Buckwheat

[bwallace23350]

I am going to run some experimental green manure this year and one thing I am going to try is buckwheat? I have heard you can make a mono floral honey with it so I assume bees like it. Has anyone seen this? If it works well and the bees like it I will ramp up the size of my plantings. I am going to start off small to begin with?

[Dallasbeek]

See the thread "Contaminated, Altered Honey" in this same category for some discussion of buckwheat honey. 

I happen to like the flavor of buckwheat honey very much, but some find it objectionable.  But yes, if you have enough acreage to devote to it, you can have a "mono floral" honey.  You'll need to plant seccessive crops to have flowers over a lengthy growing season.  Good luck with it.  Save some honey for me.

[bwallace23350]

We will see how it works with my green manure and if it looks promising there will be lots of it planted.

[splitrock]

Good luck.

From my experience's, if there is anything else blooming that they like, they will fly right out of, or over the buckwheat to get at it.

Out of the three times I've been able to get my bees on a substantial buckwheat field, i've only got Buckwheat honey one time. Last time, I had them right IN 80 acres of it, and I didn't see but a couple frames with any in it.

I've planted between 4 and 5 acres here at my own place a few times, and saw no results at all. I've given up on buckwheat honey up here.

[Acebird]

I am going to run some experimental green manure this year and one thing I am going to try is buckwheat?

It is good to match what you plant to what you want to plant afterwards.

[paus]

I tried 2wo acres last year No bees on it.  Early or any time of day.

[Dallasbeek]

There had to be something blooming that they preferred.

[Acebird]

There had to be something blooming that they preferred.

Two years ago I tried a small plot and they covered it.  Last year I tried it in summer and a second growth in fall and they didn't cover it.  They know what they want when they want it.  I don't believe in a mono crop for the bees.  Plant what you want for yourself and if the bees go for it super.

[bwallace23350]

I doubt the spring would be a good time to plant it then. They sit a pasture full of clover. I might give it a shot during a dearth then to see what happens

[Acebird]

I doubt the spring would be a good time to plant it then.

The purpose is to control weeds and put nutrients in the soil.  I plant for myself not the bees.  Bees live on weeds.  If you want to plant for bees clear the ground and just set back nature will provide for the bees.

[bwallace23350]

I doubt the spring would be a good time to plant it then.

The purpose is to control weeds and put nutrients in the soil.  I plant for myself not the bees.  Bees live on weeds.  If you want to plant for bees clear the ground and just set back nature will provide for the bees.

All true. I try to do both if I can. But around here we do get some serious dearths at times. I have tried to find some things to help with that. So far I think I am just flailing in the wind though on it.

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Mr. Wallace, all good things.  Now let me see if I understand what you are contemplating.

You want to replant a beautiful field of clover with Buckwhest.  Is that right?  A beautiful field of clover that produces the mildest, the lightest colored, the most sought after Honey and you wish to till, destroy, kill,  this clover and replant with another species.  Destroy a clover field that most beeks dream of and spend bucks to create the most sought after bee flower in the World and you want to till it under..    Well OK, what was I thinking,  I got it, makes perfect sense to me.

       I can just hear you explaining this to that beautiful son of yours that only wants to walk through the woods with his Dad at his side:  Well ya see son, the favorite flower of bees is clover and this clover produces the best, most sought after Honey in the World and our bee hives sit in the middle of a clover field,,,,...so I am gonna till it, kill it, and replant in weeds.

Er Uh, I understand, no problem, why in today?s world that makes perfect sense.
Blessings Blessings Blessings

[Acebird]

But around here we do get some serious dearths at times.

What is the cause of the summer dearth?  If it is rainfall you might just be fighting mother nature no matter what you plant.
Van everyplace is different.  I don't see bees on clover until everything else is gone.  I think clover honey taste like syrup.  It's OK when mixed with everything else.

[beepro]

If you have a pasture of wild mustard the bees will go for that first.  During the summer dearth you
can try some buckwheat.  Buckwheat require moisture in order to produce the nectar as they're not the
drought tolerant plants.  If you put them on irrigation with nothing blooming in the summer time I'm sure your
bees and the neighbors bees will forage on the buckwheat.  Without a large plot the bees will find another pasture where
they can collect more closer to home. 

[beepro]

I bought one lb. of Sainfoin, two lbs. of white Hubam and yellow Hubam clover seeds.  Not sure about how
much they will provide for the green manure.   My main test is to see if they will do well during the summer
dearth here.  Too bad this year there isn't much rain this winter.  Maybe Jan and Feb might change for the better. 

[bwallace23350]

But around here we do get some serious dearths at times.

What is the cause of the summer dearth?  If it is rainfall you might just be fighting mother nature no matter what you plant.
Van everyplace is different.  I don't see bees on clover until everything else is gone.  I think clover honey taste like syrup.  It's OK when mixed with everything else.

Just how things happen here in June and July. Not really sure why. We get plenty of rain.

[bwallace23350]

Mr. Wallace, all good things.  Now let me see if I understand what you are contemplating.

You want to replant a beautiful field of clover with Buckwhest.  Is that right?  A beautiful field of clover that produces the mildest, the lightest colored, the most sought after Honey and you wish to till, destroy, kill,  this clover and replant with another species.  Destroy a clover field that most beeks dream of and spend bucks to create the most sought after bee flower in the World and you want to till it under..    Well OK, what was I thinking,  I got it, makes perfect sense to me.

       I can just hear you explaining this to that beautiful son of yours that only wants to walk through the woods with his Dad at his side:  Well ya see son, the favorite flower of bees is clover and this clover produces the best, most sought after Honey in the World and our bee hives sit in the middle of a clover field,,,,...so I am gonna till it, kill it, and replant in weeds.

Er Uh, I understand, no problem, why in today?s world that makes perfect sense.
Blessings Blessings Blessings

This was in my garden. I wanted to plant the buckwheat after I till in the annual clover as an extra green manure. The rest of the pasture land will stay untouched as I so much desire it to be.

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Good for you Mr. Wallace, I was starting to worry you did not appreciate my humor.  I wanted you to laugh, all to laugh......  I hope 2018 is a prosperous healthy year for you and family.
Blessings

[bwallace23350]

Good for you Mr. Wallace, I was starting to worry you did not appreciate my humor.  I wanted you to laugh, all to laugh......  I hope 2018 is a prosperous healthy year for you and family.
Blessings

Thank you and to a good new year to you and yours also.

[Michael Bush]

>I bought one lb. of Sainfoin, two lbs. of white Hubam and yellow Hubam clover seeds.

Where did you buy the yellow hubam?  I've only seen white.  But it bloomed the first year and bloomed for a very long time.

[paus]

TAMU hubam clover website list yellow and white.  White is the better clover for bees, but they are working on improving the yellow Hubam.

[Dallasbeek]

 

TAMU hubam clover website list yellow and white.  White is the better clover for bees, but they are working on improving the yellow Hubam.

Yeah, like they improved the jalapeno

No, really, I'm a fan of Texas A&M's research and the varieties they come up with.  The TAMU jalapeno provides restaurants with a reliable non-spicy chile for nachos and things, but it sure plays heck with me when I'm seeking good hot chiles.  The Maroon okra is another innovation I could do without, though, since it's the same as the green when cooked.  They should come up with a burnt orange variety for Univsity of Texas fans.  Or red and white for my own alma mater.(i'll let you guess that one).  Okay, this is just a couple of Texans here, trading jibes.

[Acebird]

I guess the closer you are to Mexico the more you like to be Mexican but with a wall! between you.  I wonder if that wall would change your desire for Mexican food?  If you go to a Taco Bell in NY it is more like a sprinkle of paprika.  Maybe that is all they use up here.  Buffalo wings are way hotter then Taco Bell.

[Dallasbeek]

I guess the closer you are to Mexico the more you like to be Mexican but with a wall! between you.  I wonder if that wall would change your desire for Mexican food?  If you go to a Taco Bell in NY it is more like a sprinkle of paprika.  Maybe that is all they use up here.  Buffalo wings are way hotter then Taco Bell.

I lived in New Mexico for 13 years after going to law school there.  My food preferences were shaped more by those years than prior to that time.  But I ate my first chile  piquin ( a small wild pepper found in Mexico and the Soutwest ) at about the age of 4 and have eaten hot chiles ever since.  Taco Bell is probably a California thing.  I don't understand your reference to liking to be "Mexican but with a wall between you".  I lived within 10 miles of the Rio Grande for about 10 years growing up.  For us at that time there was really no border.  We traveled back and forth without giving it much thought.  I think maybe it's people who are distant from the border who are the cause of the separation of us from our Mexican friends. 

[beepro]

Mr. Bush, I got them on amazon when it was still on sale.   After that the price went up
a bit.  The seller doesn't know how expensive they are on the other online sites.  Why do you like
the biannual (yellow) Hubam?    I like the silver river or the regular white annual Hubam better.   I don't
plan to alternative the plots anyway.

[Michael Bush]

>Mr. Bush, I got them on amazon when it was still on sale.

There isn't any now.

>Why do you like the biannual (yellow) Hubam?    I like the silver river or the regular white annual Hubam better.   I don't
plan to alternative the plots anyway.

The order of bloom in my fields in the early spring:
wild mustard
yellow sweet clover
white sweet clover

The finish in the same order.  I would prefer annual sweet clover to biennial, of course.  But I have not seen yellow sweet annual clover for sale.  I'd love to buy about 300 pounds of yellow Hubam seed.  Yellow blooms a few weeks before white.  White lasts a few weeks after the yellow is done.  The Hubam seems to last even longer than the biennial white sweet.

[beepro]

Got it Mr. Bush.

Here is a reply from turnerseed that I correspond with a few weeks ago.  "Hubam is currently priced $3 per pound and the silver river is currently priced $3.50 per pound. Shipping is based on weight and destination. 50# shipped to a residential address in zip code xxxxx (edited) would cost $52."

The shipping rate is almost the same to all lower 50 states I guess.    They also have the biennial yellow Hubam.  If you cannot find it then try
fedcoseeds to see if they have it.   Just like the Latsaw II station on the auction site they do go fast.   Guess the seller is sold out on amazon with that price.   I also have the wild mustard seeds that the bees like so the 3 will complement nicely. 

[Michael Bush]

The only price I can find on Melilotus indica (annual yellow sweet clover) is here http://highcountrymercantile.net/product/gopher-stopper/ and it's $3.95 per ounce or $39.95 per pound or $300 for 10 pounds.  That's $1500 for fifty pounds, the size bags I usually buy seed in... and I usually buy two or three hundred pounds of any one type of sweet clover seed at a time.  Usually two or three hundred of each yellow and white.  And then a few fifty pound bags of other legumes like alfalfa and white dutch and ladino and vetch and trefoil etc.  Did turnerseed say they have annual yellow at $3 per pound?  That would be in my price range. 

[beepro]

That is too high a price to pay.
Try the fedco seeds for the yellow Hubam then.

No, turnerseed only quoted me the white Hubam because I'm interested in the annual for a faster harvest.
Now I see your point of extending the harvest season with the yellow too.   Since I have both I will try some
this season.  The white Hubam already sprouting with all the rains and a week in the ground.  You can contact
turnerseed to see when they will have the yellow Hubam available or order from fedco.   I'm not sure the yellow Hubam is
the same specie you are looking for?

[Michael Bush]

> I'm not sure the yellow Hubam is the same specie you are looking for?

The term "Hubam" generally seems to be used to refer to the fact that it's an annual (and refers to the person who bred the white annual).  I assume "Yellow Hubam" is just the yellow annual.  The yellow annual's Genus and species is Melilotus indica.  It's common name seems to be "sour clover".  I seem to find those two used mostly for the annual variety though wikipedia lists it as being either annual or biennial.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melilotus_indicus