Japanese Knotweed
Posted by blueberrytalk on August 30, 2008
Some beekeepers rely on Japanese Knotweed for a late honey flow. Most of the Knotweed in our area is 1-2 kilometres away along a roadside ditch. The dark honey is so distictive you know exactly what the bees have been into and from time to time a colony will find this source and produce a significant amount of honey. The Japanese Knotweed must be an amazing source of nectar to be able to produce in late summer when the days are short and the weather is not conducive to gathering nectar.
Here is one description of the honey:
Bamboo honey is made from Japanese knotweed, or Polygonum cuspidatum which looks like bamboo, but is unrelated. The knotweeds are related to buckwheat, and the honey, like buckwheat honey, is dark, spicy, and rich in life-giving antioxidants. Bamboo honey is milder and fruitier than buckwheat honey…. Source:http://inmolaraan.blogspot.com/2008/02/bamboo-honey-vanilla-pudding-japanese.html
Japanese Knotweed
Bees on Knotweed
This plant is so invasive you would never plant it without expecting it to be around forever.
Daddydoctor said
My father and I argue about which type of honey tastes the best.
This was a great article on honey.
The more I learn about bee’s & honey, the more amazed I am. On the medical side, there is a lot of new research being done on the health benefits of honey.
Some research has shown that certain types of honey are good for wound healing.
Some researchers from Penn State have recently shown that Buckwheat honey is better then the OTC children’s cough medicines for children’s cough. There is a web site that talks about this, and gives lots of research to help parents be better informed about how to help their kids. Check out http://www.honeydontcough.com/
-Daddydoctor