cranberry

mat · March 13, 2006, 10:49:15 PM

I live in Massachusetts, there are many cranberry fields close to my place. Does anybody has an experience traveling to cranberries? Is it good source of nectar worth traveling? I wil have five hives this spring, I thought about trying something new.

TwT · March 13, 2006, 11:39:26 PM

mat read this

this is a quote from the page below

However, Gates (1911) reported that nectar from cranberries produces a superior grade of honey. Caswell (1962) and Oertel (1967) list cranberries as a nectar and pollen source. Beekeepers occasionally obtain a reddish honey they associate with bee activity on cranberries.

http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/cranberry.html

mat · March 14, 2006, 07:26:25 AM

Sounds good. I have never done this before. I suppose I need to find the owner and get the permision to bring my hives. He would tell me when exactly the flowering is expected, so I'm on time.

Chad S · March 14, 2006, 10:42:29 AM

Usually the growers will have polination service from a bee keeper, or raise their own. One thing you want to remember is that the majority of Growers in MA are not organic. If your bees are out while they are spraying you could run into trouble. If you are working with the growers they would give you notice, and you could make arrangement to keep them in. If you have a spot with active bogs in the area, and just want to take advantage of the blossoms you may not know their spray schedule If you have a big marsh with Loose Strife(sp) that would be a good place. Less worries about spraying.

Some of the people I know who do polination services keep their hives on a snow mobile trailer. The hives stay on the trailer, and the trailer is dropped off for the 2-3 weeks that polination services are needed. Finsky moves his hives all over have him tell you how he does it. My limited experience has been that moving hives here and there was a hassle.

Chad

mat · March 14, 2006, 10:49:37 AM

Thank you Chad. That's very important, I forgot about spraying.

Chad S · March 14, 2006, 12:37:09 PM

Sure Matt.

We have about the same size operation by the way. I have thought about polination services there is a great little orchard near by with a big swamp full of Loose Strife out back. Un-fortunately there is a larger apple opperation in the area, and I know they spray. I am putting three hives a couple of miles down the Rd. from me to take advantage of an abandond Orchard. There is a couple of good Loose Strife swamps in the area, and Golden rod for late season. I will have 4 at the house this year. I am hoping to do 1000 lb.

Chad

leominsterbeeman · March 14, 2006, 09:45:08 PM

Mat

If you can get a crop of cranberry honey, that would be grand. I have heard that it is a great flavored honey and has be known to win many awards in Central Mass (Spencer Fair).

Spray could be a problem for you, Check to see when they spray - If they spray during the bloom - then it's really a problem for you.

mat · March 17, 2006, 08:24:48 AM

On earth.google.com I found out that there is a cranberry field very close to my place, I think about 2 miles. Is this to close to move the hives? May be they do forage there from the place they are? BTW has anybody heard about training bees what plant to forage at by giving them some syrup with with the flower for scent? I red it somewere long time ago.

BEE C · April 19, 2006, 05:39:26 AM

Cranberries are a major crop close to my area in a delta area created around apparently the worlds largest tidal lake. There is a HUGE stink about local cranberry producers expanding into and right up to a wildlife refuge because apparently cranberries are such a hybridized crop that they need a lot of spraying. There is a pretty good co ordination between beekeepers here and growers. My beekeeping instructor basically can't keep up with the demand for hives (he has 1000+), so he hands out contracts to his students to fill the gap. I did hear though that because the bees are not that attracted to cranberries (hybridization again=low pollen) that the amount of hives per acre is a lot higher to successfully pollinate. This can apparently be a stress on the bees, so consequently the fees for pollinating cranberries runs much higher than blueberries the other large crop here. I considered pollination contracts this year, but the cost of stressing out bees and making them more susceptible to diseases due to a lowered immune system isn't worth it to me. I don't know what the pollination business is like in your area, spraying contracts, pollination fees etc, or how many bees get crammed into an acre, but I have had cranberry honey and its darn good...

TwT · April 19, 2006, 08:04:40 AM

BEE C would you mind filling out your profile so we can know what location you are in??? thanks

mat · April 19, 2006, 08:56:13 AM

I was thinking about bringing one or two of my hives (wil have five in May) to try and may be have some cranberry honey.

BEE C · May 02, 2006, 02:21:33 AM

In my beekeeping class today we went over pollination in depth. I asked about cranberry honey. My instructor specializes in specific brands of honey, ei 51 percent single forage honey. He said cranberry gives good pollen but little nectar. He has hives in a major cranberry field and when his hives are in the middle of it and not close to competing weed or wildflower forage he actually has to still feed his bees sugar syrup because there is so little nectar on cranberries his bees will decline. He said if someone is marketing cranberry honey its not.

Finsky · May 02, 2006, 02:26:42 AM

If you look cranberry flower, there are no big space for nectar there. Bottom of flower is very narrow.

mat · May 02, 2006, 04:14:22 PM

Thanks bee c. This is very important information. Looks like it wouldn't be worth it for me to bring the hive to cranberies, especialy that I have good nectar flow at that time in my place.

BEE C · May 03, 2006, 03:34:57 PM

No problem mat, glad to share info here rather than drive my wife nuts with 1001 beefacts...