Jason Leman is a local beekeeper from Roanoke. He explains how he cares for his hives, tending carefully and keeping as close to nature as possible. 

A few things about our beehives:

I try and take as little time checking them as I feel like the more times and longer I check them, the more it disrupts their natural way inside the hive. Of course there are times where things go wrong and you have to intervene, but why do so if it is not necessary?

I check the hives every 7-10 days depending on the season. 

The hives are located near a lot of woods so there is always something that they can forage on, meaning that I rarely supplement feed as they get every thing they need through nature!

Spring honey is mostly made up of black locust tree blooms which is a very light honey. There are other nectar sources mixed in like Dutch clover and dandelion. 

Summer honey is made up primarily of blooming soybean fields. Where the hives are, there are multiple organic fields close by. I have never lost a hive to farmers spraying insecticides.

All fall honey I leave on for the bees to make it through winter!

All of our honey is raw and never heated up more than what a beehive would keep it at. That way it keeps all of the nutrients in the honey.