# Bumper crop Goldenrod



## jly500

Looking like it is going to be a bumper crop of honey this year. Goldenrod in bloom all around. Hives and supers are filling up. What is everyone else seeing?


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## GreenSalsa

jly500 said:


> Looking like it is going to be a bumper crop of honey this year. Goldenrod in bloom all around. Hives and supers are filling up. What is everyone else seeing?


In eastern NC, three of my hives just filled two supers each. I just threw on another box to keep them busy!


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## burns375

My hives in the country are out working hard. They put on some weight. The aroma around the hives is overwhelming. I was seeing alot of white snakeroot pollen coming back. Bees powedered white.


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## NewBeeinKY

Tons of goldenrod here in the Paducah, KY area. My bees went queenless for a little bit and ended up backfilling the brood nest with nectar. They have a queen now, and there seems to be room for her to lay. I'm a little sad that I don't have much drawn comb for the bees to store all of this amazing nectar in. I just started my hive in May and I'm using foundationless frames. They've built some really beautiful comb and it's filled with capped honey, but the stress and population drop that came from being queenless means they didn't have the resources to build more comb. Hopefully they can get back on track. I don't necessarily want honey for myself this year, but I'd like them to have more than enough going into winter. If there had to be a season for my bees to end up making a new queen in Mid-September, though, I'd say this was the right season for it. Mild weather, goldenrod going like gangbusters, and no sign of frost in sight...yet.


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## BeeMoose

I had to put a third super on a new this year double deep hive from a package, about a week ago. The goldenrod is everywhere. I live in SE Ohio and hope it lasts for another week or two.

You are right about the smell at the beehives. I'll walk by them just to get a whif


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## Frgrasso

Same here in western NY , goldenrod everywhere 
And Almost 5 foot + tall in some areas , probably a 
Week more to go here .


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## wallyblackburn

BeeMoose said:


> I had to put a third super on a new this year double deep hive from a package, about a week ago. The goldenrod is everywhere. I live in SE Ohio and hope it lasts for another week or two.


Dumb question from a 1st year beek: Do you mean you put on a super with already drawn comb? Or foundation (or foundations frames)?

Thanks,
Wally


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## BeeMoose

I put on a third super with undrawn foundation, as it is all I had. This new hive had already drawn out two deeps and two supers. I do not expect them to fill it but thought they
might get a start on drawing the frames out for next year.


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## jly500

I had drawn out comb I had from this summer and they filled that all up. I had to put in just foundation and they are drawing it out and filling it up as they go. Goldenrod is blooming everywhere here. Best year in years here in southern Indiana.


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## Uberwilhelm

Wow are you lucky. It has been so dry here in CT the last 2 months that I haven't seen barely any goldenrod at all.


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## beecole

upstate South Carolina

My entire back yard smells like cheese!


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## Harley Craig

jly500 said:


> I had drawn out comb I had from this summer and they filled that all up. I had to put in just foundation and they are drawing it out and filling it up as they go. Goldenrod is blooming everywhere here. Best year in years here in southern Indiana.


I didn't add any foundation because traditionally they won't pull wax this late in the yrs but after loosing 2 swarms to the trees I may just have to


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## jly500

Harley Craig said:


> I didn't add any foundation because trwaditionally they won't pull wax this late in the yrs but after loosing 2 swarms to the trees I may just have to[/QUOTE
> 
> That has been a concern of mine. They have been back filling like crazy. I just keep adding supers and they are drawing out foundation and here it is almost October. Weather has been perfect. 80 and low 50s at night. Weather forcast looks the same for the next week.


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## dgrc

The goldenrod flow here in MN is going like the Energizer Bunny. My single backyard hive just reeks. The girls are still bringing in reasonable amounts of pollen and, I presume, nectar.

Not to mention the bumblebees who camp out on the goldenrod over night so they can get an early start in the morning.


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## spunky

Yea me too. I am 30 miles NW of you and I can smell my one hive from 3 feet away; smells like a sugary sweat sock


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## tommysnare

Yup.smells like gym socks and Fritos around our apiary too Hahahaha.


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## jly500

Here in Monroe County and Lawrence County fields are bright yellow. Last year was not that great of a flow here but this year it's really making up for it. I can smell it as soon as I get out of my car when I get home in the afternoon. A buddy of mine came over this weekend and ask what is that smell. I told him and he said he did not want any honey from me.


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## psfred

Goldenrod is going crazy around here, I seem more than usual. My hives all smell of rotten gym socks, and I will have to inspect shortly to make sure they don't need more room (or more feed, the split and the swarm I caught are way behind the others).

And the Eupetorium hasn't bloomed yet, that's good for some late honey around here too. Lots of yellow, pale yellow, and white pollen coming in.

Probably won't get any honey, although I do have a pair of supers with drawn comb in case. Most of my hives are new this year, and were fairly slow to build up, so they are short on stores.

Peter


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## TWall

I was talking to another local beekeeper. He has a scale hive that put on 53 lbs last week. He is adding more supers to his hives.

I can still smell my backyards 50 feet away.

Tom


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## clyderoad

Man am I envious. I keep saying "one of these days" but it hasn't happened.
I think we have the wrong kind of goldenrod in these parts.
Any of you guys care to collect a few pounds of seed from your variety
and send them my way? I'll get it going here by hook or crook.


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## RedBarn

Thought I saw some goldenrod starting in WI last week. Hope it is a good year for it.


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## Michael Palmer

Smelled GR today. Right on the usual August 20 smell by date.


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## nediver

Michael Palmer said:


> Smelled GR today. Right on the usual August 20 smell by date.


I drove from Middlebury home to southern CT yesterday and you have way more goldenrod in VT than we do. Even your loostrife plants make ours look like midgets. 

Don't see knotweed yet. Treated for mites today. How long you figure we get flow this year?


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## SandyCreekApiary

RedBarn said:


> Thought I saw some goldenrod starting in WI last week. Hope it is a good year for it.


It started opening in my area on Saturday August 5th and more and more is opening up every day. Some fields look like they will be solid yellow soon. I'm hoping its a good one too!


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## RedBarn

SandyCreekApiary said:


> It started opening in my area on Saturday August 5th and more and more is opening up every day. Some fields look like they will be solid yellow soon. I'm hoping its a good one too!


Fields of it !!!! wow, you could hit the mother load if it's a good flow....


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## gww

Bee keepers would have wanted to shoot me last year cause I brush hogged about 25 acres of showy golden rod. I mean the fields were pure yellow and I saw the bees working it hard. Not my bees cause I don't see the same thing around me, more woods. I did collect a bunch of seed heads in a plastic bag and spread them in my field behind my house but aparrently it didn''t take.

I know you guys already know this but I did see hundreds of bees working the golden rod while I was collecting my seed.
Cheers
gww


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## zonedar

Not having much goldenrod around here other than some Canadian GR along the road sides, is the honey in smell and taste similar to Queen Anne's Lace?


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## JustKrispy

Just startng here in northern Minnesota.


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## drummerboy

JustKrispy said:


> Just startng here in northern Minnesota.


Started about two weeks ago, and we're about two weeks from it peaking. We are surrounded by the stuff.....bees have even begun ignoring the buckwheat we plant annually...a tell tale sign that they are hitting the GR hard right now....that and all the yellow pollen being brought in...

Anyone else remember learning/hearing/reading that GR has lost some of it protein power over the last 4 decades...something like 30%!!!?


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## Michael Palmer

drummerboy said:


> ....that and all the yellow pollen being brought in...


Not orange?


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## drummerboy

Michael Palmer said:


> Not orange?


...Just had cataract surgery to right eye yesterday (left was done two weeks ago), so perhaps I'm seeing yellow, when someone else may see orange? 

Or maybe Wisconsin's goldenrod is more yellow than Vermont's? At any rate, goldenrod is the predominant flowering plant around right now, so am confidant that's what I'm seeing my bees bringing in, even with limited eyesight  that and the stink of course.

...as a sidenote, despite limited vision which seriously affected ability see eggs all summer, our bees are doing very well as the season winds down, in a few weeks all that'll be flowering will be the Asters (grandkids were especially helpful more than a few times, one may even decide to keep her own colony next year).

...no one has any comments on the loss of protein in goldenrod, and how that 'may' be affecting winter survival?


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## rkereid

burns375 said:


> My hives in the country are out working hard. They put on some weight. The aroma around the hives is overwhelming. I was seeing alot of white snakeroot pollen coming back. Bees powedered white.


In my area of SW VA, the white pollen now is knapweed. Snakeroot isn't out yet here. Scale hives are still going down a little each day even though plenty of pollen is coming in, finally. The first of the goldenrod and wingstem is just starting to open.


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## Scitfrostbite

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Bees all over GR in Wachusett Mtn State Park in central MA. Check out the impressive Crab Spider ambushing pollinators in picture 2.


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