[HesterF]

Hi,

I'm starting with bees this spring (two hives are now here, very exciting - pretty colour painting due soon). The big field that surrounds us on two sides, fence line about 10m from the hive will be growing rape this season. Now I wasn't planning to extract any honey this year. I thought it would be best to just let the bees build up their numbers and get some healthy stores in for next winter. But I also know that rape honey is difficult to extract because of the crystallisation. So my question is whether that also applies if the bees are just using it for their own stores? Or will they be able to use it just fine? Is that a daft question  ?

Thanks,

Hester

[ZacB]

Hi Hester. The curse of OSR - I think not, love the stuff and missed it last year with the rubbish weather!
Yes the bee's will use it but on a good year you could be adding a super every 10 days - that's a lot of honey. In the wild I suppose they would fill the space and then swarm to a new site leaving behind a queen cell (or 10) to continue. Make sure you have enough supers to allow the colony to expand.
Plan for some good weather and a bumper crop of honey  Extract the OSR shortly after the flowers have wilted, make some creamed honey for your toast 
Then watch the Autumn crop build up and make a decision on leaving some of that for the bee's to over winter

[Plantoid]

Or if you don't have enough supers  but can get hold of more frames  ..
 Use wax sheet and let then  draw out new comb if the flow is strong . Store the full comb in the freezer to kill off any wax moths  later in year when younhave time cut the whole filled comb out the frame and melt it out in the low overn setting at night when wasps & bees are asleep .
or
If you have frames but no wax sheet  carefully melt some wax cappings or scrapings off frames & hives away from naked flame , using a slightly modified teaspoon as a ladle  /pourer ,  run a thin bead of wax on the underside of the top bar where wax sheet would be normally placed.
The bees will draw this down really well for unwired cut comb , though you'll  need to turn the frames around as they start to draw them out so as to get a nice even set of drawn combs.
 
My mentor advised me to leave a full super of honey made after the OSR flow  and to blend OSR honey with other honey to get a decent blend and to also change the crystalization solidity to a much softer falvoursome honey .
 
 If it is a poor year also feed heavily with sugar syrup and make " express honey " there will still be lots of nectar & pollen used in the production of the honey .  You will also be able to build up a big strong hive for overwintering.