Honey bee forage in Pajaro, California

When is the honey flow in Pajaro?

• First forage: Jan 1 (strawberries, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 30, peaking late Feb (strawberries, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Pajaro, 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 24.

What the honey is made of

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

• Strawberries: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jan – early Apr (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Apples: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms late Feb – early Mar

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 Pajaro

Mostly: Misc Vegs & Fruits; California Coastal Live Oak Woodland and Savanna; Developed, medium intensity.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.41 mi N; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.43 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Strawberries: insecticides used on about 96% of surveyed US acres (2025); Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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 Pajaro ranks

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

Nearby

Watsonville 2 mi · Las Lomas 2 mi · Interlaken 3 mi · Freedom 4 mi · Pajaro Dunes 4 mi · Amesti 5 mi

All towns in California · 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 Pajaro (36.9017, -121.7417); 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.