Yield off beans

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Fella asked me if I wanted to put a hive on his 30 acre patch of field beans
Field is 10 miles away from m apiary
Is the possible harvest from this size field worth the effort of moving the hive/s
Thanks

 

[Finman]

.
My experience is that field bean alone is not worth to move hives.

Bees needs bumble bees to make hole into flowers. Otherwise bees do not have access to nectar.

.

 

[Tomlow bee]

In my uk experience, it yields quite well and produces excellent honey. My main disappointment this year is that the fields of beans that are usually just down the road are not this year.

Go for it, the effort will be worth it.

 

[enrico]

Used to move mine round crops many years ago when farmers paid you for doing it, field beans was always worth a few quid to the farmer and reasonable yields for me.
E

 

[Plenty of honey]

Depends on your weather. You need good temperatures in the 20's and lots of rain prior to the flow. Tt can be really good, but you need it right otherwise not worth the move.

 

[Millet]

Dear lord doom and gloom, go for it OP i will be doing the same this year not for honey though just to get my feet under the table with a Nuc or two..

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Thanks all
I thought 30 acres might be the issue
I'll chance a hive on it and see how it goes
Cheers

 

[Millet]

Don't listen to me by bye way unless they will be other forage on other spots...incase the beans fail.

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Don't listen to me by bye way unless they will be other forage on other spots...incase the beans fail.

Promise I won't come looking for your house if the beans fail

 

[Poly Hive]

I had bees on a site with beans for 8 years, the beans were part of the rotation and as far as I know never got a drop off them. I have a vague recollection of being told the flowers are too deep for the bees to access unless bumbles make a hole?

Personally I would move a hive to help the farmer (good will) but I would have a good look around to see what else is there.

PH

 

[dsp]

What exactly are field beans? Are they broad beans, runner beans, french/green beans?

 

[Finman]

What exactly are field beans? Are they broad beans, runner beans, french/green beans?

Look google

 

[enrico]

They are broad beans too hard for humans, used for cattle feed. They cut the whole plant, beans and all and use it.

 

[dsp]

Oh I see. That makes more sense. Is it just the animal feed type you can get a honey crop from then rather than broad beans in general?

 

[Angularity]

The plants look just like garden broad beans, tall green plants, waxy leaves, white and black flowers. It's exactly the same species, Vicia faba. Some of our farming neighbours are growing them, now that OSR has fallen out of favour.

I didn't know you could cut the whole crop (for silage, probably in areas where there are loads of livestock); round here farmers let the plants go dry and black, then the seeds are a dark brown and they're combined direct.

 

[foghornleghorn]

Faba beans, the higher quality UK stuff (no bruchid beetle) is shipped to the middle east for human consumption, the rest is for animal feed

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I always seem to get quite a lot off the beans (or so I've always assumed), apart from OSR its the only significant monocrop for the bees around here

 

[Finman]

I always seem to get quite a lot off the beans (or so I've always assumed), apart from OSR its the only significant monocrop for the bees around here

Have you looked the flowers how much bean field has bees and how they take nectar ? Have you seen bumbles there?

IT is easy too to hear the sound of bees among plants.

 

[enrico]

Have you looked the flowers how much bean field has bees and how they take nectar ? Have you seen bumbles there?

IT is easy too to hear the sound of bees among plants.

But we have bumbles so our honeys have no problem. We get nectar.
E

 

[Finman]

But we have bumbles so our honeys have no problem. We get nectar.
E

No problem, yes!

If bumbles have better flowers, they do not want to work with those laborous flower tubes.