Clover

[philipm]

I'm thinking of planting our field up with clover this year.Anybody have advice on what to plant red or white? I know that clover only produces pollen above a certain temperature but there is always a chance of some hot weather.

 

[Brian Bush]

Use white clover. Red clover is no good for honey bees as the florets are too long. It can only be foraged by honey bees if grazed down or cut for hay and has a second bloom where the florets will be shorter.

 

[Finman]

.
Alsike clover is good too, when soil is moist

 

[Curly green fingers]

I'm thinking of planting our field up with clover this year.Anybody have advice on what to plant red or white? I know that clover only produces pollen above a certain temperature but there is always a chance of some hot weather.

Hi I've planted loads of clover over the years its a biannual best to be planted in the autumn and the flowers are a lot stronger. if you do it in the spring the flowers won't be so big. How are you going to plant it?

 

[Cazza]

Hi I've planted loads of clover over the years its a biannual best to be planted in the autumn and the flowers are a lot stronger. if you do it in the spring the flowers won't be so big. How are you going to plant it?

Isn't white clover a perennial?
Cazza

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Why just clover there's plenty of seed mixes out there

 

[Curly green fingers]

Isn't white clover a perennial?
Cazza

Sorry yes it is but it never flowers very good in its second year so best treated like a biannual it will reseed quit profusely and spread that way it doesn't mater what your soils like as long as its not to acidic ph 6/7 ideal the soil want to be above 4 degrees .

 

[Erichalfbee]

The fields around us are covered in clover every year the sheep aren’t on them. They aren’t re-sown. What sort of clover would that be?

 

[Curly green fingers]

The fields around us are covered in clover every year the sheep aren’t on them. They aren’t re-sown. What sort of clover would that be?

It doesn't have to be re-sown it will seed its self if left to do its thing.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It doesn't have to be re-sown it will seed its self if left to do its thing.

Ah. Never thought of that. Silly!

 

[Curly green fingers]

Hi cazza over the years I've under planted most cereal crops with clover it's a legume and it releases nitrogen into the soil so it helps in the spring with feeding the cereal crop. So you don't have to use so many extra fertilizers . clover also keeps the weeds down to so you don't need to spray and then in the autumn you plough the clover in thus adding more nutrients to the soil . we did study's at college growing white clover and lots of other nitrogen fixers. If I was going to plant white clover for honey bee's I would do it in autumn you would get a longer flowering period by mowing your field and getting a second flush of flowers. I hope this helps.
Mark

 

[philipm]

Thanks everyone for your replies,White clover it will be plus a mix of other flower seeds.I don't want to plough the field up so I will seed In to a bare patches I prepare.May even start a few plants in modules in the poly tunnel.

 

[Curly green fingers]

You could put black polythene over the areas that you want to plant to bring the soil temp up early spring.clover will germinate at 4 degree's and above it needs 3 to five weeks to get established. Weather depending of course. A rule of thumb planting 3 to 5 weeks before the first frosts in the autumn and the same for the spring 3 to 5 weeks after your last frosts I would go for week 3 after the frosts for planting directly. Or as you said start them of in modules in your tunnel then you wouldn't have to mess about with the above . if you plant them in modules grow them hard otherwise they will go leggy and you will have to start again. I'm growing Palencia, alfalfa, and broad beans where I was going to put a 100ft tunnel for my bee's I should be using the space for my business. But I love my bee's to much and would rather put crops to grow for them. Good luck and hopefully we will have good weather early spring.
Mark

 

[Walrus]

I remember when I spoke with David Kemp, who was at Buckfast in the 1960s/70s, he said that Br Adam spoke of white clover fields. It was grazed by Devon ruby red cattle and longwool sheep, and as it’s chewed off the plants come back. He said pure clover honey was his favourite.

Sadly there doesn't seem to be so much of it about nowadays, so best of luck with your project

 

[Curly green fingers]

I remember when I spoke with David Kemp, who was at Buckfast in the 1960s/70s, he said that Br Adam spoke of white clover fields. It was grazed by Devon ruby red cattle and longwool sheep, and as it’s chewed off the plants come back. He said pure clover honey was his favourite.

Sadly there doesn't seem to be so much of it about nowadays, so best of luck with your project

I would say clover honeys my favourite to next to broad bean honey and then heather. I think in the coming years hopefully more people will plant more .spray less .and think of the environment a bit more because the way its going there isn't going to be much left of this world to look after. For future generations I feel quite frustrated with the situation some times.

 

[Swarm]

Just plant the right white clover.

 

[mbc]

I've never knowingly taken a crop off sown clover, it's the little wild white variety that yields round here.

 

[Swarm]

That's the one you want, there are some varieties that they won't use. But conditions have to be just right for a Clover flow, it's a bit hit and miss.

 

[ianorsven]

My Grandmother sold her honey as "Clover Honey" back in the sixties. Don't think it was pure - she kept her bees in an orchard but many of the Cumbrian meadows and roadsides were covered with white clover back then. I loved the stuff and got my interest in beekeeping from those days

 

[Hivemaker.]

I've never knowingly taken a crop off sown clover, it's the little wild white variety that yields round here.

Same here, most fields are usually white with clover during the summer, but it is the small clover flowers in the fields/meadows/ that never get ploughed that the heavy honey flows come from... when the weather conditions are right.