I recently tasted what was a 1st for me. bad tasting honey. it was very dark & heavy. the guy who had it suspects the bees were some buckwheat. anyone experienced this?
Personally I love buckwheat honey. Tastes vary.
it's not for me and i usually like darker honeys. i think it's like privet, some people love it and some hate it.
Could be oak.
i love it. that's the stuff i keep for me.
I just tried some and loved it,both of my daughters tried it and loved it also, which surprised me.
It reminds me almost like molasses.
I bought some at a farm store in Maryland, just south of Gettysburg, and talked to the owner. He and his brother planted acres of buckwheat just to get this kind of honey. It was kind of purple and yes, kingd, it does remind me of molasses. i planted some in my garden this year and hope it will take hold. My horticulture sources say it's self-seeding and might be invasive, but if my bees will make honey from that I'll be happy. And if the bees don't like it, we can make buckwheat flower with the grain.
Gary
ok-so maybe this wasn't buckwheat. it was really dark & barely sweet at all. kinda' smelled like 90 wt. gear oil.
Dont know but I just planted a couple acres. and am planning on planting a couple more in a couple weeks. Should give them something to work when everything else is drying up. I should be able to distinguish it and give you my take at a later date.
Right on , G! Gotta keep experimenting. Wish I had acres instead of just a city lot.
Gary
Quote from: Dallasbeek on May 26, 2014, 02:20:18 AM
Right on , G! Gotta keep experimenting. Wish I had acres instead of just a city lot.
Gary
Gotta tip the hat to the Old Man for the Acerage and the Tractors..... We plant for the wildlife, the bees get a great bonus from that as well. Clover, Alfalfa, Sanofoin, Buckwheat...... trying to find another annual that I could try, will still have some ground worked up, any suggestions?
From my experience, half the people think the honey is GREAT, and the other half will argue with them.
Also, from what I have seen, the bees will ignore the buckwheat if there are others things they prefer blooming. It does bloom in 30 days, so when planted late, when the clovers and many other things are waning, it can put out a good crop. From what I've read, it isn't a high nectar producing plant, but it does produce a lot of flowers.