E&M Gold Beekeepers -NJ Beekeepers
E&M Gold Beekeepers, Our Story! We’re Ed & Mary Kosenski from E&M Gold Beekeepers a family NJ beekeeping business which produces New Jersey Local Raw Honey and naturally selects strong honeybees. Our joint beekeeping experience began in 1997 as E&M Gold Beekeepers. We had seen the Peter Fonda move, Ulee’s Gold, shortly after our move to Tinton Falls – it is about a beekeeper in Florida who pulls his troubled family back together while in the middle of harvesting tupelo honey from his honeybees. The day after viewing the movie Ed called me to say we would be picking up our first beehive from a beekeeper in Vineland, NJ.
Mary at E&M Gold Beekeepers
Mary comes from an agricultural family; her father was a sideline beekeeper in Maryland and Georgia. Early in her career, while working at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center in Maryland, Mary kept and worked with bees. Mary also runs the beeswax side of our business – creating beeswax taper candles, beeswax figurine candles and beeswax pillar candles.
E&M Gold Beekeepers Local Raw Honey
Our honey is harvested from early June to the end of July and during that period, Mary and Ed harvest the honey which is then brought back to the Honey House. We have had many late night extraction sessions where the temperature in the Honey House exceeded 100 degrees. We offer New Jersey Spring Wildflower and Summer Wildflower, Cranberry, Blueberry and Clover Honeys.
NJ Local Raw Honey Favors
About ten years ago five of our customers asked if we could produce Honey Favors for their Weddings. From those five Brides-to-Bees we have worked with over 2,000 Brides-to-Bees. We have been voted by our Brides-to-Bees the Best of The Knot Wedding Pick for 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019! We are very proud of these awards and we really love working with our Brides!
We are Members of:
We are members of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association (NJBA), the Central Jersey Beekeepers Association (CJBA), the National Honey Board (NHB) , the New Jersey Farm Bureau and take part in the NJ Jersey Fresh program.
Honey Bee Races added to our E&M Gold Beekeepers Operation
In late 2002 we made a commitment to develop a stronger local honeybee after half of our hives died. In 2005 we began grafting queens after Ed completed Sue Cobey’s Queen Rearing course at the University of Ohio. In 2007 and 2008 Mary attended Sue Cobey’s beginning and advanced Instrumental Insemination courses at UC Davis.
Listed below, year-by-year are the races of the Western Honey Bee stock which we have added to our operation:
2003 – introduced Russian queens from Bob Brachman(NY) and Hubert Tubs Apiaries (MS).
2004– brought in Russian queens from Bob Brachman (NY) and Ray Revis(NC).
2005– brought in Russian queens from Ray Revis (NC).
2006 -conducted 1st grafting; brought in Russian queens from Bob Brachman(NY) and Ray Revis(NC). Introduced a Russian Breeder queen from Glenn Apiaries(CA).
2007 – began regular queen grafting sessions from May through August; brought in a Russian breeder queen from Glenn Apiaries(CA) and introduced Kirk Webster(VT) Russian winter nucs.
2008– brought in Glenn Aiaries (CA)Russian and Carniolan breeder queens. Conducted queen grafting sessions.
2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012 – brought in Sue Cobey (CA,WA) NWC Breeder Queens and Charlie Harper(LA) Russian queens each year.Continued seasonal grafting sessions from May through August
2013 -brought in a Sue Cobey (WA) NWC breeder queen. Continued seasonal grafting sessions from May through August
2014 -brought in a Sue Cobey NWC breeder queen. Established hives with VSH John Harbo daughter queens. Continued seasonal grafting sessions from May through August
2015 – brought in VSH Queens. Continued seasonal grafting sessions from May through August
2016 – brought in VSH Queens and Strachan NWC queens
2017 – brought in Strachan NWC queens
2018 – brought in Strachan NWC queens
2019 – brought in Strachan NWC queens
2022- ordered Strachan NWC queens for 2023
