There is a great deal of comment from around the country about what is and isn't flowering ,in particular the state of brambles . However I have been surprised about the lack of discussion about one of our main potential crops - clover. Where I have my apiary in Somerset there is generally a reasonable flow from clover but this year not only is there no flow but fields which by now are white there don't even seem to be any plants. The field which is usually a good spot was not actually under water was pretty waterlogged for much of the winter. I do wonder if the lack of this little plant is due to its roots being rotted by the prolonged waterlogging as we have found with germination of many vegetable and garden plants. If the season doesn't pick up pretty damn quick I can see a sharp drop in beekeepers next year either through frustration or loss of so many colonies. I think that the gradual build up of stocks of sugar for autumn feeding might be a good idea to spread the cost as I feel the bees are going to need a huge amount of TLC if things continue to work against us. Any comment............?
