Honey bee forage in Valley Mills, Texas

When is the honey flow in Valley Mills?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Valley Mills, 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 4.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers; 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug (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 Valley Mills

Mostly: Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Shrubland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi SW; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.22 mi NW.

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 Valley Mills ranks

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

About 65% 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

Mosheim 8 mi · Crawford 8 mi · China Spring 10 mi · Clifton 11 mi · Willow Grove 12 mi · Gholson 14 mi

All towns in Texas · 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 Valley Mills (31.6568, -97.4727); 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.