California's winter rains are bringing hope for a productive honey season on the Central Coast this year.
“We’re looking forward to a really vigorous spring,” said beekeeper John Chestnut.
Beekeepers and honey producers are thankful for all of the rain that fell this winter.
Without rain, flowers would not be able to grow and produce pollen and nectar.
“Until there is a lot of rain, nectar just doesn't fill up those flowers so the bees can reach it. When you have a wet year, there’s a lot of nectar for the bees,” Chestnut continued.
After being in a drought for so long, bees have been in need of a little bit of rain.
Virginia Rose, owner of California Bee Company on the Central Coast, says her family is excited about honey production this season.
“This year, with all the rain, there's going to be plenty of flowers for them. They're already so happy and having all these warm days after all the rain we've had, they're really getting out there and starting to build up. They're really going to make a lot of honey this year,” Rose said.
Rose and her family have honeybees all along the Central Coast and sell honey at local farmers' markets.
The peak season for honey is coming up, so we can expect to see lots of honey production in May and June.
