Rosebay Willow herb

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Joined
Nov 9, 2008
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Location
S.E. Cornwall
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
Enough
Now if any naughty beekeeper might want to spread some of these seeds on a nearby wasted bit of field, where might he get some seeds from??

Or is the only way to wait for this year's lot to set seed?
 
Thank you.
Just ordered some.

If anyone wants me to collect some seed for them, I will post them on when they set seed.
 
I spoke to a guy at Moles seeds a while ago, and they suggested Phacelia Tanacetifolia.

It is used for green manure and is meant to be on the top 20 list for bees. (I have not looked yet) Good for the land, good for the bees... win win!
Better than spreading nuisence plants (however good for bees)

I have bought a few Kg's of seeds and will be trialing it this year! :)
 
I spoke to a guy at Moles seeds a while ago, and they suggested Phacelia Tanacetifolia.

It is used for green manure and is meant to be on the top 20 list for bees. (I have not looked yet) Good for the land, good for the bees... win win!
Better than spreading nuisence plants (however good for bees)

I have bought a few Kg's of seeds and will be trialing it this year! :)

It is supposedly only good as a green manure if you plough it back in before it flowers (plant becomes too woody to plough back in after flowering), which defeats the object of growing it for bees :) It is only what I have been told , not personal experience.
 
Hi

Not being as green as some, I am thinking along the lines of a Balsam and Borage GRENADE:patriot:
 
I will be keeping the flowers!! :)

I am only seeding a small area (couple of acres), so if it is no good, I won't do any more next year...
 
Hi

Borage in the poor dogs Winalot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I trialed both Phacelia Tanacetifolia and borage in my olive grove a couple of years ago. My results were poor as it is much too dry here. I was hoping they would self seed but never did. Borage by the irrigation ditches do very well so I assume they like it moist. I planted dozens of lavender last year and every one of them died because of the hot summer. Lavender grows wild but I wanted to try a different variety. I am giving it a go again this year but with only a few plants.

I spoke to a guy at Moles seeds a while ago, and they suggested Phacelia Tanacetifolia.

It is used for green manure and is meant to be on the top 20 list for bees. (I have not looked yet) Good for the land, good for the bees... win win!
Better than spreading nuisence plants (however good for bees)

I have bought a few Kg's of seeds and will be trialing it this year! :)
 

Bros

Can i add that the Christmas tree in the guerrila gardenig photo in Muswell Road is good and well and is now showing early brown buds just opening with green shoots..its within 100yds of me

it even had battery LED lights on it at Christmas.people add flowers and bulbs..its becoming a cult...perhaps i should add a beehive.
 
I like the shoe seeder and the seed hand grenade.
 
Willow herb in Finland. When forest is cut down, willow herb takes its place.

These are my natural pastures.

If you want to grow it, take roots.

Kuva_047.jpg
 
My sister has going to give me a few Kg's of crimson clover seeds for my birthday (hopefully wrapped individually! :hat:)

Has anyone heard of crimson clover (as opposed to red clover) and are they good for honeybees?
 
I pray that no-one would consider planting Himalayan Balsam rather than Willow Herb for the benefit of their bees- it spreads like wildfire, kills out all the native plants and is also responbible for increased erosion of river banks- and it's really hard to get rid of.

Rather than plastering the countryside with invasive weeds, I used a really wonderful mix from Kings - It is called Butterfly and Bumblebee mix and is composed of Borage, Phacelia, Bird's Foot trefoil and Red Clover. It was a revelation - I could not believe the number of insects it attracted. Honey Bees however seem to find the long anthers on the Phacelia flowers quite an obstacle. A few were proficient at getting through them to collect nectar, whilst others simply collected dark blue pollen. Bumblebees seemed to be able to cope better. However the Borage was v. popular with the girls. Unfortunately the weather got so bad in Cumbria last summer that the clover and BFT was a bit of a disappointment.

Kings sell the mix in acre packs for £36.00 (4.5 kg), They also do Grass free pollen mixes which have Alsike, Birds Foot Trefoil, Black Medick, Common Vetch, Fenugreek, Lucerne, Phacelia, Red and White Campion, Red Clover, Sanfoin and sweet clover for £62.00/acre (10kg seed) You can also throw in 1kg of Cornfield Annuals- Poppy,Corn Cockle, Corn Chamomile, Corn Marigold, Cornflower ansd scentless Mayweed for £58.00/kg which does 1000 sq meters. They do other pollen mixtures but most have a high proportion of grasses.

I know the cost is quite high, but you are dealing with large areas and if people wanted to club together to buy a bit for their patch it is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying seeds in the Garden Centre.

I promise I have no connections with Kings, you can see what they do at http://www.kingscrops.co.uk or telephone 0800 587 9797
 
Hi Pete

Not sure were Crimson clover falls between red and white, but honey bees prefer white. Red is sometimes worked after it has been cut and the next set of flowers are smaller,carniolans are also reputed to collect from red as they have the longer tongue required.

I would suggest you stick with the bog standard white variety's.


Regards Ian
 

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