Kovacs Family Apiaries
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It is still under construction, so please check back often for updates.
It is still under construction, so please check back often for updates.
*Norfolk's Wild Flowers*
Product of Ontario: #3 grade, 100% pure, raw honey
2021 prices, in glass jars or plastic containers:
$6/500g or $12/1 kg
Two of our most popular custom packages:
1L Mason Jar: 1.36 Kg #3 grade honey @ $13/L
or 500 mL #3 grade honey @ $7.50
we have all four sizes in stock, ready for pick up or delivery!
As custom packaging, we cannot sell the Mason jars to the general public,
so they will not be available at local farmers markets.
If you prefer any other packaging,
please inquire using the contact information below.
Product of Ontario: #3 grade, 100% pure, raw honey
2021 prices, in glass jars or plastic containers:
$6/500g or $12/1 kg
Two of our most popular custom packages:
1L Mason Jar: 1.36 Kg #3 grade honey @ $13/L
or 500 mL #3 grade honey @ $7.50
we have all four sizes in stock, ready for pick up or delivery!
As custom packaging, we cannot sell the Mason jars to the general public,
so they will not be available at local farmers markets.
If you prefer any other packaging,
please inquire using the contact information below.
Due to the wet weather, all of our 2021 honey is #3 grade. The higher moisture content means that there is a possibility that the honey could ferment. We have learned that clover honey can be a higher moisture content and remain perfectly fine. Our bees have had a lot of access to clover and sweet clover and so we're hopeful that our honey will be ok. So far, so good! If you are not satisfied with honey that you purchased from us, we will refund your money and do not require you to return the honey. If you'd like to be proactive in preserving the quality of your high moisture honey, you can freeze it! Just don't refrigerate it or it will crystalize! If it does crystalize, place it in a bowl of warm water and wait for it to liquify again.
We have happily learned that raw honey can be safely returned to liquid state by running it, tightly sealed, through a dishwasher cycle, with no added heat. Our dishwasher has a quick cycle, approximately half an hour total run time, and 1 kg needs to go through at least twice. I let the it cool naturally in between cycles, to reduce the total amount of time that it needs to actually be heated.
We're not quite finished with the 2021 harvest yet, so final numbers are not yet available. Our first harvest of the year, we sold out in one week flat, our fastest yet! This is in part due to a smaller harvest. Thankfully, what our bees weren't able to produce in honey, they may have provided in pollen collection. It's been a very wet year, so when the bees were able to forage for nectar, there's a chance that some of it was either washed away or evaporated quickly on the hottest days.
2019 looks to bee a good finish, going from 17 hives to 16, as of October 1. The lost hive is actually just a weaker hive that will be combined with a stronger colony. We have no dead hives, yet! Winter is coming, and then Spring. What survives until the dandelions begin to bloom again is what we count as success. Honey and pollen production were both very low this year, though we did manage to harvest about six hundred pounds of honey, I think. Once it's bottled, we'll have a better idea of how much we actually got.
We have happily learned that raw honey can be safely returned to liquid state by running it, tightly sealed, through a dishwasher cycle, with no added heat. Our dishwasher has a quick cycle, approximately half an hour total run time, and 1 kg needs to go through at least twice. I let the it cool naturally in between cycles, to reduce the total amount of time that it needs to actually be heated.
We're not quite finished with the 2021 harvest yet, so final numbers are not yet available. Our first harvest of the year, we sold out in one week flat, our fastest yet! This is in part due to a smaller harvest. Thankfully, what our bees weren't able to produce in honey, they may have provided in pollen collection. It's been a very wet year, so when the bees were able to forage for nectar, there's a chance that some of it was either washed away or evaporated quickly on the hottest days.
2019 looks to bee a good finish, going from 17 hives to 16, as of October 1. The lost hive is actually just a weaker hive that will be combined with a stronger colony. We have no dead hives, yet! Winter is coming, and then Spring. What survives until the dandelions begin to bloom again is what we count as success. Honey and pollen production were both very low this year, though we did manage to harvest about six hundred pounds of honey, I think. Once it's bottled, we'll have a better idea of how much we actually got.
2018 honey harvest and extraction are finished! We're done feeding the girls some pollen patties, and sugar water, to carry them through hopefully until Spring. I don't know who gets more excited, us or them, when the colt's foot, pussy willows, and dandelions start blooming again.
Wait! What?! You don't want sugar-fed bee honey?! No worries! We don't harvest the honey that they make while being fed. They get new comb to work on, once we know they have enough food for themselves. We quit feeding them and all honey that we harvest IS natural nectar-based!
We've already lost five hives this Fall, with at least three confirmed to have been poisoned. Our best and only guess so far is that there may have been some Winter wheat planted with insecticide. One of these hives was our "sky scraper", seven boxes high, best pollen and honey producer. Of course we're very interested in knowing more about how to protect our little ladies!
Wait! What?! You don't want sugar-fed bee honey?! No worries! We don't harvest the honey that they make while being fed. They get new comb to work on, once we know they have enough food for themselves. We quit feeding them and all honey that we harvest IS natural nectar-based!
We've already lost five hives this Fall, with at least three confirmed to have been poisoned. Our best and only guess so far is that there may have been some Winter wheat planted with insecticide. One of these hives was our "sky scraper", seven boxes high, best pollen and honey producer. Of course we're very interested in knowing more about how to protect our little ladies!
In previous years, you could purchase honey not only directly from us, but also at the Simcoe, Port Dover, and London Farmer's Markets; Western Fair and Masonville Place.
Market prices vary according to vendor's overhead costs.
Our #3 grade honey is not available at these markets due to the decreased ability to sell at wholesale prices and recoup our costs.
We do hope to get back into having our honey available at these venues, each year and will update when things change.
Thank you for your understanding.
Market prices vary according to vendor's overhead costs.
Our #3 grade honey is not available at these markets due to the decreased ability to sell at wholesale prices and recoup our costs.
We do hope to get back into having our honey available at these venues, each year and will update when things change.
Thank you for your understanding.
Contact us:
1111 Windham Rd 13, RR7 Simcoe, ON N3Y 4K6
Call or text: 226-231-0914
text is preferred as I spend a lot of time on the road.
Ask us about pollinating services, swarm removal, comb honey, and more!
Also, visit our Kovacs Family website!