Borage Vs phacelia

[Curly green fingers]

Hi, I'm trying to find out what has a longer flowering period.

- borage is classed as a herb.
- and phacelia is green manure.
Which of these is going to be better for planting as
Bee forage .
Or should i be even considering buckwheat ?..
Your thoughts please .

 

[madasafish]

Think germination and hardiness.
Borage requires heat to germinate and will not overwinter. Phacelia germinates at lower temperatures and is not winter hardy.
AT 150 meters above sea level , phacelia- sown regularly - is earlier flowering by some two months .
But phacelia flowers for a shorter period.

I grow mainly phacelia.

 

[enrico]

Mix them, one takes over from the other

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Or buy a wild seed mix
I put a few borage plants in garden last year and theyve already self seeded

 

[Murox]

I'm with Enrico - mix all three. Any annual that self seeds has to be worth it, and there are also plenty of perennials too.

 

[Curly green fingers]

The above is going to be planted in march/April time as an when the field and headland came available but i was undecided which one to go for .

14.5 acres in total but I'll only have two hives to move there for the crop .

Any ideas on how much honey can be produced per acre for the two hives. they went into winter on double nats, amcs X buckfast bee's .
Cheers mark..

 

[Curly green fingers]

Or buy a wild seed mix
I put a few borage plants in garden last year and theyve already self seeded

They wouldn't be left to self seed they would get ploughed in .

 

[enrico]

If they plough in phacelia they will do it before it flowers. If it is done during or after flowering it will work seed. The same with borage. If it flowers it will self seed.
E

 

[Murox]

Don't plough up the headland then you could a whole range of appropriate plants sown.

 

[stevebrowning]

Hi, I'm trying to find out what has a longer flowering period.

- borage is classed as a herb.
- and phacelia is green manure.
Which of these is going to be better for planting as
Bee forage .
Or should i be even considering buckwheat ?..
Your thoughts please .

Try Vipers Bugloss (Echium)
Bees and other pollinators love it and it flowers for a very long time, the honey is good too, similar to borage.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Thanks all for your replys i will be suggesting a seed mix of both and im looking at seed prices from king seeds .

I'll suggest we leave the headland's to be planted with a wild flower mix .
Cheers..

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Try Vipers Bugloss (Echium)
Bees and other pollinators love it and it flowers for a very long time, the honey is good too, similar to borage.

This is a great plant ....it gives and renews its pollen for a long period over the day

 

[citrus]

thanks for the votes ... just ordered some seeds today

 

[Murox]

Have you seen this https://www.farmseeds.co.uk/t/categ...ewardship-mixtures/pollen-and-nectar-mixtures sort of info ?

 

[Curly green fingers]

Have you seen this https://www.farmseeds.co.uk/t/categ...ewardship-mixtures/pollen-and-nectar-mixtures sort of info ?

That's it I'm in beekeeper heaven , the seed list has gone out of the window

 

[Millet]

Fill the field full of thistles.. .. on the plus side they seem to flower forever... on the minus side they get everywhere..

 

[Ian123]

does admiting to some jealousy make me a bad person

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Some other companies tailor the seed mixture to soil type which seems a better idea

 

[Curly green fingers]

Fill the field full of thistles.. .. on the plus side they seem to flower forever... on the minus side they get everywhere..

I've got lots of those already as you know,they just don't grow very big
The field I'm talking about is on the farm 20 miles away.
I don't think borage and the like would do very well at home . Well they might but they would be small like the thistles..

 

[enrico]

Whatever you do don't buy anything with black medic in it.....you will never get rid of it, ever!!!!!!!
E