Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Horns Pure Honey on December 15, 2004, 11:21:18 pm

Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 15, 2004, 11:21:18 pm
What is the best plant honey comes form? Wild flowers, alfalfa, corn, beans, wheat, etc....... thanks, bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Jay on December 15, 2004, 11:25:09 pm
I guess it depends on what you like. I like the fruit honey, like those from bluberries, strawberries etc. I also brew beer, and I like bluberry wheat beer.  I guess it's just personal preference.  What flowers do you have around your apiery?
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 15, 2004, 11:36:18 pm
I have corn and beans every year but I have a 3 acre feild by my soon to be apiery. I was thinking about having it all planted in weild flowers. Right now I have unlimited funds so it is really no problem, I have a very nice Grandfather, lol. bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Phoenix on December 16, 2004, 11:27:29 am
You will not get any honey from corn, but you will get a lot of pollen.

As for the best honey, that all depends on the consumer.  Everyone has diffirent preferences on taste, some prefer darker more robust honeys and others prefer the lighter more mild honey.
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Finman on December 16, 2004, 11:39:35 am
The best I have had is flavour of Angelica sylvestris in pic. Heather is also very good and dandelion.



(http://www.toyen.uio.no/botanisk/nbf/plantefoto/angelica_sylvestris_Kristin_Vigander01.jpg)
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 16, 2004, 06:15:15 pm
We have ALOT of dandelions and those small white flowers that also cover are yard, plus alot of clover grows around here. This is why I was asking if I should plant 3 acres of wild flowers. thanks
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Finman on December 17, 2004, 05:15:23 am
Quote from: Horns Pure Honey
We have ALOT of dandelions and those small white flowers that also cover are yard, plus alot of clover grows around here. This is why I was asking if I should plant 3 acres of wild flowers. thanks


3 acre is really small for bees but alot for gardening. They fly to the distance of 3 km.  Bees gather honey effectively from the distance of 1 km radius. It is 8 acres.   3 km radius is 70 acres.

I have trained wild bee flowers 40 years. The best are usual weeds., but tehy are abundant everywhere. Important is how long they have blossom.  Most of wild flowers are not interesting for bees.  I enjoy when I look those flowers.

My favorit is Verbascum nigrum. I have Finnish and Jugoslavian stock. Jugoslavian blooms a  month later and it has 5 times more flowers. It gives only pollen.

Now i have started to raise Rhamnus frangula. It gives honey whole summer. Also Symphoricarpos rivularis gives flowers all the time and bees love them.

But you surely enjoy if you try many kind of flowers and you learn what is good in your area.
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 17, 2004, 08:42:26 am
Are town has a big compition every year on who has the best garden and there are quite a few of the gardens withing a mile. I could rent a hive out tho them for polination. Where we plan to keep the bees there is about 8 acres of brush/feilds that are covered in weeds and wild flowers such as clover and mini sun flowers and many other types. bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 18, 2004, 01:19:39 am
I was wandering if sunflowers make good honey. Out at my dads farm I see tons of bees up at the sunflower feild. He has the mini breed that is like 3 or so feet tall. they seem to be on every one and it is at least 2 acres of sunflowers. thannks, bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Anonymous on December 18, 2004, 10:02:59 pm
Sunflowers make a great tasting light honey.
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 18, 2004, 10:09:49 pm
That is great considering that is what I like to grow. I just love the look and smell of them and all of the bees buzzing around going on with there work. bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: golfpsycho on December 18, 2004, 11:35:46 pm
Personally, I like orange blossem honey, and sage honey.  Opposite ends of the spectrum, one being mild and the other strong.  I had never thought of adding cinnamon to honey unitl one of you mentioned it.  hmmmm.. interesting
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 18, 2004, 11:40:31 pm
The problem here is that I cant have orange trees here and I dont know how well sage will grow here. I have never had strong honey so I dont really know if I like it. I am planning to use the sunflowers now to make a nice mild honey. bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Finman on December 19, 2004, 08:38:36 am
Quote from: Horns Pure Honey
I am planning to use the sunflowers now to make a nice mild honey. bye


In Finland sunflower does not give honey. I have read, that in Germany sunflower honey is the worst quality in honey production.

You must meet some local farmer-beekepers, which surely know, which flower gives honey and what kind. It is not just so easy.
Title: Sunflolwers
Post by: DonAsoka on December 19, 2004, 09:40:32 am
My friend is a comercial beekeeper and takes his hives( apoox 1000) so Sevilla,,,,, where the barber of seville comes from ! and his brother , another( 600 ) to the sunflower fields for polination, the honey is used for mixing with mil flowers, and for cofection......the sunflowers for pipas and oil,  I worked with them for a few days last summer, july , the temp was 40-45 cel over 100 degrees farenhite.....right , the honey wasn't too sweet....... Almonds is another type of honey that is not that great to eat, rather bitter I understand
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 19, 2004, 10:27:32 am
Ok, so sunflowers are out of the question. Was it alfalfa that makes good honey or was it clover? That is something else I could plant becuase we can harvest it a few times to put up for the winter for my other animals. bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Finman on December 19, 2004, 11:44:27 am
Quote from: Horns Pure Honey
Ok, so sunflowers are out of the question. Was it alfalfa that makes good honey or was it clover? That is something else I could plant becuase we can harvest it a few times to put up for the winter for my other animals. bye


Clover honey is very mild, not good value.  I have not tasted alfa alfa honey. In some texts it was said that  alfa alfa pollen is not perfect protein and hive becomes  very bad condition on alfa alfa field. Some amino acid are lacking.

Phacelia tanacetifolia is the best honey and pollen field plant in Finland.
http://www.spiesheim.de/images/bdw2002kw27.jpg
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 19, 2004, 11:52:28 pm
Wow, that even  :shock: looks perfect. Does anyone know what is the perfect plant to grow in the North central part of the USA? Thanks, bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: 1frozenhillbilly on December 22, 2004, 01:16:48 pm
here in alaska the fireweed is profuse and depending on the year and the rainfall gives a medium to strong flavored honey that is wonderful for eating or mead :wink:  I like that but am also curious about other flavors.  I don't know if it grows in your area and i don't know the latin name but when it blooms this year I'll click a digital and post,  it's what most keepers here set their hives on.
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 22, 2004, 01:56:50 pm
Thanks, I will be looking forward to that pic, bye
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Finman on December 22, 2004, 03:14:09 pm
Quote from: 1frozenhillbilly
here in alaska the fireweed is profuse and depending on the year and the rainfall gives a medium to strong flavored honey that is wonderful for eating or mead :wink:  I like that but am also curious about other flavors.  I don't know if it grows in your area and i don't know the latin name but when it blooms this year I'll click a digital and post,  it's what most keepers here set their hives on.


In Finland we say it milk horsma. It's latin name is Chamaenérium angustifólium.

Here is pic from alaska and another from Finland.
In Finland it is the most important honey flower, because it grows in every harvested forest.

I have fertilized  fireweeds in forest and it's bloming encrease many fold.

(http://www.fieldadventures.org/alaska/fireweed.jpg)


(http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~oasalo/virtuaalikasvio/kasvikuvat/maitohorsma.jpg)
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Jay on December 22, 2004, 07:12:54 pm
Looks like heather!?! Or purple loostrife. :D
Title: Best honey flavors
Post by: Horns Pure Honey on December 22, 2004, 11:41:22 pm
I think we might have one of those, I will ask my grandpa, he is a farmer so he will know. bye and thanks