Honey bee forage in Kinston, Alabama

When is the honey flow in Kinston?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 (cotton)
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Kinston, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Feb 26.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Corn: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Apr – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 157 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Kinston

Mostly: Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Eastern Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.11 mi NE; open water 0.13 mi SW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Kinston ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 57% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Onycha 6 mi · Opp 7 mi · Horn Hill 9 mi · Samson 10 mi · Babbie 11 mi · Sanford 15 mi

All towns in Alabama · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Kinston (31.2196, -86.1701); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.