Keith & Karina Inglin are a beekeeping team who manage the apiary with help from local beekeepers and one semi-famous twin.
Timeline – 2021 just as the covid pandemic arrived around late April…
We started with one colony in a wood box loaned to us for the first season with a ‘will you host some bees for me’ delivery. The offer wasn’t out of left field. We had been researching the topic and decided that it was doable.
For us, it is one thing that we BOTH do together. Each has hobbies and interests that number many, but beekeeping is a tandem effort and has (most of the time) brought us together in ways we wouldn’t have otherwise.
We ordered our equipment and delved headfirst into the world trying to understand what was supposed to be done when. Thanks to an above average mentor, we were able to have a success rate above the average.
We have come so far from the first days! As we head into our next season, we are for the first time talking (via this website) about our journey.
What is in a name? Why 519 Honey?
The name for our apiary simply put is about where we are located in New Jersey. The state has a polarizing reputation that stems from some interesting ways we are portrayed in movies and television. Our 5 acres of land are far removed from the industrial corridor in the shadows of New York City.
Add to those that many visitors arrive via Newark Liberty Airport and see just a completely different landscape compared to the beautiful rolling hills of Hunterdon County.
We understand why most equate the state with bagels, pizza disco fries and the running question of what exit are you?
We live where there are no exits and we are the Garden State just like the license plates extoll!
519 is the state’s longest county route. It travels the west side through wonderful little towns that are either on the Delaware River or along some hill and valley.
If you want to know the full story, check out the Wikipedia page dedicated to the route.
Plants, Plants & More Plants
One of us (Karina) is a plant fanatic. With the simple phrase ‘they were on end of season sale’ our plant count has gone from modest to well… more than.
Last year we installed some automatic watering to help with the load. It has made a huge improvement in vibrancy and also cut down dramatically on watering manually.
