and it was a Jaguarundi- a south American cat that has the body shape and size of almost a coyote and the big fluffy tail and cat head... No one had called one in missing but then who knows what people have in their homes illegally and when they get loose they don't want to call for help due to getting in trouble.


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## pdx210 (Jan 8, 2010)

wearing wool socks is effective for athletes foot and odor


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## neil-v1 (Jan 22, 2010)

I have some old half gallon glass jars of honey that have metal screw on lids that are pretty rusty. How would I know if this is safe or should I just junk it all? It looks good just the caps are real rusty from being in a damp cellar. Would I drop dead from this? I was thinking about re-packaging it, that's why I ask. Thanks.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

neil-v1 said:


> I have some old half gallon glass jars of honey that have metal screw on lids that are pretty rusty. How would I know if this is safe or should I just junk it all? It looks good just the caps are real rusty from being in a damp cellar. Would I drop dead from this? I was thinking about re-packaging it, that's why I ask. Thanks.


This is what I would do- check with a light to see if the rust has gone thru the lid and is on the inside of the lid. If not carefully take the lids off- you could put duct tape on the lids all the way around and that way no "rust crumbs" would fall in.
And then take off lid and smell- if it smells bad, get rid of it.. If it smells like honey, repack into mason jars.
Honey will darken as it ages, so I don't worry if it gets a bit darker. And if it starts to crystallize just putting it (jar) in really warm water will liquefy it again.
I mean they found honey in the tombs in Egypt and it was edible, so it does out last us!


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

neil-v1, that's a very tricky an dificult question. I think ya better send all that honey ta me an I will do very scientific examinations of it an let you know so you place yerself at no risk! Please send it ta me postage paid!





No really, it should be just fine, rejar it an yer good ta go.


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## OldFashionedMama (Jun 18, 2009)

Just make sure the honey you purchase is RAW honey. Stuff at the store has been pasteurized and had who knows what else done to it. My dad has a beekeeping friend, and another friend of mine just started keeping bees. I add a little to my salves to increase the healing power.


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## horseman09 (Mar 2, 2010)

OldFashionedMama said:


> Just make sure the honey you purchase is RAW honey. Stuff at the store has been pasteurized and had who knows what else done to it. My dad has a beekeeping friend, and another friend of mine just started keeping bees. I add a little to my salves to increase the healing power.


Good point, OFMama. In addition, according to some news articles, an unknown amount of the imported store-bought crap -- often from Red China, has been substantially diluted with corn syrup. Gotta love out Chinese commie friends, huh?


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

We buy ours from the local feller. Mighty fine honey an helps ta support local business. Now, I gotta talk with feller cause I wan't ta buy in quantity, gallon jugs, see if I can get a better deal on it.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

We saw honey in 8 oz. bottles at Dollar Tree for $1. Looked closer, and it's a blend of honey and high fructose corn syrup. 

No deal!

Always read the label!


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I buy my honey from the farmers at our local farm market on Saturdays. I also buy some from the Amish in Berlin, Oh. I was down there last week and saw a tractor trailer with a Hanjin Container on it comming into town, probably full of home made Amish Crafts.


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## WhiskeyReb (Aug 5, 2010)

I keep bees and we store a lot of honey. It'll keep for years. Usually it granulates, but we just keep a jar on the stove top where it's warm and the honey reconstitutes, good as new.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

gypsysue said:


> We saw honey in 8 oz. bottles at Dollar Tree for $1. Looked closer, and it's a blend of honey and high fructose corn syrup.
> 
> No deal!
> 
> Always read the label!


 always buy honey local, much of the honey that is in stores comes from China where there are no restrictions on herbicides or pesticides and it is just repackaged here. I keep bees and store about 50 qts of honey at any given time. it can be stored the rest of ouyr life time.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Just make sure to read labels- all food products are supposed to have a label on where they are from.
A little old lady saw me looking for the country of origin on the apple juice bottles the other day and when I told her what I was looking for and why, then she started looking and was shocked that the brand that she has been using for years was from Chile, China, and Argentina. Not America.
While the cheaper brand was all USA apples.
But check everytime-the same brand might not have the same country each time...
The 1/2 gallons were USA but the gallons were mixed with USA, same brand.
That said I usually buy local honey but do get good stuff like orange blossom from family in Florida and Buckwheat honey down my Shipsawana that is harvested by the Amish.


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## bjames40 (Dec 25, 2009)

honey never goes bad and is best kept hard for long term storage...it is rapidly assimilated by the body and its high sugar content prohibits bacterial growth....dont forget that the combs can be eaten,and the wax is useful.........................but use borax or boric acid on your athletes foot (just a spoonful in your shoes for a week)


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## sdprep (Jul 18, 2010)

You can use honey to make vinegar.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

We have 2 hives of bees. Did have 5 but the wax moth destroyed them and we had to start over. Robbed one hive of 7 frames (each frame is approx. 6"x17"x1") last week. Got 2 1/2 gal. of beautiful honey. Saved the wax, after we set it out for the bees to clean, for making candles. My husband is on call with the county for removing unwanted bees from peoples property. He brings them home and if he was able to get the queen they might stay. Can't imagine trying to garden without bees.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I'm so jealous! I would love to have a hive in the yard, but my allergy to bee stings would make harvesting a real test of my skill!
I just bought some local honey --$15 for 1/2 gallon and they sell it in the glass half gallon mason jars! so really that is only about$12.50 as the big 1/2 gallon masons cost close to $2.50 a piece at the place that sells them here. So if my math is right it costs about $1.56 a pound. Whoo hoo. And the really cool thing is that a neighbor about 1/4 mile down the road has about 10 of the hives in their fields that the honey is collected from!! lol(they have tons of hives around the area tho, so I am pretty sure that it is mixed from all of the hives.)


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## Uncarvedblock (May 18, 2010)

If you could get bee comb that included the queen and enough workers you could get them to start a new colony, but you would likely have to move it more then 2 1/2 miles so they didn't try to return to the old site. You would also want to do it early in the summer so they would have time to build a large enough colony to overwinter. 

(beekeeper here)

Hope that helps.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Back in August, when a few of us from here on the board got together at the Pa.Ag Progress days, I met a beekeeper. It turned out that he was about 1.25 hrs. from me and only 10 mins. from my sister. 
Yesterday I spent the day at my sister's house helping lay down a new floor. But before we got started, I went about 4 miles up the road and picked up a 5 gallon pail of raw, local honey; 63.5 pounds. $100 plus a $2 deposit for the pail. It's a shame I didn't know about the deposit. I could have taken a few of mine, that I get free, and traded.  Today I filled 3, 1/2 gallon mason jars so I can re-liquefy it when I need it. I think I'm set up with honey for several years now. :2thumb:


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## mickbear (Apr 9, 2009)

we have been keeping bees for a few years now and realy enjoy learning about them.my garden has done great the honey is good and very usefull for several different things.i'v got several quart jars that i put up 3-4 years ago.i opened one the other day and it was fine.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

Also, old wives say that if you have seasonal allergies, eating local honey every day will lessen your allergic reactions, until you no longer suffer from the pollen in the air.

Just found honey that is from hives no more than a couple miles from my house. We've started using the local honey in the hopes that the tale is true. I'm very allergic to Tennessee.  Must be all the soybeans they grow here (those, I'm allergic to in every way - no TVP for me.)


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

Side note:

At one of the Asian food stores near me they have powdered honey. the advantage is it dissolves rapidly in hot drinks. It's a neat product.


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