A Sweet Success: Reflecting on Our 2025 Honey Harvest

Dear Honey Lovers, First, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who tasted our honey this year! Your support has made 2025 a remarkable season for our beekeeping journey. Despite early concerns about a poor harvest due to unpredictable weather, we’re thrilled to share that things turned out far better than expected. Not only did we double last year’s honey sales, but we also sold out by the second week of September! This incredible demand has us buzzing with excitement—and it’s clear we’ll need more bees for next year to keep up with you all!

A Late but Plentiful Harvest

As we mentioned in a previous post, the weather played a big role this season, preventing us from producing both light and dark honey varieties. The harvest came later than usual, but the quality and quantity exceeded our expectations. Your enthusiasm for our honey made all the hard work worthwhile, and we’re already looking forward to next season.

Lessons Learned for 2026

Every season teaches us something new, and 2025 was no exception. Here are a few key takeaways we’ll carry into next year:

1. More Frequent Hive Inspections: We learned that inspecting hives every week, rather than every other week, is crucial. This season, one hive became honey-bound, which could have been avoided with more regular checks. Weekly inspections will help us stay on top of our bees’ needs.

2. Relocating the Self-Serve Stand: Our roadside self-serve stand has been a hit, but its placement near the gate—close to our enthusiastic (and slightly intimidating) barking dog—may have deterred some visitors. Next year, we’ll move the stand to a quieter, more welcoming spot to ensure everyone feels comfortable stopping by.

3. Improved Labels: We received feedback that some customers struggled to read the fine print on our labels. For 2026, we’ll redesign them with larger, clearer text to make the information more accessible.

4. Modernizing Payments: To make purchasing easier, we’re adding a QR code to the stand for quick PayPal payments, alongside our traditional cash option. This should streamline the process and make it more convenient for everyone.

Preparing for Winter and Beyond

With the harvest behind us, our focus has shifted to getting our bees ready for winter. I’ve been busy feeding them and redesigning the hive insulation to keep them cozy through the colder months. Over the winter, I’ll be building more beehives to expand our operation for spring. I’m also exploring the exciting possibility of raising my own queens—a new challenge that I’m eager to tackle. Stay tuned for updates on how it goes!

A Sweet Thank You Once again, thank you to everyone who purchased our honey, shared kind words, and followed along with our blog. We’re amazed at how quickly our stock sold out this year, and we’re so grateful for your support. Of course, we’ve set aside a few jars for ourselves to enjoy—because who can resist that golden goodness? As we head into winter, we’re already dreaming of next season’s harvest. With more bees, better systems, and your continued support, we can’t wait to see what 2026 brings. Keep buzzing with us, and we’ll keep you posted on our beekeeping adventures! Warmly, Justin & Kristi.