Honey bee forage in Marion, Oregon

When is the honey flow in Marion?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, clover/Wildflowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Marion, 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 Apr 9.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, clover/Wildflowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, clover/Wildflowers, dandelion, spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, mint; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, clover/Wildflowers, summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Alfalfa: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 100 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Clover and wildflowers: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Squash: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late May – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Buckwheat: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Sep (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 Marion

Mostly: Western Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Sod/Grass Seed; North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.17 mi N; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.19 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Squash: insecticides used on about 71% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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 Marion ranks

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

Nearby

West Scio 4 mi · Jefferson 5 mi · Scio 5 mi · Turner 7 mi · Aumsville 7 mi · Stayton 7 mi

All towns in Oregon · 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 Marion (44.7512, -122.9277); 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.