About Five Acres Honey Farm
Natural beekeeping
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Tara Lynne Groth
Journeyman Beekeeper & Permaculture Designer
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My North Carolina honey farm
Five Acres Honey Farm and Five Acres Honey Farm West are chemical-free apiaries located near Chapel Hill and Bryson City, North Carolina.
About natural beekeeping practices
Natural beekeeping means many different things. I often speak to beekeeping clubs about the different interpretations behind this topic. In my apiaries, I manage the hives without synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, or GMOs. I help the bees control varroa mites by strategically timing brood breaks, applying beneficial nematodes, and implementing organic inputs only when the bees need it.
Natural beekeeping means many different things. I often speak to beekeeping clubs about the different interpretations behind this topic. In my apiaries, I manage the hives without synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, or GMOs. I help the bees control varroa mites by strategically timing brood breaks, applying beneficial nematodes, and implementing organic inputs only when the bees need it.
Why I choose natural beekeeping
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I place honey bee health as the top priority.
Honey production, beeswax processing, propolis and pollen harvesting, and commercial pollinating services are not primary goals of Five Acres Honey Farm. |
Hives build their colonies on “fresh” comb.
I remove 20 percent of all frames annually, which means no hive has comb that’s more than 5 years old. Old comb could harbor pests, mold, and spores that could risk the hive’s health over time. |
Regular hive inspections help to monitor and support healthy colonies.
During peak seasons, Five Acres Honey Farm inspects hives every 5-7 days. This helps prevent swarms, provide each colony the space it needs, identify and treat pests, and ensure every hive has adequate food to support its size. |
Raw North Carolina honey
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All honey produced by Five Acres Honey Farm is minimally-filtered and bottled raw. After extraction in a hand-cranked stainless-steel extractor, the honey settles for 2 days in food-grade BPA-free buckets, and then immediately bottled in glass. Learn about the nutrients in honey.
Since hive health is the #1 priority here, honey is extracted once per year and only from hives that produced a surplus. (2022 was an exceptional year and I had to extract twice from my mountain apiary due to the high volume of production and the bees running out of space.) As a small-batch producer, Five Acres Honey Farm hand-pours and labels every jar. With such a small inventory, it’s not viable to maintain an online store. Learn where to buy honey and how to reserve honey from a future harvest for yourself, referral gifts, or in your own store. |
Five Acres Honey Farm joined the Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Program in 2023
The Xerces Society is a "science-based conservation organization, working with diverse partners that include scientists, land managers, educators, policymakers, farmers, and communities." I pledged to grow pollinator-friendly flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides, and spread the word. I help to do the latter through speaking engagements.
Five Acres Honey Farm joined the Butterfly Highway in 2021
The Butterfly Highway is a conservation program from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation that helps restore native pollinator habitats. Five Acres Honey Farm joined this network dedicated to fostering and adding native flowering plants for wildlife.
Five Acres Honey Farm became a Certified Wildlife Habitat® in 2018.
About Certified Wildlife Habitats®
The National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitats are areas dedicated to providing food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices for wildlife.
Food. Five Acres Honey Farm regularly adds nectar-producing plants and trees, nut- and fruit-bearing plants, and pollen sources. I added an apple orchard in 2020.
Water. In addition to a natural vernal creek that runs through the property, I installed a pond for the bees.
Cover and places to raise young. Beyond rock piles, naturally wooded areas, and a meadow, we continue to add shelters such as an owl house, bee hotel for native pollinators, birdhouses, and a bat house. We minimally harvest trees for firewood and prefer to leave fallen trees for insects and animals.
Sustainable practices. In addition to two compost piles, we try to manage most of our food waste through vermiculture. A worm bin allows us to produce nutrient-rich and chemical-free compost. We also practice Integrated Pest Management and seek to add native plants whenever possible.
The National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitats are areas dedicated to providing food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices for wildlife.
Food. Five Acres Honey Farm regularly adds nectar-producing plants and trees, nut- and fruit-bearing plants, and pollen sources. I added an apple orchard in 2020.
Water. In addition to a natural vernal creek that runs through the property, I installed a pond for the bees.
Cover and places to raise young. Beyond rock piles, naturally wooded areas, and a meadow, we continue to add shelters such as an owl house, bee hotel for native pollinators, birdhouses, and a bat house. We minimally harvest trees for firewood and prefer to leave fallen trees for insects and animals.
Sustainable practices. In addition to two compost piles, we try to manage most of our food waste through vermiculture. A worm bin allows us to produce nutrient-rich and chemical-free compost. We also practice Integrated Pest Management and seek to add native plants whenever possible.