This article first appeared in the February 7, 2018 issue of The Independent Newspaper
Bee keeper Laura Klahre has been creating a buzz with her two-acre organic farm in Southold.
She has more than 20 years of experience in the unique profession. Blossom Meadow Farm originally began harvesting honey. There are 100 hives throughout the North Fork upward of eight million bees. Klahre began to realize the plight of solely sticking to the honey bee and switched her focus to native pollinators, in order to harvest fruit for jams.
“Why am I focusing on honey bees? It’s all these other bees, moths, and butterflies that are the superheroes. I need to be focusing on them,” Klahre said about the change. Though bumble bees can make honey, they live in small colonies with a nest life of only a year. A honey bee lives for up to seven years. However, bumble bees travel a half mile, and Mason bees travels only 300 feet, making both essential to the pollination of local crops such as apricots, cherries, and apples.
Moths are also a key tool in agriculture. These nocturnal pollinators visit white flowers, like those of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. All of these are grown on her farm, and are used to make jam.
This new, tasty endeavor began in December of 2017 where a stunning 70 jars were sold in three weeks during a relatively quiet period on the North Fork. Blossom Meadow Farm also sells beeswax candles, honey, seeds, lip balm, and beeswax crayons on Etsy.
Klahre said, “The fruit is a byproduct of feeding my bees. I proudly tell customers that my Mason bees and bumble bees made the jam.”
The jam is sold at the storefront of Coffeepot Cellars, located at 31855 Main Road, Cutchogue, at which her husband, Adam Suprenant is the CEO.
For more information on Blossom Meadow Farm, email Laura@blossommeadow.com or visit www.blossommeadow.com.