In a message dated 98-03-30 07:09:35 EST, [log in to unmask] (aweinert)
writes:
 
<< I have been doing some research into buck wheat and  see that this
 honey is supposed to be prised in the US  and Canada.
 
 Is this still the case and is there a market for it.  Also  how long
 dose it yield for and how much can one expecx from a hive >>
 
   I grew up on buckwheat honey, and it is still my favorite, as it is for
many in my generation and older. Unfortunately, buckwheat acreages are much
reduced from previous years, and the new hybrid varities do not yield as much
nectar as the old.
 
   Some of the market has been spoiled by beekeeper fraud, ie, mixing other
dark honeys, and/or cappings melter honey into buckwheat.  There is also some
replacement by a plant invader, Japanese Bamboo, which is actually a wild
buckwheat, and makes a nice honey, though milder in taste.
 
   Back in the glory days, some New York beekeepers made 200 pounds or more on
buckwheat honey. (And some had already made a hundred pounds or so on sweet
clover. Some younger beekeepers would not believe this possible, but I've seen
records of some of the old beekeepers who AVERAGED 300+ lb crops. The old
varieties of buckwheat were some of the best honey producing plants that have
ever been prized by beekeepers. Bee yard locations where the bees could fly
one way to sweet soils for the early clover flow, and then in another
direction for the acid soil, late buckwheat and goldenrod flows, were also
valued. Nowadays, the beekeepers more the bees.)
 
    Believe it or not, buckwheat grows best on poor, acid soils. A common
mistake of a beginner buckwheat grower is to give it fertilizer. The plant
then makes great growth, but very little seed.  It is not a grain; it is a
broadleaf plant. In the northeast and north central US, it is sown in early
July, comes into bloom in August, with a pretty white flower, and is usually
covered with bees through the morning hours.
 
    At midday, the plant suddenly stops producing nectar, and woe be to the
beekeeper who tries to handle the bees in the afternoon. A buckwheat flow is
wonderful, but the bees are equally awful, when they are mad about the flow
shutoff.
 
   The seed is harvested by combining in September. One unfortunate drawback
for the growers is that the seeds do not all ripen together. If a grower waits
until the later seeds are dry, he risks a wind shucking out all the early
seeds onto the ground. So yield averages are often poor, or at least not what
they could be.
 
   Buckweat is sometimes used as a green manure, and it is a great feeder for
wildlife.
 
    Hope this helps in your quest for information.
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm