Bees need about 40 to 60 pounds of honey to make it through the winter in Southern Oregon. Thus, we don't take all of their honey. This is their winter food and it is the healthiest thing for them. But just in case the winter is more demanding than we expect, we make a sugar "candy" using a bit of water and vinegar or lemon to top off their hive. During winter bees will have to maintain the temperature of their hive at around 72 degrees and they will need carbohydrates to do so.

A beautiful piece of honey comb from one of the Phoenix Hives. This light colored honey is produced only in the spring and tasted a little bit like apricots and lemons. The has no citrus trees but sometimes sumac has been known to impart a lemony taste.

Here are two colors and flavors of honey that came from the same hive! Although many people like white or light honey, the flavor of the darker honeys are more dramatic and they contain far more antioxidants.

Our "Very Blackberry" honey was judged a Finalist in the 2019 Good Food Awards! We are so honored!

Cascade Girl Sunflowers. Sunflowers produce pollen which is particularly helpful for bees and tends to deter some diseases. As always, Diverse pollen sources are the key.

This is a honey bee. Did you know that she is able to taste with her feet? Honey Bees sense in many ways. Flowers emit a mild negative charge which makes the Bee aware of their readiness for harvest. She also sees an ultraviolet light display coming from the flower (which we humans cannot perceive) and she senses its aroma.

It's all about sex and reproduction. Bees perform this vital function for plants and trees: Elderberry, Plum, Apple and Peach blossoms are on the menu for these girls. Farmers increase their fruit and vegetable yield by having bees in the vicinity. Take a look at the link below to find out how many hives per acre are required for pollination:

At peak season, there may be up to 60,000 Honey Bees in a hive. Honey Bees are "social bees" and need each other. One forager may make a hundred trips each day to collect nectar. Once they collect the nectar it must be transferred to another Bee so that the nectar may be thickened and converted to honey. This happens through the mixing that occurs in the bee's honey stomach (ingluvies). Honey Bee Hive in Phoenix. Photo by Stephanie Warner

Beekeepers check their hives on a monthly basis and determine the health of their hives. Cascade Girl does not use harmful antibiotics or chemicals and only uses natural methods. Cascade Girl Bees. Photo: MagicOwlMedia

When it is left up to the bees they create natural comb. Each female worker bee secretes up to eight pieces of "wax" from the underside of her body. She molds it with her mouthparts to make the beautiful hexagonal shape we associate with the beehive. This wax can later be used by beekeepers to make candles, medications and other items.

This frame is interesting because it shows both "wet" and "dry" cappings. Bees seal each little hexagon after the honey they have put in there has been brought down to around 17.5 % moisture. These cappings look quite different from each other but they both fulfill the same function. On the left side of the frame we can see a leathery or "wet" look and on the right, white or "dry" cappings. The honey tastes exactly the same. Bees of Italian heritage use the "Dry" technique!

In the lower part of the honey box is the bees nest where the queen lays up to 2,000 eggs per day. Then female worker bees tend these eggs and larvae every few minutes until capping of the cell occurs on the 10th day. After that, the worker bees must still keep the brood warm so they need calories from honey in order to make sure they can perform this warming task.

Shooting Star Nursery was selected as a site for our hives due to their commitment to naturalistic practices and their avoidance of Neonicotinoid pesticides which can kill bees outright or make them sick with small doses over time. Neonicotinoid pesticides are a class of 7 specific poisons. When you buy seeds, plants or trees, inquire vigorously about the way they have been raised!

Note how the bees angle the honey comb upward so that the nectar/honey does not fall out! After worker bees place nectar into the hexagonal cups, bees fan the honey with their wings at 200 beats per second in order to dehydrate it and thicken it fully. If they do not do so, it will ferment and be useless to them.

Honey Comb and Flowers from our Phoenix Hive at American Association of the Advancement of Science. These planks of honey are very special because they contain no plastic foundation which is very common in honey production and beekeeping. It means that the bees have had to work harder in order to make their own wax frame and it has been very calorically expensive for them to do so. Our honey contains no substitutes and we never feed the bees corn syrup.

Have you ever spun honey? This is a centrifuge. After wax cappings have been removed from each side of the frame, they are loaded into a machine like this which is either electric or human powered (using a crank system). This requires an even balance of frames (meaning you cannot spin just one frame in the machine). Then the honey is strained to remove excess bits of wax. Pollen is left in the honey and we never heat the honey beyond the temperature sometimes required to keep it liquid.

Cascade Girl Spring Honey. 100% of profits go toward honey bee care and and our educational efforts.

Autumn Honey is typically darker than that which is gathered during Spring. This is because of the types of blooms available to bees during a season. Darker honey may have a lower glycemic index.

The glycemic index of honey is generally about 58 but can be between 45 and 64. The glycemic index of sugar is 65. Light colored honey is higher in fructose and therefore has a higher glycemic index, although still below that of sugar.

Bees need about 40 to 60 pounds of honey to make it through the winter in Southern Oregon. Thus, we don't take all of their honey. This is their winter food and it is the healthiest thing for them. But just in case the winter is more demanding than we expect, we make a sugar "candy" using a bit of water and vinegar or lemon to top off their hive. During winter bees will have to maintain the temperature of their hive at around 72 degrees and they will need carbohydrates to do so.

A beautiful piece of honey comb from one of the Phoenix Hives. This light colored honey is produced only in the spring and tasted a little bit like apricots and lemons. The has no citrus trees but sometimes sumac has been known to impart a lemony taste.

Here are two colors and flavors of honey that came from the same hive! Although many people like white or light honey, the flavor of the darker honeys are more dramatic and they contain far more antioxidants.

Our "Very Blackberry" honey was judged a Finalist in the 2019 Good Food Awards! We are so honored!

Cascade Girl Sunflowers. Sunflowers produce pollen which is particularly helpful for bees and tends to deter some diseases. As always, Diverse pollen sources are the key.

This is a honey bee. Did you know that she is able to taste with her feet? Honey Bees sense in many ways. Flowers emit a mild negative charge which makes the Bee aware of their readiness for harvest. She also sees an ultraviolet light display coming from the flower (which we humans cannot perceive) and she senses its aroma.

It's all about sex and reproduction. Bees perform this vital function for plants and trees: Elderberry, Plum, Apple and Peach blossoms are on the menu for these girls. Farmers increase their fruit and vegetable yield by having bees in the vicinity. Take a look at the link below to find out how many hives per acre are required for pollination:

At peak season, there may be up to 60,000 Honey Bees in a hive. Honey Bees are "social bees" and need each other. One forager may make a hundred trips each day to collect nectar. Once they collect the nectar it must be transferred to another Bee so that the nectar may be thickened and converted to honey. This happens through the mixing that occurs in the bee's honey stomach (ingluvies). Honey Bee Hive in Phoenix. Photo by Stephanie Warner

Beekeepers check their hives on a monthly basis and determine the health of their hives. Cascade Girl does not use harmful antibiotics or chemicals and only uses natural methods. Cascade Girl Bees. Photo: MagicOwlMedia

When it is left up to the bees they create natural comb. Each female worker bee secretes up to eight pieces of "wax" from the underside of her body. She molds it with her mouthparts to make the beautiful hexagonal shape we associate with the beehive. This wax can later be used by beekeepers to make candles, medications and other items.

This frame is interesting because it shows both "wet" and "dry" cappings. Bees seal each little hexagon after the honey they have put in there has been brought down to around 17.5 % moisture. These cappings look quite different from each other but they both fulfill the same function. On the left side of the frame we can see a leathery or "wet" look and on the right, white or "dry" cappings. The honey tastes exactly the same. Bees of Italian heritage use the "Dry" technique!

In the lower part of the honey box is the bees nest where the queen lays up to 2,000 eggs per day. Then female worker bees tend these eggs and larvae every few minutes until capping of the cell occurs on the 10th day. After that, the worker bees must still keep the brood warm so they need calories from honey in order to make sure they can perform this warming task.

Shooting Star Nursery was selected as a site for our hives due to their commitment to naturalistic practices and their avoidance of Neonicotinoid pesticides which can kill bees outright or make them sick with small doses over time. Neonicotinoid pesticides are a class of 7 specific poisons. When you buy seeds, plants or trees, inquire vigorously about the way they have been raised!

Note how the bees angle the honey comb upward so that the nectar/honey does not fall out! After worker bees place nectar into the hexagonal cups, bees fan the honey with their wings at 200 beats per second in order to dehydrate it and thicken it fully. If they do not do so, it will ferment and be useless to them.

Honey Comb and Flowers from our Phoenix Hive at American Association of the Advancement of Science. These planks of honey are very special because they contain no plastic foundation which is very common in honey production and beekeeping. It means that the bees have had to work harder in order to make their own wax frame and it has been very calorically expensive for them to do so. Our honey contains no substitutes and we never feed the bees corn syrup.

Have you ever spun honey? This is a centrifuge. After wax cappings have been removed from each side of the frame, they are loaded into a machine like this which is either electric or human powered (using a crank system). This requires an even balance of frames (meaning you cannot spin just one frame in the machine). Then the honey is strained to remove excess bits of wax. Pollen is left in the honey and we never heat the honey beyond the temperature sometimes required to keep it liquid.

Cascade Girl Spring Honey. 100% of profits go toward honey bee care and and our educational efforts.

Autumn Honey is typically darker than that which is gathered during Spring. This is because of the types of blooms available to bees during a season. Darker honey may have a lower glycemic index.

The glycemic index of honey is generally about 58 but can be between 45 and 64. The glycemic index of sugar is 65. Light colored honey is higher in fructose and therefore has a higher glycemic index, although still below that of sugar.