Borage planting

[JohnyP]

I've just take delivery of enough borage seed for 100m2. I'm going to try a small experiment.

1. Provided I have good germination, will that be enough to make the slightest difference to my honey crop with 5 hives?

2. How near/far should I plant it from the hives?

 

[Into the lions den]

I've just take delivery of enough borage seed for 100m2. I'm going to try a small experiment.

1. Provided I have good germination, will that be enough to make the slightest difference to my honey crop with 5 hives?

2. How near/far should I plant it from the hives?

Wisdom in the trade suggests about three hives to the acre. 10 metres by 10 metres is not going to make much difference. Sorry. Good for a nuc. Trouble is every beehive within a mile at least is going to find it too.

 

[MikeT]

I've just take delivery of enough borage seed for 100m2. I'm going to try a small experiment.

1. Provided I have good germination, will that be enough to make the slightest difference to my honey crop with 5 hives?

2. How near/far should I plant it from the hives?

How much seed have you bought, the seed rate is 15kg/ha for the area you are going to plant you will need 150 gms.

There are excellent cultural details by Fairking Ltd which gives instructions on growing. The most important consideration is drilling date do not drill before the middle of April and later if the weather remains cold.

The link for the cultural instructions is :-

http://www.fairking.co.uk/PDFs/BORAGE-GROWERS-GUIDE.pdf

Good luck

Mike

 

[BeeJayBee]

Well, I'll be positive.

It's better than doing nothing, is much better than having the same area covered in grass. Is no better, or worse, than planting a load of bee-friendly flowers in an urban garden. Is much better than the half a dozen self-seeded borage we have in our veg patch each year.

It might make a difference - you'll have to wait and see.

Try not to plant too near your hives because bees find it difficult to waggle dance a very close nectar source, so the plants would be more likely to be foraged by other people's bees.

 

[JohnyP]

I have bought just 150g of seed. Not sure if I'll be labeling it as borage honey then

 

[pargyle]

I have bought just 150g of seed. Not sure if I'll be labeling it as borage honey then

But Borage Honey is lovely - one of my favourites - so light and not too strong a taste. One of our association members has a number of hives sited at a secret location where the are acres of borage and I have to BUY my borage honey from him ... worth every penny though.

Good luck, you should get some borage nectar into your hives ... even if not a pure crop.

 

[madasafish]

Try not to plant too near your hives because bees find it difficult to waggle dance a very close nectar source, so the plants would be more likely to be foraged by other people's bees.

Seems to make little difference to my bees who forage all though our garden...

 

[Hivemaker.]

But Borage Honey is lovely - one of my favourites - so light and not too strong a taste.

Not a great lover of honey, but i find Borage about as close to thick sugar syrup as you can get for a honey.