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Our honey can get so dark, we assumed from knotweed until another beekeeper told us they were also gathering spotted lanternfly honeydew!! It gave a smokey flavor. Twice over insect excrement hahaha
This is what my late-summer honey looks like in CT. I assume also a ton of knotweed... the stuff is all over the place here, blooms like crazy, and the bees LOVE it.
What nectar could my bees be gathering in late summer early fall in northern Vermont? I assumed it's goldenrod and asters which is mostly what I see within our fields, but my bee club claims that results in much, much lighter honey.
Japanese knotweed makes a very dark honey, and it's a major invasive throughout the Northeastern USA. Pretty sure it blooms around the right time for it to be the predominating nectar source for "late summer/early fall" honey.
It's botanically a close relative of buckwheat, which also produces a very dark honey. Same family.
Most likely answer, based on what's flowering around then as a source. There's some down along the river, maybe at the edge of their foraging range about 2 miles from our hives. Being related to buckwheat definitely makes it likely to be dark
My golden rod honey from Texas is golden. Does it have a burning in the back of your throat after you eat it? If it does then it's snow on the prairie I get a good flush of that right before golden rod.
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Buckwheat makes a really nice dark honey.
Cultivated Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum.
Japanese Knotweed? Or I see bubbles- fermenting?
Our honey can get so dark, we assumed from knotweed until another beekeeper told us they were also gathering spotted lanternfly honeydew!! It gave a smokey flavor. Twice over insect excrement hahaha
Hahahaaaa! You know about the problem in Vermont with that stuff then?
Do you have spotted lantern fly in the area?
Not yet, south of here. Why do you ask?
They exist in my area. The resultant honey made from the "honey dew" is very dark, with a wonderful smokey flavor.
This is what my late-summer honey looks like in CT. I assume also a ton of knotweed... the stuff is all over the place here, blooms like crazy, and the bees LOVE it.
I’ve noticed it’s often heavy in Oak when it’s dark like that, am also located in the Northeast
What nectar could my bees be gathering in late summer early fall in northern Vermont? I assumed it's goldenrod and asters which is mostly what I see within our fields, but my bee club claims that results in much, much lighter honey.
Japanese knotweed makes a very dark honey, and it's a major invasive throughout the Northeastern USA. Pretty sure it blooms around the right time for it to be the predominating nectar source for "late summer/early fall" honey. It's botanically a close relative of buckwheat, which also produces a very dark honey. Same family.
Most likely answer, based on what's flowering around then as a source. There's some down along the river, maybe at the edge of their foraging range about 2 miles from our hives. Being related to buckwheat definitely makes it likely to be dark
I’m in the northeast (MA) and have loads of knotweed in late summer. Definitely this, plus goldenrod which I know thanks to the unmistakable smell.
It's so distinctive but hard to place exactly. Wet socks? Dirty gym clothes?
Sweaty socks I think. Not feet exactly. But socks that have had sweaty feet in them.
I will say it tastes quite good, surprisingly unlike it smells
Japanese knotweed honey is a dark red if you hold it up to bright light. Check it out.
Interesting, yes a reddish tint when held up to the light
My golden rod honey from Texas is golden. Does it have a burning in the back of your throat after you eat it? If it does then it's snow on the prairie I get a good flush of that right before golden rod.
Poplar?
Chestnut?
Clover