Nichola Prokop

While the world continues its love affair with Mānuka honey, the delights of Kānuka, its close cousin, are still a bit of a well-kept secret. It’s almost as if we Kiwis have agreed to keep Kānuka all to ourselves. That won’t last forever though — people are catching on fast.Before Mānuka honey became so wildly popular, nobody really distinguished much between Mānuka and Kānuka honey — even though they come from different plants. In spite of the fact that these plants flower at slightly different times, back then beekeepers didn’t keep a close eye on flowering. It is also difficult to distinguish between them in a lab, because the pollen looks almost identical under the microscope. To the untrained tongue, these honeys also taste quite alike, a

We love being part of the Nelson Market community — somehow local markets and honey just seem to belong together. Even if our little stall has been somewhat quieter over the last couple of years, we still enjoy being part of such a vibrant scene.With over 15 years as market stallholders, we really get a buzz from the friendly bustling atmosphere  — even if it does mean getting up at the crack of dawn or setting up in the rain! These days we are very fortunate that Nicky’s dad, Larry, has taken on the stall on a regular basis, sharing week about with Murray. Arriving around 6.20 am, Larry has become one of the local characters.  Larry reckons it takes him nearly an hour to set up the gazebo and unpack our range of New Zealand honey. That’s mostly

At Mountain Valley Honey, long treks into the bush are part of the job — and one of the best perks! If you’ve been lucky enough to wander in the Marlborough Sounds, or take one of the many walks in the beautiful Mt. Richmond Forest Park, then you’ll have a good idea of the breathtaking bush landscapes where our honey originates. These wilderness places are not just perfect for people who want to get away from it all, they also make fantastic locations for our bees. Far from urban noise, these hideaway worlds are rich with floral sources. All of our honeys have their own personality, but none captures the essence of the New Zealand bush quite like our Native Bush Honey. Just like your typical Kiwi bush walk, this honey has a little bit of everything — including th

Christmas is such a special time. It gives us a chance to take a moment to pause and appreciate what makes life important. For us, the Christmas spirit is all about love and hope and cherishing the little things, especially after such a frustrating year.  Our second Christmas dealing with Covid means that many of us Kiwis are missing loved ones more than ever. Kindness and the support of others have never been more important in this crazy world. We are truly grateful for the kindness of our family, friends and customers who have seen us through some pretty hard times this year.We always say it’s the little things that count, and this has never been more true than in 2021. Like most small businesses, Covid has hit us with a number of challenges. The indirec

People sometimes ask us why we love working with bees so much. We have to admit that part of the answer is that we get to work in some of the most beautiful places in New Zealand. But the real reason lies with the bees themselves. To be honest, we’re completely captivated by these charming little creatures.  We’ve lost track of how many beekeepers have said ‘I’ll just give it one season’ and have ended up with a lifelong passion for bees. Murray was exactly the same when he started out. As he puts it, “the bees have a way of getting their hooks into you.” It’s because there are so many cool and clever things about bees — it’s just impossible not to love them!If you spot a bee in your garden there’s a good chance that her hive is around 800 metre

There’s something a little bit mysterious about beekeeping. It’s probably thanks to the bees, and the almost magical way they produce honey. But beekeepers definitely play a role, what with their weird outfits, odd gadgets and strange nocturnal habits.We asked our team to ‘tell all,’ to give our customers a sneak peek into the secret life of the people behind our beautiful New Zealand honey. Beekeeping definitely has its humorous side. Where else do you get to dress up like a cross between ‘The Stig’ and an astronaut? Those suits can be “jolly hot” though, especially in the middle of summer. Our guys often have to trek uphill to reach the hives. Although we always move the bees at night, they say the sweat still pours off them at 3.00am in th

Spring is definitely in the air in Nelson. The trees are budding and our region is suddenly full of fluffy blossoms and brightly coloured flowers. With the warmer weather you’ll notice that bees are starting to get out and about more, but spring is not without its challenges for these tiny creatures. In springtime we have to take special care of our bee friends. The longer, warmer days mean that our queens are busy increasing egg production. That means the bees need extra food to support their growing numbers.  At this time of the year colonies can grow very quickly, doubling or quadrupling in size in readiness for the summer harvest. While there might seem to be plenty of flowers about, bees can actually starve if they’ve consumed all their winter stores. W

Whenever our family chats about bees — and that’s very often — we can’t help being amazed at how much beekeeping has changed since Merv started up his little business back in 1968. These days beekeeping is a big deal in New Zealand, with 9,510 registered beekeepers in 2020. But beekeeping certainly wasn’t that popular in Merv’s day. Back then it was a simple enterprise, he remembers, and pretty unpopular. There were only half a dozen beekeepers in the area around that time. Beekeeping was not just hard work, it was hard to make any money back then. Merv didn’t actually bother too much with the honey — that was just for friends. He made his money from providing hives for pollination. Half the time he even forgot to remember to take so

At Mountain Valley Honey the love of bees is a real family affair. It’s almost as if the fascination with these little creatures is in our genes – passed down through the generations. We love how our family and business lives are interwoven — it’s hard to imagine it being any other way. Our family’s love affair with bees all began when Merv, Murray’s father, discovered a swarm of bees in 1968. Back then Merv was pretty nervous about the whole thing. He dressed himself in what he now calls ‘a suit of armour’ (the feral bees were pretty vicious back then) and managed to get the swarm into an apple box.The bees really captured his heart — he got himself a gentle yellow queen from the North Island to replace the feral queen and never looked

Brrr! Winter is definitely here in Nelson, bringing with it misty weather and a series of wet weekends. But even though the Nelson markets have been a bit soggier than usual, nothing seems to dampen the spirits of our lovely customers.Larry (Nicky’s dad) and Murray take turns to man our stall and they love seeing our regulars each week, as well as meeting people from all around New Zealand who are enjoying a Nelson visit.There are many reasons to love winter. It’s a time for cuddling up and staying warm and indulging in comfort food and log fires. Many more people are embracing Matariki this year, and are getting excited about the brand new holiday set up for 2022. Winter solstice celebrations are a great chance to slow down and enjoy time with family and fri

The more we work with bees, the more we appreciate these amazing little creatures. We always say that our bees are like our family.And, just like family, bees love to be nurtured. At this time of the year our main job is to make sure they are snuggled up, safe and warm. But there are many other things that we do to keep our bees healthy and happy.At the heart of keeping healthy bees is hive location. We put a huge amount of effort into finding great places for our hives, favouring hideaway places in remote areas. While the bees can regulate the temperature of their hives, fanning themselves if it gets too hot, they prefer a sunny spot that is sheltered from the wind. Our next checkpoint is pollen sources. While dense patches of Mānuka are great when they are flo

Nelson always looks so beautiful in the autumn. The leaves are really turning now, adding rich colours to the landscape. Everything seems to have a golden glow about it, especially on sunny days. This time of the year finds us harvesting the last of this season’s honey: Beech Honeydew and our Autumn Gold. While both of these are gorgeous honeys, it is Autumn Gold that has a particularly special place in our hearts. When we first started harvesting honey, we had a different batch that we were undecided about what to call it, since our bees gather this honey from a range of different sources.  Then a friend of ours, Michael Wraight, suggested, ‘why not call it Autumn Gold? It’s the time of year and look at that colour in the honey!’ We instantly loved the