Honey bee forage in Shady Dale, Georgia

When is the honey flow in Shady Dale?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15, peaking late Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Shady Dale, 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 13.

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): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some 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

• Corn: about 260 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late 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 Shady Dale

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

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.25 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.26 mi E.

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 Shady Dale ranks

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

About 82% 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

Godfrey 6 mi · Monticello 9 mi · Newborn 10 mi · Mansfield 12 mi · Eatonton 13 mi · Madison 14 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 Shady Dale (33.3985, -83.5894); 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.