'good' commercial crops?

[bjosephd]

sainfoin, borage, field beans and more but I have just noticed 2.5 hives so more than you would know what to do with, not being rude

3 hives! I have threee.... I'll update my profile! Haha.




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[foghornleghorn]

Apart from osr, beans and white or alsike clover(depending on soil type), there really isn't any viable crops that would flower for any reasonable lenght.

 

[Brian Bush]

Borage here..... Not sure beans yield much ....I see migration of hives to the borage

Borage is the crop of choice for beekeepers and farmers alike.
It grows on any soil and does not need a large input of fertiliser.
It crops from June to first frost.
Bees love it.
borage seed for oil commands a high price.
I believe you need to ensure that there is a set number of hives available before you can grow it commercially.
I think it is the most mutually beneficial crop available.
And the Honey!!! Oh!! the Honey!!!

 

[birdsandbees]

There is a problem with red clover. The florets are often too long for honey bees to reach the nectar. If the clover is cut for hay the second flowering of the year often has shorter florets. White clover is suitable for the proboscis length of the honey bee.

Ahh, thanks all for the advice, I'll have to go back and suggest white clover to him, the price on bulk seed prices seem similar so he might go for it, alternatively Ill buy a few a couple of kg's of mixed seeds myself and spread it in the set aside areas around the place.

 

[taff..]

A few years ago I was keeping my bees in an Orchard, I was told on here that they are not good places to keep them because the variety of forage is poor. Poppy cock I thought, and that same year I took 150Lb from 2 hives.

the following year about 25, year after about 30, year after about 30. That first year I took a huge crop from a neighbouring field of white clover, it all came in over about a 10 day period, I hoped for a repeat year after year but it never came. The apple crop was consistently 'not very good' and the farmer cut the dandelion so very little would come in from that.

I then moved to a forest and learnt what it is to consistently take large(er) crops

 

[Swarm]

Conditions need to be right for clover, it adds nitrogen to the soil but it doesn't always give a flow.