The Beekeeping Trend Continues to Grow

Is it just me, or is backyard beekeeping everywhere these days? On a day trip to Half Moon Bay last weekend, I was delighted to see a sign for, “Honey, 500 yards ahead.” Not strawberries. Not peaches. Honey! Of course I pulled over. I wanted to know what they  were selling.

Bee Happy Honey (pardon my finger creeping into the picture)

Other day-trippers and cyclists were huddled around a table on the side of the road sampling varietals like lavender, wildflower, and anise. Wayne and Dillan, of Bee Happy Honey, stood behind the table, explaining where the jars of honey came from and why they all tasted so different. They were even selling bags of bee pollen. They made me promise not to reveal their location—they didn’t want the competition to swoop in on their spot—but they did assure me that all of their honey was 100% pure, raw, and local. Did roadside honey stands even exist two or three years ago?Recent articles in 7×7 and the LA Times have been covering the beekeeping trend as it spreads from farmer’s markets to SF landmarks like the Fairmont Hotel and Bi-Rite Market, not to mention restaurants  like The French Laundry and Nopa. We’re even seeing beekeeping stories pop up in far-off, exotic locales like Ohio and Arkansas!

In 2009, Margaret Sloan, one of Sunset’s beekeepers and One-Block bloggers, wrote a post about the growing trend of backyard beekeeping, and two years later the trend is stronger than ever! And we hope it continues to grow, which is why Margaret and our local beekeeping mentor, Thomas Keller, will take to our Make it Your Own stage at this year’s Celebration Weekend for a 30-minute Beekeeping for Beginners presentation. If you want to become a part of this awesome urban homesteading trend, come join us at Celebration Weekend on June 4th at 2:15, and check out our other Make It Your Own speakers too!