city in Texas
Honey bee forage in Sabinal, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it ranks highest in spring and summer (43rd percentile) and lowest in fall (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.9 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.9 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Sabinal?
- First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Main flow: Jan 16 to May 15, peaking late Feb (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 15 (cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Sabinal, 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 19.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, cotton; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, rabbitbrush; dark amber
- Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, dandelion; 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 425 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
- Cotton: about 305 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
- Sorghum: about 88 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 4 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 Sabinal
Mostly: Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub; Oats; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.39 mi W; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.39 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 Sabinal ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 55th | 69th | 21st | 17th |
| Texas | 57th | 43rd | 43rd | 21st |
| Southern Texas Plains | 93rd | 93rd | 98th | 7th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 41% 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 Sabinal: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Knippa 10 mi · D'Hanis 12 mi · Hondo 19 mi · Uvalde 20 mi · Utopia 21 mi · Yancey 23 mi
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 Sabinal (29.3213, -99.4695); 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.