Our Honey
Just as in other areas of agriculture, most beekeepers have adopted an industrial model. Pesticides are used within the hive to ‘control’ parasitic mites and antibiotics are fed to control various pathogens. We do not follow this model.
We use no pesticides or antibiotics. Instead, we raise hardy, resilient bees. To help them we’ve also moved our apiaries to ‘wild’ sites, away from the conventional farms which have grown increasingly toxic. And we have adjusted our management to always try to meet the needs of the bees.
The bees make our honey in the southern tier of Western New York.
All of our honey is packed raw: no heat, no filtering. Once extracted, the honey is settled for a few days to float out most of the wax and propolis, then bottled straight out of the settling tank. Occasionally we settle the honey for one day so that each jar is topped with some cappings wax and propolis.
The flavor of our FALL HONEY is quite consistent (butterscotch?), as goldenrod is always the dominant floral source. Aster is always in the fall mix as well, and prompts this honey to crystallize quickly to a fine, spreadable consistency if kept at room temperature. When knotweed is blooming around our bee yards, the bees make a dark honey that adds a beautiful nutty flavor to the goldenrod honey.
The flavor of our SUMMER HONEY varies according to the plants visited by the bees, which may include dandelions, honeysuckle, autumn olive, wild berries, locust, sumac, boneset, basswood, joe-pye weed, knapweed and knotweed.
We use no pesticides or antibiotics. Instead, we raise hardy, resilient bees. To help them we’ve also moved our apiaries to ‘wild’ sites, away from the conventional farms which have grown increasingly toxic. And we have adjusted our management to always try to meet the needs of the bees.
The bees make our honey in the southern tier of Western New York.
All of our honey is packed raw: no heat, no filtering. Once extracted, the honey is settled for a few days to float out most of the wax and propolis, then bottled straight out of the settling tank. Occasionally we settle the honey for one day so that each jar is topped with some cappings wax and propolis.
The flavor of our FALL HONEY is quite consistent (butterscotch?), as goldenrod is always the dominant floral source. Aster is always in the fall mix as well, and prompts this honey to crystallize quickly to a fine, spreadable consistency if kept at room temperature. When knotweed is blooming around our bee yards, the bees make a dark honey that adds a beautiful nutty flavor to the goldenrod honey.
The flavor of our SUMMER HONEY varies according to the plants visited by the bees, which may include dandelions, honeysuckle, autumn olive, wild berries, locust, sumac, boneset, basswood, joe-pye weed, knapweed and knotweed.
