Oh, honey…

Sep 16

We’ve had honey bees at Urban Greens since we began our gardens years ago, because plants and bees enjoy a beautiful symbiosis that readily benefits us humans. Not only do we receive the benefit of fresh veggies, fruits and flowers, if you care for these incredible insects properly, you’ll receive their golden honey, a magical curative health serum.

Honey has a sweet and fascinating history that spans thousands of years. The earliest evidence of humans harvesting honey dates back to around 8,000 years ago, as depicted in ancient cave paintings in Valencia, Spain. Honey was revered in various ancient civilizations: Egyptians used it as an offering to the gods and for embalming, while the Greeks and Romans enjoyed it as a natural sweetener and medicinal remedy. Honey also played a crucial role in ancient medicine; the famous Greek physician Hippocrates prescribed it for various ailments, and it was an essential component of Ayurvedic treatments in ancient India. Fast forward to the medieval period, and honey continued to be a valued commodity, especially in monasteries, where monks used it to make mead, a popular fermented beverage. Today, honey remains a popular natural sweetener.
In our kitchen, when a recipe calls for sugar, we always check if a honey substitute will suffice. More often than not, it just takes the sweetness down a bit, which isn’t such a bad thing.

Honey bees making honey at Urban Greens micro farm

We always use a hive body, and two supers (level of frames) when stacking or hives. Our intentions are to harvest one super and leave the other to carry the bees over the winter. Oregon Coast winters are unpredictable, unless you’re predicting rain. Those odds are good. The odds of a hive carrying through the winter are not as good. We have had a 50% success each year. There are countless reasons hives fail during the winter, but the most common reason is starvation. This is why we take care to be sure we leave enough honey for our bees to survive the winter.

We use our honey in baking, and lip products. We use it in dressings, and compotes. We eat it on our sourdough, and we put it on wounds like you would Neosporin. Honey has long been recognized for its medicinal properties, particularly when it comes to wound care. Its natural antibacterial and antimicrobial characteristics make it an effective agent in preventing infection and promoting healing. When applied topically, honey creates a protective barrier, keeping the wound moist and preventing contaminants from entering. It also contains enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide, which helps disinfect the wound. Honey's anti-inflammatory properties reduce swelling and pain, while its high sugar content draws out excess moisture, aiding in tissue regeneration and speeding up the healing process so it’s our go to for topical skin medicine.

The photos and video below depict the natural healing process of honey on my leg after having a bit of skin cancer removed. The only thing I used was honey.
(Apologies if it’s too graphic for your taste)