Windy Hill Orchard & Apiary, llc

Windy Hill Orchard & Apiary, llc Founded in 2021 by owner/operators Justin and Winona Vold.

03/22/2026

We pulled the insulation off of the hives yesterday and are happy to report that we currently have 5 surviving hives, 100% survival rate!

Things could still go wrong, but it's a promising start.

They are bringing in pollen and have great temperaments.

We're still planning to go "big" and get additional nucs this year, so even if there's a struggle with honey production we'll be in a better spot than last fall.

We also took inventory yesterday and should have enough of almost everything to get us through.

We're also expanding the wildflower mix another half acre this year.

Honey harvest 2025 is complete. It was a tough year for the bees, and we came out with 8.275 gallons and a separate 5 po...
09/17/2025

Honey harvest 2025 is complete.

It was a tough year for the bees, and we came out with 8.275 gallons and a separate 5 pounds of whole comb honey.

Last year we pulled about 40 gallons.

It was still a good year for us, however. We invested in our own 18 frame radial extractor, a significant upgrade from the 4 frame we had been renting.

Come get your raw honey, vanilla honey, and hot honey!Upcoming markets: July 3, 2pm to 5:30pmLitchfield Farmers MarketJu...
06/27/2025

Come get your raw honey, vanilla honey, and hot honey!

Upcoming markets:
July 3, 2pm to 5:30pm
Litchfield Farmers Market

July 9, 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Hutchinson Farmers Market

July 16, 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Hutchinson Farmers Market

July 17, 2pm to 5:30pm
Litchfield Farmers Market

July 18, 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Dassel Farmers Market

July 25, 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Dassel Farmers Market

July 26, 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Hutchinson Farmers Market

One of our queens! Captured a couple weeks ago before we treated for mites.
05/19/2025

One of our queens! Captured a couple weeks ago before we treated for mites.

Vanilla extract is now available! Our first small batch is available at local markets until it sells out. The next batch...
05/15/2025

Vanilla extract is now available!

Our first small batch is available at local markets until it sells out. The next batch is already brewing.

05/01/2025

Now that it's May, I can officially say all of our markets for this month are locked in!

May Farmers Markets:

May 15
Litchfield Market
2pm-5:30pm

May 16
Dassel Market
2:30pm-5:30pm

May 17
Hutchinson Market
8am-12pm

May 21
Hutchinson Market
2:30pm-5:30pm

May 23
Dassel Market
2:30pm-5:30pm

May 30
Dassel Market
2:30pm-5:30pm

May 31
Hutchinson Market
8am-12pm

And as always, we are happy to meet folks locally if the locations/hours don't work for you. Just send us a message here or give us a call.

Farmer's market season is nearly upon us in Minnesota! We will be on a rotating schedule between three markets in Meeker...
04/26/2025

Farmer's market season is nearly upon us in Minnesota!

We will be on a rotating schedule between three markets in Meeker and McLeod counties:
Thursdays in Litchfield, 2pm to 5:30pm
Fridays in Dassel, 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Saturdays and occasional Wednesdays at Hutchinson Farmers Market

Actual dates and times will be added soon!

We did our first hive inspection of the year on Wednesday, and....*DRUM ROLL*WE HAVE 4 OUT OF 6! And 3 of those 4 have e...
04/25/2025

We did our first hive inspection of the year on Wednesday, and....

*DRUM ROLL*

WE HAVE 4 OUT OF 6!

And 3 of those 4 have enough numbers we can split them in the next month or so.

We did lose one very strong hive before going into winter, and the two that didn't make the winter were nucs from last year.

Having a two-thirds survival rate is fantastic!This means we won't have to buy nucs (aka nucleus hives: new colonies of bees) this year, which is a huge cost savings.

We haven't performed full "autopsies"of the failed hives yet, but we know they weren't out of food. We also treated all hives for mites ("varroa destructor" is literally their name) throughout the year.

The hive we lost before winter was due to a mistake we made during harvest. We pulled the Queen with the honey boxes and didn't realize until days later, and they didn't produce a new queen.

We will be at all of the Hutchinson Farmers Market's winter events!
12/07/2024

We will be at all of the Hutchinson Farmers Market's winter events!

A couple weeks ago we inspected and winterized the hives. Unfortunately we lost one and are down to 6, but we still have...
12/06/2024

A couple weeks ago we inspected and winterized the hives.

Unfortunately we lost one and are down to 6, but we still have high hopes for a 50% or better survival rate.

We are at the Hutchinson Annual craft fair today, from 9am to 3pm.It is free and open to the public.
11/02/2024

We are at the Hutchinson Annual craft fair today, from 9am to 3pm.

It is free and open to the public.

Honey harvest 2024 is complete! We pulled 21 boxes, giving us about 45 gallons of honey.
09/16/2024

Honey harvest 2024 is complete!

We pulled 21 boxes, giving us about 45 gallons of honey.

Address

67888 215th Street
Darwin, MN
55324

Opening Hours

Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13203779813

Website

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