Free shipping on orders $50+

NorCal Nectar

NorCal Nectar Journal

Raw honey, honey sticks & beekeeping

Buying guides, serving maths, recipes and hive management — written to answer one question at a time, with the sources shown.

Start here

Browse by topic

Each hub collects the articles for one subject and links to the product they are about.

Raw Honey

What raw honey actually is, how to tell it apart from filtered supermarket honey, and how Northern California wildflower honey tastes through the season.

Honey Sticks

Serving sizes, pack maths, age safety, and how honey sticks work for tea, lunchboxes, events and businesses.

Recipes

Cooking, baking, drinks and infusions that use raw honey as an ingredient rather than a garnish.

Beekeeping

Hive management, seasonal timing, pests, equipment and California regulations — written for first- and second-year beekeepers.

6 articles · page 1 of 1

Beekeeping & Sustainability

How to Read a Brood Frame: Eggs, Larvae, Capped Brood, and Pattern Diagnosis

Beekeeping & Sustainability

How to Read a Brood Frame: Eggs, Larvae, Capped Brood, and Pattern Diagnosis

A brood frame is a colony's medical chart. Once you know how to read eggs, larvae, capped cells, and pattern shape, a 30-second glance tells you whether the queen is laying well, the colony is healthy, or something is going wrong. This guide walks through the exact inspection sequence experienced beekeepers run on every frame, plus a pattern diagnosis matrix for what spotty, scattered, or sunken brood actually means.

16 min read

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Drought and Wildfire Smoke: Protecting Hives Through Climate Stress

Wildfire smoke and drought now define summer beekeeping across the western US. This guide walks through what smoke does to honey bee foraging and brood health, when drought feeding becomes mandatory, and the exact fire-season hive protection moves -- relocation triggers, water stations, ventilation, and entrance management -- that decide whether your colonies make it to fall.

16 min read

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Fall Beekeeping Checklist: September-November Tasks to Winterize Your Hive

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Fall Beekeeping Checklist: September-November Tasks to Winterize Your Hive

The three months between Labor Day and Thanksgiving decide whether your colony survives until almond bloom. This fall beekeeping checklist walks through the exact September, October, and November tasks -- mite treatment, store assessment, ventilation, and entrance management -- calibrated for Northern California timing.

14 min read

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Scientists Created a Bee Superfood — What It Means for Colony Health in 2026

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Scientists Created a Bee Superfood — What It Means for Colony Health in 2026

Researchers engineered yeast to produce the exact sterols bees need from pollen, and colonies fed the supplement raised 15 times more brood than control groups. With commercial availability expected mid-2026, this breakthrough could reshape how beekeepers manage nutrition during pollen dearths and almond pollination.

13 min read

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Hive Inspection Checklist for Beginner Beekeepers

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Hive Inspection Checklist for Beginner Beekeepers

Regular hive inspections are the single most important habit separating thriving colonies from failed ones. This step-by-step checklist walks beginner beekeepers through every phase of an inspection — from lighting the smoker to reading brood patterns and recording findings — so you catch problems before they become colony losses.

17 min read

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Beekeeping First Winter Survival: A Month-by-Month Protocol for Beginners

Beekeeping & Sustainability

Beekeeping First Winter Survival: A Month-by-Month Protocol for Beginners

Winter kills 40.2% of U.S. colonies every year. This August-through-February protocol gives first-year beekeepers the exact timeline for varroa treatment, store assessment, moisture control, and hands-off monitoring to bring a colony through its first winter alive.

13 min read

Shop while you read

Every guide above points at one of these.

Raw California Honey

Unfiltered wildflower honey in 16, 32 and 64 oz.

Pure Honey Sticks

One teaspoon of raw honey per sealed straw. Seven pack sizes, 10 to 1000.

The Complete Beekeeper Course

Eight written modules on Northern California beekeeping.

Sweeter in your inbox

Be the first to know about new drops, recipes, and hive updates.