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Uses For Sugar Water?

 
Posts: 8
Location: Southwest VA
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I'm a honey and wax farmer.
This year I installed a 2,000 gallon tank to collect my flush water from flushing my equipment.  At this point I'm still flushing the sanitize water into the septic tank; I'm looking at changing sanitizes to something more eco friendly this year so I can use that water also.

Over the weekend we harvested honey and ended up with around 900 gallons of thin sugar water.  I would think it has around 10 gallons of honey and wax chunks in the water.

I pumped the water last night on top of the soil of my raised beds, but this morning I had bees all over the soil and not doing there job.

I don't compost on a scale that I would be able to use that much water.
I would rather use the water before it starts to ferment.

In the next few days I will have about 400 gallons of water from cleaning out my bottling tanks and a few 55 gallon drums.

If I'm not able to surface apply the water than what would be a good way to reuse the water?
 
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I cant think of anything besides pouring it on the ground to feed the microbes.

Mega batches of compost tea come to mind, but that will become a thing in itself.
 
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I would let it ferment all the way into vinegar. Maybe start it off with an apple cider mother.
Kombucha, L.A.B. , any microherd will turn it into something else, probably something that would make a good fertilizer,pesticide, herbicide, etc.
Whatever it is, it should be able to care for itself with little interference, you have better things to do than baby sit.
I it would make a good "small" beer, a lightly alcoholic beverage. Maybe use it to feed a ginger mother and make stomach friendly ginger beer.
 
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If maple syrup or sorghum syrup making were popular in your area, maybe someone could boil it into something a bit sweeter for you.  Not sure what it would be called once it's concentrated...
 
Josh Wall
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Location: Southwest VA
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Getting ride of the water by RO or by heat would be waist of resources.
To make something out of it I would need to add a lot of sugar or starch.

I'm limited to what I can do by the local Health Department.

Compost tea is a thought, but I only have 1 large portable tank.  I'm not sure if I want to use the tank and pump for compost tea at this time.
 
wayne fajkus
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If i were close i would come with ibc totes and get it. I wonder if there are people around you that would do the same. Maybe a craigslist ad like people do for horse manure.

Its gotta be good for microbes.
 
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It sounds like a wonderful compost activator.  

Or you could make a really weak batch of lemonaide.
 
steward
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Thinking outside the box ...

Is there another local business that could use the water?

Could it be fed to livestock?

Could it be used in the manufacture of something?

Could it be used to wash something like you use it to wash your tank?  

Anyone in your area making compost tea?

Like Wayne suggested, if none of these would work then a craigslist ad might locate some uses or someone that could used it.
 
Josh Wall
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Putting the water out openly looks it could cause a robing response.
I would love to be able to save the water till the dearth.

I'm going to make some calls to see if I can get 2 dump truck loads of fresh wood chips to compost.
 
Anne Miller
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Josh Wall wrote:Putting the water out openly looks it could cause a robing response.  



If you are making money selling the water would you really worry about a robing response?

Our daughter was telling us about products that are bought to attract bears from large manufactures.  Excess products that normally would go to a landfill.

That is why I suggested selling the water to local businesses.
 
Josh Wall
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Where I'm at bear hunters want over cooked bakers honey or off flavored honey.  They burn it in pots with a Chafing Dish heater.  The smell brings them in.  

Depending on the year I waist between 50 and 100 gallons from cleaning, but it's the cost of doing business.
 
Anne Miller
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What about selling it to people that have to haul water anyway?

Doesn't the concrete industry use lots of water and must haul it to job sites?
 
wayne fajkus
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Josh Wall wrote:

I'm going to make some calls to see if I can get 2 dump truck loads of fresh wood chips to compost.



That is a splendid idea
 
Josh Wall
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Location: Southwest VA
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The price of non-potable water is cheap where I'm at.  I would not want the traffic of someone coming to get it.

I ended up getting 2 loads of fresh wood chips for 2 pints of honey.
 
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