Manuka Honey

[andy-glide]

A friend at work suggested I may wish to produce manuka honey as the price in the shops are very expensive.

This got me thinking that he may be right and a quick search revealed you can purchase the plant here in the UK. Has anyone tried to replicate or colonial friends benefits of this plant?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Tregothan grow it in Cornwall? But I don't think it yields for honey. I have a few plants and they struggle without winter support. How about ivy? Equally disgusting

 

[La Folie]

Given that there have been several stories in the media about Manuka rip-offs I would stick to good old traditional honey.

 

[Stiffy]

I have 25, two metre tea tree bushes and the bees do occasionally visit them. They are yet to flower fully and I don't anticipate that I will ever be able to sell a manuka honey but they are interesting and the local stick insects love them.
I planted some of the seeds from them this spring and have another dozen in pots which I will plant out next spring. Although I lost a couple , they mostly survived last winter okay but I am lucky to live in the far SW.
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Swarm]

Manuka is no better than local honey direct from the keeper, we had this confirmed at a presentation last night.
Health benefits and active ingredients in most UK honey are equal to Manure ... oops, Manuka. In some particular cases, they were actually higher.

With a bit of luck, the bubble is about to burst for the foreign rubbish and hopefully the consumer will wise up to the true value of a product produced locally.

 

[VEG]

As above someone doing tests on it said some of it dont contain any manuka pollen either

 

[Cul a cnoic]

A group of enterprising businessmen and beekeepers in Donegal are about to launch an Irish equivalent under the Active Irish Honey brand. Link here . I have seen it in the local shops, priced about the same as the manuka. Hopefully it will take off and they will be looking for more native Donegal honey suppliers in the future!

 

[drstitson]

it's all about the marketing NOT the honey.

Manuka is just a 2nd grade monofloral that has had a mystique set up around it for sales purposes.

concentrate on selling quality local honey at decent prices.

 

[madasafish]

I lost all my 15 tea tree bushes first winter. Not UK winter hardy.

 

[Stiffy]

it's all about the marketing NOT the honey.

Manuka is just a 2nd grade monofloral that has had a mystique set up around it for sales purposes.

concentrate on selling quality local honey at decent prices.

Totally agree, the myth about manuka honey grew from the fact that tea tree has antiseptic qualities. Can't blame anyone other than the daft trendies who buy it.
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

the myth about manuka honey grew from the fact that tea tree has antiseptic qualities.

So has Savlon - you wouldn't spread that on your toast though would you?

 

[VEG]

So has Savlon - you wouldn't spread that on your toast though would you?

lol it tastes about the same though

 

[Stiffy]

So has Savlon - you wouldn't spread that on your toast though would you?

I also wouldn't want to spread botulism on my toast but some sad people inject it believing it makes them look younger!
Humans are very odd creatures and strangely believe they are intelligent
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Salamagundy]

Totally agree, the myth about manuka honey grew from the fact that tea tree has antiseptic qualities. Can't blame anyone other than the daft trendies who buy it.

Not sure if you mean that tea tree oil has antiseptic properties. I read recently (Maureen Little, 2011) that the oil comes from a different plant (melaleuca alternifolia). Manuka honey, it seems, comes from leptospermum scoparium. Both, confusingly, are known as tea trees. Does this make your trendies even dafter?

 

[REDWOOD]

I tried growing tea tree seeds a couple of years ago to no prevail, like most thing I grow lol I do not posses green fingers but good at growing weeds and the bees don't seem to mine.
I was talking to a Gardner who told me that most plants will be lost over winter in the northern half of the UK and southern half will loose them if we have a harsh winter.
http://www.nombox.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=44969

What is ACTIVE 15+ ?

 

[Stiffy]

Not sure if you mean that tea tree oil has antiseptic properties. I read recently (Maureen Little, 2011) that the oil comes from a different plant (melaleuca alternifolia). Manuka honey, it seems, comes from leptospermum scoparium. Both, confusingly, are known as tea trees. Does this make your trendies even dafter?

Very likly :sly:

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Stiffy]

I tried growing tea tree seeds a couple of years ago to no prevail, like most thing I grow lol I do not posses green fingers but good at growing weeds and the bees don't seem to mine.
I was talking to a Gardner who told me that most plants will be lost over winter in the northern half of the UK and southern half will loose them if we have a harsh winter.
http://www.nombox.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=44969

What is ACTIVE 15+ ?

I doubt the plants would survive in most parts of the UK . My trees have been growing for the last five years and last winter was as bad as I can remember, we had snow for 3 days, unheard of!
S


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Heather]

Public slowly waking up to the fact that Manuka was a good sales pitch solely on 'health grounds' to sell poor flavour honey.
The tree has some minor antibacterial benefit which is lost in the crud taste.

Big rip off, and I do stress that English honey is much better value whenever I speak about the subject to an audience.

NZ stress that Manuka is used on wounds too - so is UK honey - in another form.

Don't waste your money - British is best!!!

 

[enrico]

We have a tea tree plant.... Pink flowers.... No bees on it although it flowers every year profusely, so no seed!
It HAS to go in the greenhouse over winter and even the. Some branches die from cold but it is about 1 meter high. I think for bees to go on it they must be forced to go on it because there is no other crop!! If the bees don't like it that much no wonder we don't either!
E

 

[For want of a better word]

www.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/people_and_places/.../8796789.stm‎

Tregothan estate... Cornwall
Would be interesting to ask them if their tree survived?
Wondering if I could get one to grow in my pollytunnel... then I could add Marmite to some honey and flog it to the grokkles for £55 per 113g +++++++!