Honey harvest. Finally.

Beeboy01 · October 18, 2016, 04:20:50 PM

Way to go, it's great you finally got some honey from your hives. I still have a 8oz jar from my first honey harvest. it was from Poplar trees and is real dark.

Rurification · October 18, 2016, 08:39:23 PM

Quote from: MT Bee Girl on October 18, 2016, 11:41:26 AM

What does your honey taste like Robin?

This is pretty tangy - like clover/wildflower honey.

My sister gave me a jar of Florida honey and it was really wonderful - very floral, not like ours at all.

My favorite is early spring locust tree honey. Wow. Very light and thin and really floral. I'd really love to get a super or two of that some year.

Acebird · October 18, 2016, 09:08:27 PM

Quote from: Rurification on October 18, 2016, 08:39:23 PM
This is pretty tangy - like clover/wildflower honey.

I think tangy would not be clover or wildflower but some herb or multiple herbs. Catnip, oregano, peppermint to name a few. These are also plants that would supply your hives with essential oils naturally. You might acquire a taste for that tangy honey if it keeps your bees alive.

Rurification · October 19, 2016, 09:17:15 AM

Very true, Ace! I do have a lot of Blue Spice Basil and they're all over it all the time. Plus a lot of oregano and wild mint...and some catnip, too.

Side note: I highly recommend the Blue Spice Basil [got the seed from rareseeds.com]. It smells heavenly all season long. Blooms early for a basil and continuously until frost. Hack it down occasionally to encourage more leaves and newer blooms. Leaves are smallish. We cut a bunch and dried it for tea. The bees LOVE it.

It's not my favorite for pesto, but it's passable. I prefer the Sweet Italian basil for pesto. The Blue Spice is great for just having around the garden. I'll never be without it now.

Acebird · October 19, 2016, 09:20:40 AM

I forgot to mention basil. We plant rows of it. It is a bee magnet like barrage.

bwallace23350 · October 19, 2016, 11:11:35 AM

Quote from: Acebird on October 19, 2016, 09:20:40 AM
I forgot to mention basil. We plant rows of it. It is a bee magnet like barrage.

Do all types of basil work? In my garden extension I am hoping to include just flowering plants for my bees.

Acebird · October 19, 2016, 05:45:30 PM

I have not seen an herb that the bees did not go after. I razz my wife and call all herbs weeds. They grow like weeds and propagate like weeds some might even taste like weeds. You only need to plant them once and then pull up what you don't want in subsequent years.

bwallace23350 · October 19, 2016, 10:06:17 PM

Great. More herbs for me next year.

stanisr · October 26, 2016, 02:18:22 PM

Nice