Henny Penny Farmette

Our world-class neighborhood beekeeper checked my hives on Sunday and told me that potentially, I could have 100 pounds of honey to harvest during the flow this year. Each frame will produce roughly 40 pounds of honey and each hive holds 10 frames.

If the hive is robust and extenders (additional boxes of frames) have been added, they may also hold honey, although a good beekeeper never takes all the honey. The bees have to eat, too.

Massive swarm captured in a hive box with ten frames

It was pretty clear that I need to get some jars. Lucky for me, he and his wife already have found a good supplier. The company they use is located in the Bay Area.

Today, she and I traveled headed toward Oakland, a drive of about 45 minutes, to where Saxco International operates its corporate offices and huge warehouse at 155 98th Avenue in Oakland.  See, http://www.saxco.com.

Jars aren’t the only type of packaging the company offers. From wine, spirits, beer, and vinegar bottles and stoppers; pharmaceutical containers; bar glassware that can be monogrammed or labeled; and food jars and lids, this company’s offerings are impressive.

Spring honey for our family has been drained from a frame, strained, and bottled

We waited close to an hour for the warehouse worker to load the plastic-wrapped cases onto a pallet, drive the forklift over to her truck, and load the whole shebang onto the bed. Although the boxes towered above the cab, we made it home with no problems.

And just when I was feeling optimistic about being better prepared to deal with all that honey, it occurred to me that I’m going to need a lot of cheesecloth to strain it, buckets to drain it, and labels for all those jars!

Could a honey separator be in my future? I’m beginning to think that beekeeping could become an expensive hobby. Ah, but a sweet one: honey never goes bad and the honeybees pollinate my fruit trees, which are loaded with fruit. Next on my list–jam jars.