Local Honey helps allergies?

[zoom-zoom]

Lisa, that's a great PSA! We are very lucky here to have so many orchards, so our local stores stock mainly local (ie from our state) honey--at least that's what's in the massive jars we seem to go through at the rate of 1/month (we have an 8 year old boy who could live on PB & honey sammiches).

Also great advice about pesticides. When we can get things to grow in our yard (we have some serious deep shade), we like to go with things that are hardy and not attractive to bugs. Deer are another story. But those can be "repelled" with some natural, smelly sprays, too.

[Blueberry]

Thanks for the reminder on local honey. We definitely buy and enjoy local honey (we even try to bribe them to give us the honey from the hives that pollinate the strawberry fields...). It's fabulous We do tend to seek out local honey from places we visit too (we bring jars home...) But allergies - I'm not sure...

[sarahspins]

I think how much/if it helps really has to do with what your specific allergies are and how bad they are... in my case local honey doesn't seem to provide any benefit for me (well, apart from knowing where it comes from!), but I will freely admit that I don't indulge in a tablespoon a day either.. it's too expensive and that's a lot of simple carbs at once.

There are some people who keep bees (one hive) not far from me and I always want to stop and ask them about it.. it's always something that has fascinated me, but i'm sure like a lot of things it's probably more work/hassle than it seems on the surface

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

There are some people who keep bees (one hive) not far from me and I always want to stop and ask them about it.. it's always something that has fascinated me, but i'm sure like a lot of things it's probably more work/hassle than it seems on the surface

Keeping a handful of hives is not that time consuming, since you are usually only going into the hives once every 2 weeks or so to do various things. And healthy bees can take care of themselves for long stretches of time.
The work/effort part of it is fun, and never a hassle if you enjoy your bees. In fact, it's sometimes difficult to back off and quit fussing so much with them, because working with the bees is pretty relaxing... smells so good, soothing humming effect, fun to watch them, etc. Unless of course they are having a bad hair day, in which case you are smart to leave them in peace and pick another day to do your hive chores.

[GLC1968]

Keeping a handful of hives is not that time consuming, since you are usually only going into the hives once every 2 weeks or so to do various things. And healthy bees can take care of themselves for long stretches of time.
The work/effort part of it is fun, and never a hassle if you enjoy your bees. In fact, it's sometimes difficult to back off and quit fussing so much with them, because working with the bees is pretty relaxing... smells so good, soothing humming effect, fun to watch them, etc. Unless of course they are having a bad hair day, in which case you are smart to leave them in peace and pick another day to do your hive chores.

And too much fussing can make them uncomfortable and they will leave to find a quieter location!

I love having our bees and I don't even take care of them, my husband does. It's just nice having that hive right there and the hum on a warm spring day is so comforting to hear!

The honey is nice of course, but personally, I'm more intersted in the wax and the pollination help. Bees are absolutely amazing creatures!