Kertz Beekeeping, Wichita, KS (2026)

08/03/2026

Thank you all so much for your incredible support! 🐝🍯

We’re truly grateful for every order you’ve placed. This year’s harvest was even less than our low expectations, so we’ve temporarily closed new orders to make sure we can fulfill all of the orders we’ve already received.

If you’ve already placed an order, you can expect to hear from us soon to schedule your delivery or porch pickup. We’ll be offering pickup and delivery time slots on Wednesday evening and Saturday morning.

Thank you again for supporting Kertz Beekeeping and local honey—we can’t wait for you to try this years batch!

07/18/2026

Good Morning Everyone!

This is my 5th year of beekeeping and each year is different. After heavy colony losses over the winter of 2025 into 2026, I found myself slowly reseting my expectations for this season to that of a first year keeper.

Each year I optimistically aim for a late May harvest of Black Locust honey which requires really strong hives early in the season. Once that has passed June became more realistic, now June has since come and passed. Once August hits I consider all incoming nectar the bee's for the winter. Yes, in beekeeping, winter preparation starts in the hottest months of the year. 😳Here we are in mid-July and I'm gearing up for a single harvest at the end of the month which will mark the start (and end) of the 2026 season for my colonies.

2026 Harvest Information:
I do not yet know my full harvest volume but I have enough to be confident that I will be able to harvest enough to sell publically.

Many of you have reached out looking to place an order, feel free to fill out this new link for 2026 and order up to 3lbs of honey with an expected delivery of the first week of August. Order will be first come first serve.

Order here: https://form.jotform.com/261983667543168

06/10/2026

Thanks to Danny Williams for tipping me off to a swarm of bees in New Town over the weekend! The bees were in a bush off an alley, I was able to pick em up and place them out in my apiary where they can have the space they need and not bother anyone! A couple days later the queen was laying lots of eggs and the foragers were readily bringing honey in!

02/17/2026

Going into the 2025 beekeeping season I knew the year was going not going to be one of experimentation and growth in the way that they previous 3 years had. My role in life (my season as my mentee would say) was to support my wife while she pursues her dreams of being a nurse via an accelerated BSN program! Support meant most of the household chores, childcare, and dinners were my priority and one that I’d say I even enjoyed! It was also a year where I’ve ran my best half marathon and 5k times as well as my first ultra marathon.

I say all this as a lesson. There are only so many things that can take priority in life and if you try to fill too many cups, something gets neglected. In 2025 I failed to invest the time in the bees for their health, in a bout of laziness I leaned into the “let them bee, they know how to survive in the wild” well since mites were introduced in the early 2000s that hasn’t been the case and I knew better. These bees died not due to the cold but due to low winter populations likely cause by varroa mites.

What’s new in 2026?
Well my wife is now a Nurse! That season is over and we’re entering a new one as a family! I will continue to run races throughout the year that demand my time. On the bee side I am down to a single hive surviving the winter. From here I plan to build back up to 6 hives. I will invest in mite control methods that are both safe and easy to use. I will preprint my whole year of labels before the season starts and focus on finding others ways to be efficient with bees!

More to come and more frequently this year!

Address

Wichita, KS

Telephone

+13163035643

Website

http://kertzbeekeeping.com/

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