Goldenrod honey question

[Algonam]

Thanks to the people on this message board, I've had lots of help.

Stella, what about your bees. How many hives do you have and will you have enough in stores for their winter? What about Varroa mites? What are you doing for that? (from one new beekeeper to another!)

[Algonam]

Well it seems hankdog1 was right.
The early season goldenrod honey was odorless, last week we had a strong honey smell around the field where the hives are, and now it smells like a sweaty hockey bag!
Wow!
......the bears will surely smell this 1 mile away! Hopefully they are content eating all the ripe apples instead.

[D Coates]

I'm so jealous.  We have Goldenrod here but the bees get pollen off of it in droves, no honey.  I wish we'd get it just to "top off" the winter stores.  I end up feeding this time of the year to top off the winter stores.

[Algonam]

D Coates,

Oh I am feeding sugar/water now as well. I decided to go that route 2 weeks ago and extract more honey and feed sugar/water to replenish stores. (I couldn'r handle buying someone elses honey over the winter!)  :-D

[Michael Bush]

>Is goldenrod a very big honey flow?

Some years I get a lot.  Some years I get nothing to speak of.

[bulldog]

Stella, you won't even need to lift the cover, you'll know!

i'll second that. if the wind is right i can smell it 100 yards away. otherwise i can only smell it 50 feet away.

[beehappy1950]

Thank you Michael