Honey bee forage in Pomeroy, Washington

When is the honey flow in Pomeroy?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 31, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, spotted and diffuse knapweed, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

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

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), snowberry; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, yellow starthistle; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, yellow starthistle, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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

• Peas: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Chickpeas: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul (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 Pomeroy

Mostly: Interior Western North American Temperate Ruderal Grassland; Columbia Basin Foothill and Canyon Dry Grassland; Great Basin & Intermountain Introduced Perennial Grassland and Forbland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi SE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.44 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 35% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

How Pomeroy ranks

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

Nearby

Pataha 2 mi · Dayton 21 mi · Colton 23 mi · Uniontown 25 mi · Clarkston Heights-Vineland 25 mi · Starbuck 26 mi

All towns in Washington · 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 Pomeroy (46.4738, -117.5965); 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.