A sweet vendor joins Rockmart Farmers Market
The Rockmart Farmers Market is including new vendors and products year round and thanks to BeeHaven owner and operator Mike Roshaven, locals can now get natural, unfiltered honey from the comfort of downtown Rockmart.
Roshaven keeps his own hives and produces various honey flavors by controlling where his bees gather pollen from.
Georgia wildflower honey, North Georgia wildflower honey, gallberry honey, and cinnamon infused honey were all on sale during the February 21 market, and whether looking for something sweeter or milder, there’s something for everyone.
“The Georgia wildflower honey is usually produced by hives in the Cartersville area, but we do bring them to South Georgia to kind of over-winter them during the coldest months of the year,” Roshaven said. “The cinnamon-infused honey was infused from the Georgia wildflower. This is the North Georgia wildflower, so these are from hives up in the Blue Ridge area. This one is much sweeter, at least this year. The gallberry is my only mono-floral honey, so most of the flavor is coming from the gallberry. Anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of the nectar is gallberry. It’s got a very unique taste.”
Customers can buy at numerous prices and quantities, free samples are offered to those interested, and beeswax candles and other smaller items are also available.
Those four flavors are BeeHaven’s mainstay, but customers are urged to check back during the summer and other seasons for updated flavors and products. Additional questions about items or buying can be directed to Roshaven at 404-499-4475.
Aside from taste, customers might be interested in local honey because of health and allergy benefits. Roshaven mentioned that, since the products were made from local pollen, eating it could help fight off allergies by helping the body become more acclimated to local pollen. Though everyone is different and results are not guaranteed.
“If they suffer from pollen allergies and they eat some of this, their body gets acclimated to the pollen and they don’t react as much,” Roshaven said. “A lot of people swear by it.”
Once a hobby, beekeeping has grown into Roshaven’s full-time job. He currently has approximately 30 hives, but he hopes to grow the business to at least 50 to 75 in the near future.
“It started about 10 years ago as a hobby,” Roshaven said. “I bounced around between one and five hives for several years, and then made a decision about three years ago to up the number of hives and devote more time to it. I’m at a point now where it’s a full-time thing. So, the goal is to get to 100 hives sometime by the end of next year but 50 to 75 this year.”
Those interested in honey and other products can visit the Rockmart Farmers Market every Thursday from 2 through 6 p.m. on Water Street. Those interested in more information can visit http:// www. rock mart farmers market. com/.
Whether looking to take home vegetables or honey, the double SNAP feature means patrons can double EBT up to $50 for more food at half the cost. While not available for made to order foods, the program makes sure those in need can stock up on plenty of essentials while also making sure local farmers can keep producing. Funds can be exchanged at the front tent.
The market currently operates under the major sponsorship of Floyd Medical Center, but many other local businesses have contributed sponsorship as well.
“Support your local beekeepers, buy local honey, and you’ll enable us to keep on going,” Roshaven said.