Knotweed flow

[MikeCinWV]

Having a pretty good flow from the knotweed right now in northern WV.  All hives have filled a medium super over the last week and there is at least another week left.  Lots of pollen coming in.  Going to pull supers soon so I don't get any goldenrod mixed in.  The early goldenrod should start blooming soon.  I'll let the hives keep the remaining knotweed and goldenrod for themselves for winter.  I usually take two supers of knotweed from each hive but last year I had to feed to get up to winter weight so this year I'll just take one per hive.  It's a balancing act, I've had them swarm in September before lol.

 I have alot of customers that prefer the knotweed honey.   It's a dark honey.   Red when held up to the light in a jar.  Very rich tasting.
 
 It's a pita invasive but a great nectar/pollen source.  Are any of you fortunate/unfortunate enough to have knotweed in your area?  Fortunate for the flow and unfortunate because it is a menace and just about impossible to get rid of once it's on your land.  I have it all around both of my properties, mostly along the creeks and river, but fortunately none on them.  Knotweed will grow literally anywhere, I've seen it growing in the cracks on asphalt.

It's one of the plants that resveratrol comes from but I don't know if the honey contains any. I've read that knotweed has more Resveratrol than any other plant.  It would be nice if it did as that would be a good marketing angle.  Resveratrol supposedly has many health benefits.

[rgennaro]

There is ton of knotweed here in the Delaware Valley where I live. I love the taste of the honey. There is none in my property and I don?t think I have seen much in the 3 mile radius around my hive though. But every time I go for a run along the river these days I wonder if I can move my hive there while the knotweed is in bloom. The river edge is completely covered by it on both sides for miles. The beek who helps me these days left me a jar of his knotweed honey from last year. My kids are polishing it off 

[Michael Bush]

You have Japanese knotweed, I assume.  I have never seen any here and if I did I would be required to kill it.  But we have smartweed which is sometimes called knotweed.  It makes a lot of dark late honey.  It started blooming a month or more ago and is really going now.  From what I've heard it's not nearly as productive as the Japanese Knotweed.

[brolib]

We had lots of knotweed when we moved here 6 years ago. I mow it on the flat ground. Haven't figured out how to get rid of it in the less tillable areas; maybe goats. Last night I saw lots of honeybees and several other pollinators going to work on the blossoms. Japanese knotweed is the #1 invasive plant species in UK, I read. We also have kudzu, but it doesn't thrive very well here in northern IN.

[MikeCinWV]

Yes Japanese knotweed, I didn't know anything else went by the same name.  People around here have been trying for years to eliminate it.  Seems impossible. If you chop up the roots every little piece grows into a new plant.  The honey is delicious and it is a major nectar source in my area.  The shoots in spring are edible.

[brolib]

We have a Burmese family that gardens behind our house. The eat the young, tender leaves of knotweed in soup. The other vegetables they grow don't suit me either, but they like growing Burmese veggies and selling to other Burmese.