Honeybees play a vital role in Gaining Ground’s ecosystem, helping to pollinate crops throughout the farm, resulting in a diverse abundance of produce. Certain fruits and vegetables that we grow, such as melons, berries, squash, as well as flowers, specifically rely on honeybees for pollination. 

Local beekeeper David Salomón Saleh tends Gaining Ground’s hives and is very familiar with the ups and downs of beekeeping. Sustaining bee colonies can be challenging; pests, disease, and weather often threaten honeybee populations. Today, David manages four separate colonies at Gaining Ground—each with approximately 50,000 bees— a mix of Italian and Pol Line bees. The Pol line strain is a specially developed mite-resistant line derived from colonies with naturally low mite loads, selected under stress conditions from multiple crop pollinations.

Last year was a difficult one for the bees, between unpredictable weather patterns, and the internal work of strengthening the colonies, the hives needed time to rebuild and simply were not ready to produce honey. This season, thanks to improved hive health and effective integrated pest management (including the use of organic acids and essential oils, genetic selection, and frame cleaning protocols), the bees were able to rebound. “All hives survived the winter, and the season started earlier, giving them a strong head start,” David says. “The colonies built up quickly. We’ve had an abundance of bees and nectar this year, with no major health issues compared to 2024.”

This fall, Gaining Ground celebrated a sweet success: the first honey harvest in two years! Thanks to David’s care and dedication the farm’s hives produced a five-gallon bucket of golden honey (about 80 8oz jars of honey) which will be shared with some of our donation partners. “This year’s honey is light-colored, crystal clear, and beautifully sweet with a mild floral character and a slight bitterness at the finish,” David says. “I can taste hints of fruit and wildflowers, probably influenced by goldenrod, apple blossoms, summer sweet, and clover.”

We are grateful for the gift of honey this season. During the fall, the bees will continue to collect pollen to store fat in their bodies and prepare for winter. In the meantime, David will prepare the hives to help the bees survive through the cold winter months.