Winter Bean VS OSR

[moby]

I have just spoken to friend of mine and he has given me the choice to put my bees on winter beans or spring osr this year....

Do bees forage on Winter / field bean?

Does anybody know the pros and cons of beans v osr

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I have just spoken to friend of mine and he has given me the choice to put my bees on winter beans or spring osr this year....

Do bees forage on Winter / field bean?

Does anybody know the pros and cons of beans v osr

If they the same field beans I'm thinking of, you should be able to do both, as the beans tend to follow the OSR. If you have to choose though, beans is good, but OSR will send them into mega production.

 

[susbees]

There's a recent thread on field beans, try a search

 

[RoofTops]

If the crops are within a few miles of each other and they do flower at the same time, then the bees will make the decision for you - it will be OSR.

 

[oliver90owner]

Sorry MA, but spring OSR will follow field beans.

It may be that Moby is also befuddled, too.

OSR main crop, field beans, Spring OSR is the order of things, I can assure you.

However last year some beans were flowering at much the same time as the OSR - I stood my hives between the fields and was dismayed at the bean crop!

RAB

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Beans were certainly pants last year, though both then and the year before they extended post OSR our way

 

[Hivemaker.]

Sown is the missing link.

 

[bobandbec]

It's always OSR and beans to follow by me.
This is autumn sown OSR to flower Spring.
Peter

 

[oliver90owner]

Sown is the missing link.

Quite right, Hivemaker. That is why I did not know who was befuddled.

Arable farmers have aways differentiated winter and spring crops by date of sowing, not date of harvesting. Mostly the autumn-sown were not prefixed. The spring crops used to nearly catch up with the autumn sown ones, as far as harvesting times were concerned and this probably involved a function of day length.

All using the same terminology would certainly help to avoid confusion.

RAB

 

[Firefly]

Farmers have aways differentiated winter and spring crops by date of sowing, not date of harvesting.
RAB

Except spring cabbage

Spring OSR is quite an unusual crop - worth checking that is really what he means

Beans honey is easier

 

[oliver90owner]

And spring onions these days!

If I've still got time I will add the word 'arable' to my previous post

RAB

 

[Firefly]

And spring onions these days!

If I've still got time I will add the word 'arable' to my previous post

RAB

It's all very opaque and British, isn't it! If "winter" OSR is not drilled in September, you're late! (Sept=winter??!!); on some land, farmers will drill "spring" wheat in Feb, or even Jan (most years, that's winter!)

 

[oliver90owner]

Not that opaque that spring OSR flowers late May/June.

Lets wait and see what the OP really meant.

RAB

 

[Finman]

.
Beans does not give honey to bees. Bees do not visit in bean flowers.
We just discused about it. The flower tube of bean is very strong. If bumbble bees bite a hole to flowe, honeybee can take nectar. Bumbble bees either are interested about bean if they have easier flowers.

A Spring osr blooms about one month after sowing if i has been sowed in warm soil.
Our osr are almost all Spring variety.

 

[RoofTops]

I fear this is still a pointless discussion. If the two crops are in flower at the same time on the same farm the bees will go for the OSR. And if one crop flowers earlier then the other then move the bees there if you wish. My tactic would probably to find a site mid-way between the two and let the bees do the work. It will slightly reduce the crop but at a lot less effort than trying to move the bees a short distance between crops - 3 miles or 3 feet and all that.

My one experience of beans was not a success. They were in flower at the same time as spring sown OSR and though the hives were in the beanfield the bees ignored the beans and flew miles (kms Finman!) to the OSR. As Finman says, the bumblebees bite a hole in the bean flower and every flower inthe field was bitten like this. But my bees still ignored them.

 

[Rosti]

Since the chance of a season overlap is low which ever OSR we are talking about perhaps your choice is simpler.
Assuming your hive wont have access to both in the same flight radius and you don't want to move them mid season.

Do you want to harvest crunchy hard flavoursome stuff (OSR) or perfumed runny stuff (FB)?

 

[iand]

The variety of winter beans grown in our area usually starts flowering just before the winter rape has finished, then spring osr normally follows, but start of flowering will depend on when it is drilled a bit. With the demise of borage it is bean which gives me the bulk of my summer runny suitable honey, while spring osr will principally be for set.

 

[Finman]

My one experience of beans was not a success. They were in flower at the same time as spring sown OSR and though the hives were in the beanfield the bees ignored the beans and flew miles (kms Finman!) to the OSR. As Finman says, the bumblebees bite a hole in the bean flower and every flower inthe field was bitten like this. But my bees still ignored them.

last summer I had 2 hives so that it was 4 metres to bean field. There were some hectares.
I did not see neither bees or bumbblebees. There was dropplet of nectar in flowers when I opened them.

The price of soya have rised and nowadays we have lots of bean.

 

[Hivemaker.]

My bees have never done any good on field beans either,maybe one day,but not yet,often the rape and field beans are in adjoining fields,leave the bees on a little longer for the beans,which flower just before the rape finishes,and nothing,wrong type of bean maybe.

 

[Finman]

S
Do you want to harvest crunchy hard flavoursome stuff (OSR) or perfumed runny stuff (FB)?

my choce is OSR. It is splended honey when mixed with other honeys. Alone it is miserable like many other honeys.

FB would be nice but bees are not interested.

I have moved even 3 times hives from osr field to another. It is better to hit then when it is a time.
When weathers are favourable, rape gives 60-80 kg/hive. Hives must be big, about 6-8 boxes.