# Planting for the bees



## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

You might want to consider planting buckwheat if you have the soil moisture.


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## Clairesmom (Jun 6, 2012)

Whether a person owns 9000 acres or 9/10 of an acre, I'm all for planting more things for the bees to forage on. Just imagine if EVERYONE added even a small bed of flowering plants, or a couple of trees, to their property. The bees would be in hog heaven!


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

I'd suggest thinking about when the recurring dearths are where you live, if there are any.
Here, pickin's are sometimes slim for the bees just before the goldenrod flow.
I checked to see what would bloom then, and decided to plant some buckwheat, timed to bloom just before goldenrod.
My little bit certainly didn't sustain the bees by itself, but they did get enough that there is some dark, strong buckwheat honey amongst the stores.

Where you live it will probably be something different. But I'd plant something that will bloom at a time forage is most needed.


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## TokerM (Jul 31, 2012)

Check out this section. Lots of plant info.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

I planted a 4X12' plot of Borage in my back yard.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

I like in the higher elevation with long winter and very dry summers. One thing that grows well and smells great is sweet clover. My bees go nuts over it. I order my crop seeds from Johnny Select.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-4-cover-cropsfarm-seeds.aspx
They also sell a bee feed mix. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8625-bee-feed-mix.aspx


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## jadell (Jun 19, 2011)

Katharina said:


> They also sell a bee feed mix. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8625-bee-feed-mix.aspx


That's the most ridiculous seed price I've ever seen!


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Only stumbled onto the bee mix, never bought it. I do get cover crops from them.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

Katharina said:


> I like in the higher elevation with long winter and very dry summers. One thing that grows well and smells great is sweet clover. My bees go nuts over it. I order my crop seeds from Johnny Select.
> http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-4-cover-cropsfarm-seeds.aspx
> They also sell a bee feed mix. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8625-bee-feed-mix.aspx


Interesting. I may try a pound of White Clover over my back yard fence. I have about 100' of field , easement for pipelines before some railroad tracks. It is only mowed once a year so it may help my girls. Thanks for sharing.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Get the sweet clover instead of the white clover. It grows upright and gets 6 feet tall. Loaded with flowers and the bees just love it. My bees prefer the sweet clover over the white clover.


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## fishin coyote (Jul 9, 2012)

Here's a local supplier that some of you may find useful
http://www.ernstseed.com/seed-mixes/


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

Understood, however Houston has a bunch of heat and the White was more heat tolerant.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

The sweet clover can handle way more heat and drought then the white one.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

I will look into it. Thanks for the help/advice.


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## Irmo (Jan 9, 2012)

We have mint (spearmint, but any will work) and the bees are all over that. It's blooming now in VA so it covers the period right before goldenrod blooms.


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## Ben Franklin (May 3, 2011)

Katharina said:


> Get the sweet clover instead of the white clover. It grows upright and gets 6 feet tall. Loaded with flowers and the bees just love it. My bees prefer the sweet clover over the white clover.


I agree,,and I have both white and sweet clover. The sweet has much more to offer the bees and it is doing well in the heat and dryness this year.


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## Ben Franklin (May 3, 2011)

I am trying to do a pilot project of planting for pollen-tars, not just for honey bees. We have a lot of easements in our area for the Hi Voltage lines. The power company has a five year plan to mow or spray the easements. This causes a very unsightly stretch of property around the area. When talking to the power company manager of the Forestry department he became very excited to get more details, and thought his company would even help prepare the area. It would save them hundreds of thousands of dollars and be more attractive. It would also be a more positive image of the Company.
If anyone has done this or know about habitat for pollen-tars ( there is an organization but I lost the website and can not find it again) :scratch:


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## brushwoodnursery (Feb 10, 2012)

This is all great! Thanks. And to think I was considering not posting it. I read up some more on clover and all of the local data is about forage protein content. I'll keep checking.


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## Rob Hughes (Apr 23, 2012)

Hi there,

I tried planting all sorts of nectar plants this year, sweet white and yellow clover, buckwheat, dutch clover, alfalfa, trefoil, vetch on an acre scale, and other stuff around my house. Grass choked a lot of it but some alfalfa and vetch made it. Whenever I checked it, it was loaded with bumble bees and my bees were somewhere else! The stuff around my place was the same until the past 2 weeks when they have really latched on to the sunflowers and coriander. They seem to like the sunflowers for pollen, and they do produce a lot. It seems to be filling a gap. Also have some borage, some bees on it - but mostly bumbles -all day long. Got some anise hyssop, but it hasn't flowered yet. Another invasive here the bumbles go on all day long is himalayan balsam. The honey bees ignore it though. Definitely this one grows like a weed. It's fun watching the bumble bees though.

Rob


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## Ben Franklin (May 3, 2011)

Anyone had bees work Fennel??


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

Katharina said:


> I like in the higher elevation with long winter and very dry summers. One thing that grows well and smells great is sweet clover. My bees go nuts over it. I order my crop seeds from Johnny Select.
> http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-4-cover-cropsfarm-seeds.aspx
> They also sell a bee feed mix. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8625-bee-feed-mix.aspx


I just ordered 5 lbs of the Sweet Clover, will sow 1/2 this year, vac. seal and do the rest next year. That way I should have some every year....
Thanks again, BTW Katharina, I was born in Eugene many moons ago.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

You might look at Beekeeping Etc ....I won some of their seeds as a door prize at a Metrobeekeepers meeting (DFW area). 

The advantage of a mix of seeds is that you can give several varieties a chance, then plant more of those that grow the best in your soil and micro climate.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

Here is another source for regional seed mixes.


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## danmcm (May 23, 2012)

mmmooretx said:


> I just ordered 5 lbs of the Sweet Clover, will sow 1/2 this year, vac. seal and do the rest next year.


Why would you vac seal seed? They are alive and need to respire all be it at a low rate but vac seal sounds like a bad idea. put in zip lock which allow some breathing and store in frig would be a safer way to go...


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

That's probably a good call, thanks.


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## Tohya (Apr 6, 2011)

Katharina said:


> They also sell a bee feed mix. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8625-bee-feed-mix.aspx


www.seedland.com sells bee mixies for about half that price.


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## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

danmcm said:


> Why would you vac seal seed? They are alive and need to respire all be it at a low rate but vac seal sounds like a bad idea. put in zip lock which allow some breathing and store in frig would be a safer way to go...



Better yet, just put it in a jar with the lid loose. Mix it well with food grade DE. Nothing will bother it.


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## bannonb (Aug 24, 2012)

I am in dry Colorado and found that my new hives love Russian Sage and in my veg/herb garden they go crazy for oregano.

I spread pounds and pounds of wildflower mix in the acreage-even watered it for 2 weeks, but we've had a terrible drought and I didn't get any flowers at all from that exercise. I need to see if sweet Clover would grow in dry clay 

BannonB


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

Plant white dutch clover in the lawn areas but it doesn't do well without frequent water or rain, it'll just burn up like the grass. Planting white sweet clover is a great idea for fields, but in order to get it to germinate good the ground should be plowed up so that the seedlings don't have to compete with the weeds at first. Borage is also a great plant that honeybees love, but again, I would till the ground up to promote better germination of the seeds.


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