Organic Beekeeping

Keeping honey bees in Cape Breton Island is a fascinating challenge. Our cold climate coupled with a very short growing season put extra pressure on the Island's beekeepers mandating high levels of skill and attention to details.
The origin of our honey bees is from three strains: Italian, Carniolan and Buckfast bees. Over the past decades, stock from these three strains was interbred to result in mongrel bees that perform very well in our harsh climate.

Housed in a central location on our property, our bees forage the maple and birch trees in early spring to get them started with raising the brood. The next flowers available to them are the apple orchard blossoms in late May followed by a variety of wild flowers and lots of clover that allow the bees to build their surplus honey. We harvest the hives in October and make sure we leave enough honey for the bees for winter. Once the temperature drops (November/December) the hives are brought to a wintering room in our main barn. This is where the bees gather in their clusters, enjoying a well deserved rest from the past busy season. Come April, the hives are removed from the wintering room and are placed back in their protected yard.

Obviously, as certified organic beekeepers, our bees are not medicated. Also, our colonies are among the last in North America not infected with the Varroa mite. Due to our beekeeping methods, we do not experience any Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

Our honey is raw, unfiltered and it is not pasteurized therefore it retains the beneficial natural enzymes. It also contains pollen and beeswax particles. Being unfiltered and unpasteurized, our honey crystallizes faster. If you want to turn it back into liquid warm it at no more than 45 degrees C. This process may take 1-2 days.

Our honey is being used in our restaurant - Flavours of Crown Jewel - for cooking and baking. It is also available in 390ml jars in our Shoppes at Crown Jewel and in selected retail outlets in the region.