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Whenever our family chats about bees — and that’s very often — we can’t help being amazed at how much beekeeping has changed since Merv started up his little business back in 1968.  These days beekeeping is a big deal in New Zealand, with 9,510 registered beekeepers in 2020. But beekeeping certainly wasn’t that popular in Merv’s day.  Back then it was a simple enterprise, he remembers, and pretty unpopular. There were only half a dozen beekeepers in the area around that time.  Beekeeping was not just hard work, it was hard to make any money back then. Merv didn’t actually bother too much with the honey — that was just for friends. He made his money from providing hives for pollination.  Half the time he even forgot to remember to take so

At Mountain Valley Honey the love of bees is a real family affair. It’s almost as if the fascination with these little creatures is in our genes – passed down through the generations. We love how our family and business lives are interwoven — it’s hard to imagine it being any other way.  Our family’s love affair with bees all began when Merv, Murray’s father, discovered a swarm of bees in 1968. Back then Merv was pretty nervous about the whole thing.  He dressed himself in what he now calls ‘a suit of armour’ (the feral bees were pretty vicious back then) and managed to get the swarm into an apple box. The bees really captured his heart — he got himself a gentle yellow queen from the North Island to replace the feral queen and never looked

Brrr! Winter is definitely here in Nelson, bringing with it misty weather and a series of wet weekends. But even though the Nelson markets have been a bit soggier than usual, nothing seems to dampen the spirits of our lovely customers. Larry (Nicky’s dad) and Murray take turns to man our stall and they love seeing our regulars each week, as well as meeting people from all around New Zealand who are enjoying a Nelson visit. There are many reasons to love winter. It’s a time for cuddling up and staying warm and indulging in comfort food and log fires. Many more people are embracing Matariki this year, and are getting excited about the brand new holiday set up for 2022.  Winter solstice celebrations are a great chance to slow down and enjoy time with family and fri

The more we work with bees, the more we appreciate these amazing little creatures. We always say that our bees are like our family. And, just like family, bees love to be nurtured. At this time of the year our main job is to make sure they are snuggled up, safe and warm. But there are many other things that we do to keep our bees healthy and happy. At the heart of keeping healthy bees is hive location. We put a huge amount of effort into finding great places for our hives, favouring hideaway places in remote areas. While the bees can regulate the temperature of their hives, fanning themselves if it gets too hot, they prefer a sunny spot that is sheltered from the wind.  Our next checkpoint is pollen sources. While dense patches of Mānuka are great when they are flo

Nelson always looks so beautiful in the autumn. The leaves are really turning now, adding rich colours to the landscape. Everything seems to have a golden glow about it, especially on sunny days.  This time of the year finds us harvesting the last of this season’s honey: Beech Honeydew and our Autumn Gold. While both of these are gorgeous honeys, it is Autumn Gold that has a particularly special place in our hearts.  When we first started harvesting honey, we had a different batch that we were undecided about what to call it, since our bees gather this honey from a range of different sources.  Then a friend of ours, Michael Wraight, suggested, ‘why not call it Autumn Gold? It’s the time of year and look at that colour in the honey!’ We instantly loved the

As we finish off the harvest, removing the last of the honey boxes and getting our bees ready to winter down, we find ourselves reflecting on the season and the art of working with bees.  Although beekeeping certainly has its scientific aspects, it really is as much an Art as it is a Science. Every hive is unique and every season brings a whole range of environmental factors that must be taken into account. Experience plays a huge role when it comes to caring for bees, along with the intuition that only comes from years of work and being connected to what you are doing. Perhaps that’s why beekeeping is often a family business, with knowledge being passed down through generations. This season we’ve certainly had our challenges, with less than ideal weather conditions

These days, more and more people are questioning not only where their food comes from, but also what that food contains. That’s why we go to great lengths to ensure our honey is just like nature intended. However, there are still many things that we must keep an eye on to make sure that it stays that way… The recent news about Japan questioning glyphosates in New Zealand honey exports is just part of a wider debate about unwanted chemicals making their way into food. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, including in New Zealand. Around 90 herbicides contain this chemical, with the most recognised brand being Roundup. At Mountain Valley Honey we employ an accredited laboratory to check for glyphosates in our honey, as part of our honey testi

This is a favourite time of the year for beekeepers, because we get to open the first honey boxes of the season. Every year we find ourselves getting excited, like little kids waiting for Christmas Day. The honey boxes even look like presents, just waiting to be unwrapped. The first of the honey boxes have already made their way to the extraction shed, and the whole place is perfumed with the rich scent of Kāmahi — the first honey of our season. The aroma makes Nicky particularly happy. She says she loves the way kāmahi looks when it pours: “Kāmahi has a special golden colour and just seems to glow as it pours into the jars.” Everyone on our team has their favourite honey, and Nicky’s is definitely Kāmahi. With the harvest underway, the boys in the shed are getting i

The sun is out, the spring winds have dropped, and our bees are happy. It’s time to give a huge sigh of relief and reflect on the crazy year that was. We New Zealanders are so privileged to be able to enjoy a Christmas spent with family and friends. As we buzz about looking for festive treats, our bees are foraging for goodies too. At this time of year, they are continuing to work the Kāmahi and are just beginning to discover the early flowering Mānuka.  The busy little creatures are so intent on their honey collection that they pay no attention to us at all. So, we will pretty much leave them to it over the Christmas break — just checking in once or twice, to make sure they are happily working and have strong hives.   As our team takes time to reflect on

Sustainability is close to our hearts at Mountain Valley Honey. In fact, it is at the heart of everything we do, and we are always on the lookout for new ways to reduce waste and help the environment.  Our attitude to sustainability is reflected in the way we manage our hives. Our bees need a nice clear entry to their hives, but we never use sprays to keep the grass and weeds at bay. We much prefer to get stuck in with a scrub cutter and good old-fashioned manual labour. It’s harder work, especially in a bee suit on a hot day, but the less chemicals we can use in our practices, the happier we are — and bees everywhere appreciate that too. The wilderness location of our hives does pose significant challenges for being environmentally aware since long drives into the

Even after so many years working with bees, we still think there is something quite miraculous about honey – it truly is a gift from nature. Since ancient times, people have revered honey. The Greeks called honey ‘the nectar of the gods,’ and made special honey cakes as offerings to keep the gods on-side. Some scholars even think that ambrosia, the legendary food of the gods, might have been a type of honey.  But it was not just the Greeks — honey has associations across many ancient cultures. One of our favourite examples comes from Egypt, where it was believed that bees were the tears of the sun god Ra. Isn’t that a fantastic image? The bee is the symbol of the Hindu gods, Vishnu and Krishna, as well as many other deities. Beehives in ancient Rome were lar

Winter in Nelson can be such a delight. Log fires, night skies studded with the Matariki stars, crisp walks on the beach, and winter sunshine catching the snow on the mountains. Perfect.  It’s also a time when many Nelsonian’s enjoy indulging in a wee bit of hibernation. The cold weather gives us the perfect excuse to take a rest from our gardening and adventure activities, and snuggle up by the fire instead.  Our bees love to hunker down in the winter too. Mostly they huddle together in their hives, with some worker bees venturing out if it gets warm enough. For bees, that means around 8-10 degrees — which just goes to show what sensible little creatures they are.  Our beekeepers take care not to disturb the bees too much over winter. They just make