I harvest my honey right at Green Acres Farm. Once it is harvested, it is filtered to remove large particles, and put into bottles, but it is otherwise unprocessed. This allows the honey to retain all of the natural components of the nectar it was made from and the small amounts of pollen that are harvested with it. The flavor of honey varies with the seasons, so your second jar of honey won’t be exactly like the first. Spring honey tends to be mild, and late summer/fall honey is usually darker and more flavorful. I try to do 3-4 harvests each summer, and I label my bottles for you, to reflect the season the bees were working on the honey.
Since unprocessed honey tends to crystallize, you may find yourself with a jar of crystallized honey. If you find yours has crystallized, please don’t get rid of it! It is still good. It just needs to be warmed to go back into solution. When it crystallizes while in my care, I gently heat it in my warmer to between 105 and 110 degrees to get it back into solution. The only way to prevent or slow crystallization is to heat honey to 160 degrees and ultrafilter it. However, heating to that temperature breaks down many of the natural compounds that are found in nectar, and ultrafiltration removes pollen, so I don’t do that. Learn more about crystallized honey and what to do about it here.
My honey is available at a couple of local farmers markets, including the Dexter Farmers Market, Dexter Winter Market, Whitmore Lake Farmers Market, and Chelsea Farmers Market. I have provided links to each market’s web site so you can check on details of market times and location. I am not at any of the markets every week, so check my market calendar page to see when I will be at each market. Or you can pick honey up at Green Acres Farm, 6010 Marshall Rd, Dexter, MI. When the temperature is warm enough to limit crystallization, I keep some honey in a little honor system self serve station at the top of my driveway, the ‘honey hut’.
Occasionally I get asked how the honey hut has worked for me. So far, it has been great! I have met some really neat people as they pull in to grab some honey, and to date I have never had a jar of honey go unaccounted for. Which means you guys are AMAZING!!!! As it gets cooler, I move the honey inside, but you can contact me to arrange for a jar to be left in the hut at your specified time.
Bottle sizes and pricing at Green Acres (I suggest you contact me prior to coming to the farm to see what I still have available)
- 8 oz $6 – Sold out
- 1 lb (16 oz) $11 – 15 remaining
- 2 lb (32 oz) $20 – 9 remaining
- 3 lb (48) $28 – 6 remaining
- 5 gallon pail (60 lb) available by special order $330 – sold out
- Seasons of Honey tasting flight gift box (4 2-oz jars) – $15 – sold out
- Creamed honey – 5 oz $6 – sold out, 10 oz $12 – 9 remaining
Glassware prices are up significantly, so bring me your old honey jars (clean and in good condition please) and get a discount.
Honey jar discount: Price is reduced by $ 0.50 for return of 8 oz and 1 lb classic honey jars, 3 lb (quart) jars, and 4 and 8 oz creamed honey jars. I will give you $1.00 off for 2 lb jars. I will accept any classic glass honey jar, regardless of your source, if it is clean and in good condition. Plastic lids are not reused but please return metal lids with the jars as they can be cleaned and reused a few times.