Honey bee forage in Cave Spring, Georgia

When is the honey flow in Cave Spring?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31, peaking late Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cave Spring, 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 Mar 21.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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

• Cotton: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul (grown 1 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 Cave Spring

Mostly: Southern Ridge and Valley / Cumberland Dry Calcareous Forest; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.24 mi SE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.31 mi W.

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 Cave Spring ranks

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

About 71% 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

Cedartown 8 mi · Lindale 11 mi · Rome 14 mi · Berry College 15 mi · Aragon 17 mi · Rockmart 18 mi

All towns in Georgia · 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 Cave Spring (34.1086, -85.3397); 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.