Biodiverse Polyculture (USDA 8a Zone Pasture) - sounds better than "My Acres of Weeds"

[U_Stormcrow]

I haven't in the past but I will be this season. Seems to be the only option.

Pricey.

OTOH, Hancock is local to us - if they are growing it to sell seed, chances are we can too. Or so I keep telling mysself...

ANyhow, I'm putting down Hancock seed in two weweks, as soon as our last projected sub 40 temps roll thru. If you want to delay your purchase a bit and follow my progress here, you will have some example of how well (or not) the Hancock seed does. Hancock says wildflowers shouldn't be planted in our region till late fall/early winter to overwinter and come up in spring, so you have time.

I've used OutsidePride in the past with some success, but not greatly impressed (Possibly due to a lack of soil preparation on my part, possibly due to a 5 week drought dring what is usually our wettest month ofthe year). and other brands, but OutPri is the only one I can remember on a single cup of coffee.

 

[Bawkbok]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely be following your progress.
I read where the long term forecast for FL is warmer and drier this year than average, whatever that is anymore. Seems like the summers are getting hotter and hotter (and drier) with every passing year. Perhaps it's my aging process that is making me less tolerant of the extremes...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Its not just you.

anyhow, I'm out to run the drag and finish mixing in all that fertilizer and lime. Due to rain 4 days of the next 7, now 80% chance+ most days.

and plant an apple to replace the tree we started that died this past year - will have one Anna, one Golden Dorsett, now one Honeycrisp. Next tree will be one that cross-polinates better w/ a honeycrisp. Maybe a Gala. Then work in more lime and some hummingbird mix.

 

[fuentemoon]

Happy to see this thread active again. I am pretty much diagonally across the country from you. We are 8b and have many of the same plants, but not soil, all clay here.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Happy to see this thread active again. I am pretty much diagonally across the country from you. We are 8b and have many of the same plants, but not soil, all clay here.

Welcome to the thread. Trust me when I say there's plenty of clay here - parts of the pasture look likea baseball diamond. I had to drop the tractor to low gear to break it (only a 24.7 hp tractor).

 

[Sally PB]

1 pound for $45 here
No idea how much a pound would seed. It also says: "It "takes over", so use carefully. Perennial."

The yarrow plants I see on our property are just here and there. I don't recall if I've seen the honey bees on it.

When I look for flowers to plant, that is one of the first things I think about now. Not just bees liking it, but specifically honey bees. I planted some bee balm. The yellow jackets and bumble bees liked it, but I never saw any honey bees visit. I asked someone at the bee club, and he said that the throat of the flower is too long for honey bees to reach the nectar. I ripped it all out. I don't want to attract yellow jackets.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

1 pound for $45 here
No idea how much a pound would seed. It also says: "It "takes over", so use carefully. Perennial."

The yarrow plants I see on our property are just here and there. I don't recall if I've seen the honey bees on it.

When I look for flowers to plant, that is one of the first things I think about now. Not just bees liking it, but specifically honey bees. I planted some bee balm. The yellow jackets and bumble bees liked it, but I never saw any honey bees visit. I asked someone at the bee club, and he said that the throat of the flower is too long for honey bees to reach the nectar. I ripped it all out. I don't want to attract yellow jackets.

Hancock's "Bee Seed" mix is Lupines, Buckwheat, and four verieties of clover - Crimson, Berseem, Dutch White, and Yellow.

 

[fuzzi]

1 pound for $45 here
No idea how much a pound would seed. It also says: "It "takes over", so use carefully. Perennial."

The yarrow plants I see on our property are just here and there. I don't recall if I've seen the honey bees on it.

When I look for flowers to plant, that is one of the first things I think about now. Not just bees liking it, but specifically honey bees. I planted some bee balm. The yellow jackets and bumble bees liked it, but I never saw any honey bees visit. I asked someone at the bee club, and he said that the throat of the flower is too long for honey bees to reach the nectar. I ripped it all out. I don't want to attract yellow jackets.

When I was researching blueberry plant varieties I read that carpenter bees pollinate blueberry blossoms, not honey bees.

 

[Sally PB]

Now that I think about it, I don't recall if I saw honey bees on the blueberry flowers last year. We have several other species of bees too.

Last year we had three or four nights of killing frost (for fruit trees and bushes) when the flowers were open. I saved nearly all of them by covering the bushes with garbage bags every night and uncovering after it warmed up in the morning. I covered the cherry trees with sheets. Mother Nature is wickedly cruel sometimes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm seriously considering getting two hives. One for the back of the pasture, one for between the pasture and the house (where I keep ornamentals, asparagus, fruits and veggies). 8 frame, I think.

That will put about 400' between hives, and give them about an acre each of open space.