Sun Mountain Honey

Sorry, we are no longer selling honey on the Internet.
We do have plenty for local sales.

Sun Mountain Honey

We are Gordon and Laura Solberg, and we produce honey and sell it at various locations in the Las Cruces, NM area. We have been keeping bees since 1972. Our hives are located along the Mesilla Valley from Radium Springs to Brazito.

Honey is concentrated flower nectar. Bees gather this nectar, which is as thin as water, add a few enzymes, store it in combs, and evaporate out the excess water. When the honey is thick enough, the bees cap it over, and store it for winter use. To produce a pound of honey, the bees in a hive travel 55,000 miles and tap 2 million flower blossoms. Different types of flowers bloom at different locations at different times of the year, which allows us to keep the different types of honey separate.

Our honey is unique in several ways. We harvest throughout the summer so we can keep the different types of honey separate, and we process our honey the minimum amount possible. All of our extracting and straining is done at room temperature, which preserves the quality and flavor of the honey. Our honey is strained, not filtered. This means the natural pollen grains remain in the honey instead of being filtered out. Our honey is as natural a product as you can find anywhere.

Here is a brief description of the different types of honey we produce:

MESQUITE. This is our most popular honey, which our bees gather from mesquite blossoms. Light color, very mild flavor. Harvested late May.
SUMMER BLEND. This is a natural blend of honey from saltcedar, tornillo, and late-blooming mesquite. Medium color, strong flavor. Harvested June-July. This is very popular with people who prefer a robust honey.
VALLEY BLEND. Medium to dark color, mild flavor. Harvested June-August. This is mostly alfalfa. Depending on location, rainfall, and time of year, this honey can also contain mesquite, cactus, cotton, or desert wildflower. When people want "regular" honey with a good flavor, we recommend this one.
DESERT WILDFLOWER. Harvested September-October. Variable in color and flavor, since there are so many different kinds of nectar-producing flowers. The crop depends on the timing and intensity of the summer rains. Some wildflower honey is as dark as molasses but has a light, delicate flavor. Other types of wildflower honey are much lighter in color.

Whenever we visit Arizona, we bring back Orange Blossom honey from Phoenix and bottle it for our customers. This is a light, mild honey with an incredible flavor.

RAW HONEY. All our honey starts out raw, since we don't heat it when we process it. Raw honey quickly crystallizes, becoming hard within a month or two. Since most people prefer liquid honey, we have to heat our honey to reliquify it for sale. We would prefer to sell all our honey raw if possible.

Beware of bogus "raw" honey! To determine if honey is raw, just hold it up to the light. If the honey is clear, it has been heated, regardless of what the label says. There are no government regulations concerning raw honey, and there are beekeepers who liquify their honey by heating it "just a little bit"--to 130° or more--and still call it "raw." Imagine what would happen if you heated a raw salad to 130°--it would wilt and die. We believe that "raw" means not heated above room temperature. So if enzymes and live pollen are important to you, try our genuine raw honey--it has never been heated in any way, and is the finest you will find anywhere.

ALLERGIES. Raw honey harvested from the flowers you are allergic to is best for allergies. We get the most feedback about our desert wildflower honey. Many people are allergic to the pollen from wildflowers that bloom after heavy summer rains, and some of our customers have reported being able to stop medication after eating our desert wildflower honey. Raw honey is the best nutritionally, since it contains all the enzymes and live pollens.

Here’s a testimonial from a satisfied customer:

“Just a spoonful of honey makes my allergies go away!” I can’t help wanting to sing this when I feel relief from my severe pollen allergies. My discomfort used to reach a peak in the spring and then again in the fall.

Just six years ago I was one of the unfortunates that had to take four allergy shots a week in order to build up my immune system to the plant pollen that I react to. These allergy shots consist of extracts of the things that I am allergic to. Often I would have reactions to the injections. A huge welt would rise and itch like mad, and sometimes my breathing would become labored. It was not any fun to have to take the injections.

If that was not enough to get me down, the cost of the vials plus the price of each and every injection was enormous. When I first began with the testing and injections I had health insurance with my employer. When I changed jobs, I could no longer afford to keep receiving my injections. After a few months my allergies were in full force.

One of my friends suggested I try local honey for my allergies. I was puzzled until she told me that local honey contained the pollen of the same plants that I was allergic to. I tried it. Within a few weeks my allergies had subsided and the sneezing, itchy eyes, and congestion were practically a thing of the past! In the peak season I sometimes get a slight reaction to the pollen, but it is nothing like it was in the past.

I consistently take a spoonful of honey in my cereal or tea every morning. I use honey instead of sugar in a lot of my meals. The honey that works best for me is Laura and Gordon Solberg’s Fall Wildflower honey. I buy it two gallons at a time for the convenience. I sure don’t want to run out!

This is not a paid advertisement. I am writing this testimonial in hopes that honey can improve the quality of your life as it has mine.

If you have any other questions, Laura or Gordon Solberg are a wealth of information about honey."

BEE POLLEN. We sell bee pollen at Mountain View Market, in the little cooler in the vitamin department. To preserve the full nutritional benefits, we store our pollen in a 0° freezer. If you have never eaten pollen before, it is best to start with a single granule. If there is no allergic reaction, take a few more granules each day until you have built up to your desired dose--1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon is typical. Our pollen comes in all colors--orange, yellow, tan, even red and blue. We make no claims, but many people eat pollen to control their allergies, or to increase their energy level.

PROPOLIS. We sell both propolis tincture, and raw propolis in little baggies. Propolis is plant resin that the bees gather to seal up holes in their hives. It has many therapeutic properties. For more propolis info, look for our propolis brochure.

BEESWAX. We produce beeswax as a by-product of honey production. We sell one ounce cakes, and larger chunks as well.

HIVE LOCATIONS. We swap honey for hive locations. We use hybrid queens so that our bees are extra-gentle. If you have a potential location for a few hives, please give us a call at 526-1853.

WHERE TO BUY OUR HONEY:

Farmer's Market. We are at the Las Cruces Farmer’s Market on the Downtown Mall from 8-12:30 every Saturday. Our stand is located at the south end of the Market near Las Cruces Avenue.
Lowe’s Fiesta Foods 2180 North Main. Our honey stand is located between the dairy department and bakery.
Van Winkle's IGA on North Main. Our honey stand is located between the dairy department and bakery.
Mesilla Mercado on the Mesilla Plaza, Sundays from 12-4
Lujan Chile near Hill, north of Las Cruces. The best chile in the valley!
Our home. Our address is 14250 N. Valley Drive (NM 185), about 16 miles north of Picacho. We are located north of Radium Springs, 1.3 miles north of the Blue Moon Bar. If you are driving out from Las Cruces, please give us a call at 526-1853 to make sure we're home.

Thank you for buying our honey and other products. Bees are fascinating creatures, and we will always do our very best to deliver to you the finest, most natural honey and bee products available anywhere. If you have any questions, please give us a call or send us an email.

Gordon & Laura Solberg
Radium Springs, NM
(505) 526-1853

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