Saxapahaw, NC

The Flower of Carolina

Questions? Info@hawhoney.com

Haw Honey is a native plant nursery and Meadery located in Saxapahaw NC

Order Plants and Hive Products for local Pickup or Delivery

Visit us on Saturday Mornings at the Eno River Farmers Market in Hillsborough NC

Frequently Asked Beekeeping Questions

Haw Honey produces only exceptionally tasty, 100% pure wildflower honey. It is the best quality honey money can buy. You can trust that we follow best beekeeping practices. Unsure? ask us anything! 

Here are some frequently asked questions and answers:

  • What kind of honey do you sell? 
    • Spring wildflower from Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Mostly from tulip poplar. A smooth and rich honey, with a deep red color.
  • Is the honey Organic?
    • No, organic honey is not an option in the USA, since bees can forage up to 3 miles away. We do keep the hives on organic farms or in fallow/ hay fields. 
  • Do you feed your bees sugar water?
    • Of course, but only when necessary and never when honey boxes are present. Bees are fed like any animal you care for. 
  • Do you treat the bees with chemicals to control mites?
    • Absolutely, it extremely important to have healthy bees! But we never use chemicals when honey boxes are on the hives.
  • How often do you get stung?
    • Every time I check the bees, if I'm not careful. When going through dozens of hives in a day, some bee is bound to get you. If you get the stinger out quickly, it's not so bad. 
  • Do you ever move the colonies to pollinate crops?
    • No, all the hives are stationary, at the apiaries in Saxapahaw, year-around. Its important to only have local bees for local honey.
  • Is it hard to keep your bees alive and happy?
    • It is difficult to know what to do and when to do it. Once you figure that out, losses are able to be managed.
  • What can I do if I want to help save the bees?
    • The best thing you can do is to plant more bee food and don't cut the food (flowers) you have! All kinds of yard weeds and wildflowers, but particularly native species provide pollen and nectar to local bees.
  • I'm interested in beekeeping, where do I start?
    • Learn as much as you can, before buying any bees or equipment. Join a local beekeeping club and subscribe to a beekeeping magazine. Find a mentor or someone who can show you what to do and not to do. And make sure you are not allergic to bee stings. 
  •  Is local honey good for relieving my allergies?
    • Maybe, that would depend on whether you are allergic to the pollen found in the honey, and lots of other factors. If it is a spring seasonal allergy, perhaps it will help, because that is when the honey is collected. If you have an allergic reaction to grasses, oaks, or other wind carried pollens or fall pollen (just for example), there may not be any impact.
  • Are honey bees bad for the native bee populations?
    • Sure, in some cases. There is competition between non-native honey bees and the native bee populations, where they overlap and resources are limited. But in reality, honey bees forage over a mile or more from their hive and dilute their impact across a landscape. They need tons of nectar to make honey, while native bees mostly need pollen. In areas of excess honey bee colony stocking, the local bees, which only travel around a thousand feet from their burrow, will be impacted. 
  • Are you a commercial beekeeper?
    • No, we are very small business, with around 50+ colonies. A commercial operation will have hundreds or thousands of hives.