The sweet delicious honey enjoyed by so many people is the result of countless thousands of flights by countless thousands of tireless honeybees to countless thousands of flower blossoms. From those blossoms, the honeybees bring drops of nectar back to the hive. They are deposited in the honeycombs and evaporated into honey by the rapid wing movements of other bees. The hardworking honeybee is so productive that there is usually much more honey in a hive than is needed for the survival of the colony. The excess honey is harvested for human use.

Many people are not aware that the honeybee has disappeared from the wild due to epizootic disease. Even under cultivation, it is difficult for honeybee colonies to survive. Therefore the beekeeper must be ever vigilant. At Three Roods Farm, we've had anywhere from 1 to 8 colonies on a given year.

Most commercially available honey has been boiled to prevent crystallization. This denatures the delicate flavor and destroys natural enzymes in the honey, from which the traditional healing power is derived. We offer raw wildflower honey for $6/lb.

Apprentices are encouraged to come to Three Roods Farm and learn the art of beekeeping. Most of the work is done in the spring and fall. Spring tasks include examining the hives, repairing hives, dividing hives, and feeding young colonies. The honey harvest begins in the late summer with activities like removing the honey, extracting the honey and bottling the honey. The bee is a fascinating creature worth understanding.