🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[Apis mellifera]

I know we don't have 8 frames of drawn comb to put in it, but would it be worth putting it on, for them to "get started on?" Or would be be just giving them a bunch of empty space that will be dead cold air?

Would a medium be any better? Again, I don't know how much drawn comb we'd have to put in it.

You could try a medium. Just take it off early enough to feed them so they have time to fill the top deep with stores. They may ignore the medium and fill the top box anyway.

 

[drstratton]

Honeybees love sweet clover. It comes up the first year and blooms heavily the second year and then dies. Great for adding nitrogen to the soil.

It is used here as a cover crop along the right of ways by the highway department to get the regular grasses started. Eventually heavy grass will crowd it out.

Sweet clover is the taller variety correct? Good to know that heavier grass will choke it out, thank you. We might plant that in my old horse paddock. The only thing growing in there right now is cheatgrass. I'm also thinking about planting mountain mint, it's a clumping variety, so shouldn't run rampant. We're going to plant Dutch white clover in front of the Apiary.

 

[drstratton]

You could try a medium. Just take it off early enough to feed them so they have time to fill the top deep with stores. They may ignore the medium and fill the top box anyway.

Thank you, this is what I was going to respond with. Glad I had the right idea.

 

[drstratton]

Have a nice window of 4 days below 85F next wk. Time for the Formic Pro 2 wk treatment. Chk brood pattern and how their stores look before the fall flow.

We're still in the 90's. So we'll be treating with OAV. We'll start next week, as soon as we get our vaporizer.

 

[R2elk]

Sweet clover is the taller variety correct? Good to know that heavier grass will choke it out, thank you. We might plant that in my old horse paddock. The only thing growing in there right now is cheatgrass. I'm also thinking about planting mountain mint, it's a clumping variety, so shouldn't run rampant. We're going to plant Dutch white clover in front of the Apiary.

Sweet Clover

Most of this is 5' tall. Some is 6' tall. I have some on the west side that is over 7' tall.

 

[R2elk]

Bees also love Rocky Mountain Bee plant.

 

[drstratton]

Sweet Clover
View attachment 4197031
View attachment 4197032
Most of this is 5' tall. Some is 6' tall. I have some on the west side that is over 7' tall.

That's what I thought. Thank you. Definitely don't want that in front of the Apiary.

Bees also love Rocky Mountain Bee plant.
View attachment 4197034

I think I've seen this and it's one I was thinking about planting. I'll look for it again. Thank you!

 

[drstratton]

Bees and blooms!
Carniolan & Italian on a Zinnia.

Carniolan in mid flight, Italian on Chives.

 

[drstratton]

@R2elk

So, what I'm hoping to do is plant a combination of Rocky Mountain Bee Plant & Butterfly Weed in my paddock. And we might plant the sweet clover in what was supposed to be a small pasture area. That one can be invasive. I'll have to see if we can even buy it in Eastern Washington.
But, I'm amazed at the projected honey yields for both of your suggestions.
Thank you again.

 

[drstratton]

Just put in an order for yellow and white sweet clover and rocky mountain bee plant seeds. I already have Butterfly Weed seeds.
The RMBP & Butterfly weed will be planted this fall, before the first frost. They both need cold stratification. We will plant the BW first as it needs a light covering of soil. The RMBP needs sunlight, so it will be planted on top and not covered.
The clover will be planted in the spring after the last frost.
We will have plenty of time to get everything cleared out and the ground prepped.