community in New Hampshire
Honey bee forage in Gorham, New Hampshire
Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in New Hampshire. Against other New Hampshire sites it stands out most in summer (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (82nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: blueberries (nearest 2.6 mi NW).
When is the honey flow in Gorham?
- First forage: Mar 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
- Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15, peaking late May (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Gorham, 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 May 27.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, garden flowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.
Bee crops within flight range
- Blueberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jun
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 Gorham
Mostly: Laurentian-Acadian Northern Hardwoods Forest; Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest; Laurentian-Acadian Pine-Hemlock-Hardwood Forest.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.09 mi E; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.2 mi N.
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% 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 Gorham ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 61st | 68th | 69th | 46th |
| New Hampshire | 93rd | 83rd | 93rd | 82nd |
| Northeastern Highlands | 82nd | 68th | 88th | 85th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 80% 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.
The national forage map around Gorham: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Berlin 7 mi · Lancaster 20 mi · Whitefield 20 mi · Groveton 22 mi · Bartlett 22 mi · North Conway 25 mi
All towns in New Hampshire · 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 Gorham (44.3935, -71.1986); 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.