Ridge forage
Colonies work citrus in the wadi, wildflower on the open shoulder, thistle after the first heat, and avocado on the western terraces. We do not move the yard to chase a single crop.
Est. 2006 · Zikhron Ya'akov
The ridge keeps the bloom. We keep the jars.
Eighty hives sit on a limestone terrace above Zikhron Ya'akov, working a twelve-kilometre forage of citrus, thistle, avocado and mixed Carmel woodland. We extract four times a year, never off-season, and render leftover comb in the wax room downstairs. Hive mornings and honey flights by appointment.
Carmel ridge · looking west
The atelier
Honey from named blooms, wax from the same comb
Carmel Ridge Apiary is a working farm and a small wax workshop, not a tasting room with a gift shop bolted on. What leaves the ridge is labelled by forage, jarred in glass, and dated by the super it came from.
Capped supers only
A super comes off when the comb is sealed. We do not blend January citrus with July thistle to fill a uniform flavour. Each harvest keeps its own grain and colour.
Wax after honey
Cappings and old comb are rendered on site. The atelier pours tapers, food wraps and plain blocks. Nothing from the hive is treated as a leftover.
Harvest calendar
Four pulls, four names
The Carmel does not give a single honey. It gives a year. We follow the bloom, not a production quota.
I
January
Citrus blossom
Pale, quick on the tongue, from the groves that step down toward the coastal plain.
II
April
Wildflower
The mixed ridge: sage, mustard, and whatever the wadi still holds after winter rain.
III
July
Wild thistle
Darker, slower, taken when the slope has gone gold and the bees work the last stubborn heads.
IV
September
Avocado
A late western harvest from the terraces, thick in the jar and short in quantity.
How a jar is made
Forage, super, jar
Three verbs. No flavouring, no off-ridge blending, no winter syrup in the crop boxes.
Forage
The yard stays put. Bees fly a twelve-kilometre radius of citrus, wildflower, thistle, avocado and mixed oak–pine woodland toward Ramat HaNadiv. What is in bloom is what goes into the comb.
Super
When the upper box is capped we lift it and leave the brood nest intact. Uncapped frames wait. We would rather ship a smaller crate than pull a wet super.
Jar
Gravity strain, rest, then glass. Each lot is labelled with bloom, pull date and hive row. Forest honey, when the woodland runs, is bottled as its own season, not mixed into wildflower.
2006First boxes on the ridge
80Hives in the home yard
12 kmForage from the terrace
4Seasonal harvests a year
Hive mornings
Stand with the boxes while the slope is still cool
Small groups, veils provided, closed-toe shoes required. A honey flight in the wax room follows if you want the year in four spoons. This is a working apiary, not a picnic lawn and not a restaurant.
