Planting Clover for the Bees
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- A nice stand of clover can provide great forage for the bees in the spring and can also yield beautiful and tasty honey. There is some crimson clover at the farm but overall I don’t think my bees have access near enough. I have been trying to figure out how to get my bees placed where there is a lot of clover, but finally I decided to just bring the clover to them! It is a little late in the season but I think we will be ok here in south Alabama. I hope it grows. We will see! Now we just need some rain!
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#beekeeping #beekeeper #honeybees #clover #plantingclover #brucesbees #beesarecool #cloverhoney #hancockseed
I have done extensive research on planting for bees. Clover is a great starter but if you can mix some alfalfa and trefoil with it gives you longer periods of nectar. Either way it will need mowed after blooming. We do a lot of deer plots so it is kind of double duty. Clover is good start replaces nitrogen in soil for adding other plants.
Great advice. Thanks! Not sure how alfalfa would do down here. But we do have some other sources of honey. I am just hoping this clover will help kick start the season as supplement the early honey flow with wonderful sweet honey.
Bruce, I’ve never planted clover seed but when I needed to plant a large area with very small seed I mixed the seed with very dry sand to use a broadcast spreader and that always worked. It’s just another way to keep from putting the seed down too heavy. I hope you get a good result from your planting.
Great advice. Thanks! I think using the hand crank spreader helped me control the amount of seed broadcast. If I had done it with the tractor spreader I would have had to do so thing as you suggested. My brother recommended mixing it with rye or oat seed. I am eager to see how the clover does. We need some rain now but I don’t think there is any in the forecast for a few days.
@@brucesbees can we get an update on your cover progress???
Did not work out well. If I do it again in the future will have to do more research. I think I planted too late in the year. But not really sure why it didn’t grow very well.
Please post the video, if you figure it out. @brucesbees
I spread my clover seed just like you did, and got a great stand ,
it worked good here in north central Tennessee.
It looks good
Awesome. That is promising news. Thanks!
I put in 3 patches of mixed clover a couple years ago in the yard. It really takes off the 2nd year. I've had a few bees on the crimson clover, but the white is by far a favorite. You'll have a nice patch for your girls!
Great. Thanks for checking in. I ended up putting out several acres worth. Hopefully it will help!
I sowed clover 3 weeks ago .once i got rain it sprouted ive got a nice plot started
🐝safe and keep your smoker lit.
Konrad
Great news! Thanks for checking in!
Hello I just got done planting about 15 Acres with various clovers, alfalfa, trefoil, among many other things. I had three sizes of seeds. Very tiny, medium, and large I went over it and did each group individually. My very best suggestion is to frost seed it with a light snow on. You can see exactly where the seed went, how far it is throwing the seed, you can see your tracks so you know where you have been, and the freezing and thawing will work the seed into the soil by Spring. It will lay dormant until the temperature is right for the variety, and it stays moist in the winter and spring as it gets established. Mixing sand works but sand is very heavy, if you can save up and dry some coffee grounds it makes a good mix. Those are coffee does not go as far as the seed, it slows the seed rate same as sand. Also mixing one size larger seed with it and plant them together. I did use a tractor and Commercial seeder on the lowest setting. Again doing it in a light snow will really help you see what you are doing. Those tiny Clover seeds only need about 1 t o 3 pounds per acre as there is 1.5 million seeds per pound. Hope that help somebody. It will help the bees for sure LOL
Thanks for the information. Great stuff! sorry for the late response. Hope you are staying warm!
Thanks for the reply Bruce, I have some dried coffee grounds right now that I am going to be using as soon as the temperature gets reasonable, as I had -11 Fahrenheit last night. Again take note coffee grounds w e i g h hardly nothing, especially comparing it to sand. I hope some others take note of this as this was something I just dreamed up, but it worked awesome
Yikes! So cold! Sound like the coffee grounds work well. Maybe it will help someone else who wants to do this. That is what this channel is all about. Once again I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I try to respond to all the comments o can but sometimes miss one.
First!!! Nothing like planning for next year!! Thanks.
Thanks!
Thanks for the video. Lord willing I'll be planting about two-three acres of clover next spring for my bees here in central Georgia. Thought I'd put down a six-foot swath of Crimson clover around the perimeter of the field that won't get mowed and White clover on the rest. I'll probably use the same method you used except was planning on using a drag harrow to hopefully improve germination.
Sounds it will be beautiful. I may add some crimson clover next year, but just wanted to see how this turns out this year. Thanks for checking in!
Please make a video when you have your results I'm very interested in the differents it makes with honey production, if they plan cotton that would be great for honey 🍯🍯🍯🍯🍯🍯
Will do. We didn’t get any rain for several days and we have had a nice amount of rain since. Yesterday I checked one of the locations and the tiny little plants are staring to come up. Fun stuff!
Clover needs to be sowed on damp soil, so the best time is right after a rain. And after sowed, it helps to do some light coverage with compost to help keep it moist. Because clover will germinate in 3-6 days and start growing right away. But in its first 2 weeks, it need to be kept moist.
Yes I have learned a lot from this. Some grew but I am really disappointed. Didn’t grow very well. Will need to research it better before I plant again. I can’t seem to find a lot of info about the proper way to plant. Hopefully will be better prepared next go around.
I also planted it a bit late.
@@brucesbees I believe one of the tricks for success is is putting it down really early spring, like when it’s still cool, and sowing it right after your first downpour of rain.
@@brucesbees I just heard on another you tube channel that someone had 100% success with closer sowing it in the fall! And after the first rain it shoots up
I know. Somewhat confusing. I think I will try to sow it early fall next year. And try to do it properly.
Looking forward to seeing how it takes, seed to soil contact is key let it rain 👍
Yes we need rain and I think we will be fine. I am interested to see how it takes as well. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing ... Was thinking about renting an overseeder or slit seeder from home depot to do the same thing.
Good luck!
Bruce, thanks very much for doing this video. I am just now trying to figure out how to do this. And you do a very helpful video about how you solved each one of the questions I have! Thanks again for all this - much appreciated…
Always helps if you disk the ground first. Interesting experiment.
Yeah. Thought it would work. Not so much.
Mix in sawdust as a bull helps thin the mix more easy
Was ur clover planting successful?… if so do u have a video showing the blooming clover?
Thx
Unfortunately it did not work out well. I think I planted too late in the year and if I remember right we had a dry spell after I planted. Have not tried again since.
Does anyone have any tips on spraying your clover for weeds for bees??? I use butyrac and clethodim normally for my deer clover plots but I am concerned about herbicides in my honey on my clover for bees??? Any help is appreciated. Don’t want to loose all my clover🤦🏼♂️
I really don’t know but this is a good question.
Planting right around your hives would be attractive to honey bees from far and wide, which is not desirable. They would bring mites and may start robbing your hives. Planting does not result in big crops of honey unless you plant large expanses of land.
This experiment basically flopped but there is forage everywhere including close to me bees. I was attempting to plant several acres of land with clover. Apparently I did it wrong. But what I have learned is that there is plenty of forage if I can just keep my bees alive. The last two years have yielded record honey crops for me.
Hi Bruce, I mentioned about the coffee grounds working well but I came up with a dilemma this morning. I wanted to add more variety of seeds to what I have already planted.( about 12 acres this time) I ended up buying all of the thyme seeds in the rack at Dollar Tree, 4 packs for a dollar. I also bought sweet basil, coriander seeds which grows cilantro, I opened many numerous packages of the seeds as I bought them all. I did not realize that the thyme seeds we're probably smaller then grains of sugar oh, wow how am I going to plant these? I added all of my coffee grounds, I added numerous other seeds that I still had of many varieties. It did not seem I had enough filler to go over all of my acreage. I just looked that thyme seeds have 170,000 seeds per ounce. Like specks of dust. I was looking everywhere for something that would mix properly with all of the seeds. I had a cheap bag of potting soil. It looked as it may work. I ran it through a 1/8 inch screen to remove any big particles. Mixed all my seeds and coffee grounds in the potting soil, and BINGO, LOL it worked out like a charm. I even had to open the gate a little wider and covered about 12 acres with a tractor spreader, spreading it on top of the snow as it was melting away.. I now have about 20 varieties of seed planted for the bees. I am only trying to get a good start o f each and let them reseed themselves. I probably added about $ $3 worth of potting soil. If that's not a bootleg beekeeper I don't know what it is! Haha
No doubt lol! Great information. Thanks for sharing!
Would like to see a follow-up to this video. How did it work out?
Actually did not do well. Some of it came up but nothing like I expected.
I was disappointed. I think I did it too late on the year and if o remember right we had a drought during that time that also may have stunted growth.
Hay next time harrow or rack up the top service you should have a good stand . And good luck next year love your videos.
Thanks for the input!
Great, bees loves clover.
If you get lots of rain on the spring then the clovers will bloom from June thru August, well at least that how it was two years ago on my backyard.
Here it blooms a little earlier. Hopefully we get some rain soon and it is ready to go in the spring.
Runng a chain harrow over the areas a few time would have helped out for sure
Yes if I do it again I’m sure I will do some things differently.
For bees here in se ok and eastern tx sweet clovers work better than any of the clovers for grazing such as the white dutch, do a search for sweet clovers and you will see what i am talking about good luck
Nice idea ! The clover is considered as 5 th grade rich a nectar. By taking a perennial fodder plant, it gives plenty of nectar in the pasture. The clover plant loves water wery much .I hope the water will be provided. Soil structure is importants as the root of clover goes deep! Beacuse rainwater must pass throuth permeable temples otherwise ,its development will be slow. I addition, the ground water of the soil should be very low. Let there be clover flovering days.......
Thanks for the information!
@@brucesbees Would the % germination power of seeds be low ?
I hope not. I hope it grows into a nice crop.
I thought you had to wait and plant the clover seed in spring/summer....
Here is what I found on line....
Plant clover in the spring or early summer, when the ground has become soft and moist from the spring rains. You may also plant in September or early October in most locations. Clover seed is very small, so you may want to mix it with lime or fertilizer to give you more substance to work with.
When to Plant White Clover Seeds
Spring is the best time though late-summer sowing is a practical alternative provided there are adequate soil moisture and sufficient time for the clover seedlings to develop well before winter.
The standard seeding rate is two pounds per acre. The optimum sowing depth is 10-12 mm with a light but firm soil cover.
Hey thanks for the info. Here in south Alabama I believe the sowing period is a little longer in the fall. I have read through November but we are at the end of that time now. I am hoping it will begin to grow and be established in the spring instead of starting to grow in the spring and risking not having enough time to develop and bloom. We will see. It is a perineal plant though so hopefully it will all work out in the long run.
Here is the link to the site I ordered it from. I have also read that you can plant it in November here (I think). It’s plenty warm now. We just need rain. I guess time will tell!
hancockseed.com/collections/best-sellers/products/white-dutch-clover-seed?_pos=1&_sid=0e9f9c576&_ss=r
Here is some more info. Instructions are all over the place. We shall see.
You may plant clear up to late summer/early fall at least 6 weeks before a heavy freeze. In the south where snow and freezing temperatures are rare, you may plant all through the winter. If you plant when temperatures are warm, clover seeds will germinate in 7 - 15 days.
@@brucesbees may work fingers crossed
Hope so thanks!
I’m about ready to do this in my front yard
Good luck. I hope it does well!
Go to clover for deer food plots. Lots of planting information there.
I may do that. Thanks!
You probably should have use an inoculate with the seed for it to germinate. That is what I was told and read somewhere unless the seed was already covered with an inoculate.
Website says no inoculant needed. It was covered with something. I assume that’s what it was.
@@brucesbees That is good to know. Good luck on it.
I plant Crimson Red Clover in my Garden spot same as you did. Works great !!! I am now planting BUCKWHEAT to help fill in when DEARTH is hitting. Buckwheat grows so fast and blooms really quick. Just another Idea of seed to plant for the bees. Enjoy all your videos !!!
Thanks for the tip!
Take soil samples find out what types of. Fertilizer or lime it it might need
Great advice. Thanks! In reality I had so much ground to cover in different locations and didn’t really have the time to take soil samples. If it doesn’t work out this time will maybe have to put in more prep work next time. Can always add like or fertilizer down the road if needed.
If that’s a Solo spreader then the strap is intended to go over one shoulder and around the back. It hooks back onto the spreader then. Carrying that around your neck for that many acres I bet was miserable. If you’re spreading white clover you usually want 2-5 lbs per acre.
Hmm. Well that makes sense. The strap was adjusted pretty short so assumed it went around my neck. Not sure what brand it was. I put the seed out thicker than that. Hancock seed website said 10-15 pounds per acre but maybe I put it out too thick. We will see. Hopefully will get a good stand out of it regardless. Thanks for the input.
Just looked it up and you are right about the spreader. Will definitely keep that in mind in the future. Thanks!
Just seen your video on planting the clover. I am planning on planting some for my bees and was just wondering how it did, spreading it like you did? Thanks so much.
Actually it did not do well at all. I think I played it too late in the season and then it was dry for awhile. Some of it came up but really didn’t so as well as I had hoped. I need to do more research if I decide to do it again but we had a tremendous honey file this year even without think clover nearby.
@@brucesbees thank you
I have been using whitetail institute seed for over 30 years for year round blooming. You need to check the PH of the soil.
I spread it over such a large area in different spots. Didn’t check the pH though that would have been the ideal way to do it. I might have to look into whitetail institute seed. I assume that is deer plot seed?
@@brucesbees Yes, the price is a little more but it has a blend of clovers. They are south of Montgomery, so you could just pick it up and save the shipping.
Hmm. I might have it look into that. Will see how this turns out. I have quite a few bees so want to make sure I plant enough to make it worth the money from a bee forage perspective. Thought about adding some crimson clover in next year but it is supposedly an annual seed though there is some at my moms farm that comes back year after year of mowed at the proper time.
Bruce how did the clover turn out? Can u give an update or follow up video?
Did not do very well. I think I planted too late. I need to do some research and try again. It is hard to find good guidelines out there on hoe to do it. Maybe I can get it figured out this year.
Mix ur seed with cat litter it will spread better
Good idea. Thanks!
Nice video ~ ! Have you ever tried seed inoculant for clover? I'm planting clover for the first time this year, and only for the purpose of attracting bees. Have a nice season!
I believe these seeds were already inoculated.
I'm gonna spread some clover seed myself. Got it I just need to spread it.
Great. Good luck!
@@brucesbees thanks I hope yours comes up for the bees as well.
I used a air rader when I planned my clover
Not sure what that is but sound interesting. Where can I find out about it?
As an ex farmer I would have wanted to run a spike tooth drag around after seeding. Past experience shows that no matter what you do some will always make it if you put enough on. A good rain will help get the seed into the ground also. If not the birds will thank you. LOL
Bruce was that Sweet clover, red clover or white Dutch clover?
If you want to maximize honey production per acre you can't beat the right trees. Have you ever tried the Korean Bee Bee tree? They say they are exceptional flowers for bees and are quite hardy but not sure if they could go that far south.
It is white clover. 100 pounds worth lol. Tiny seeds. We do have a lot of great bee trees around such as Tulip Poplar, Privet and Tallow. Not familiar with the tree you mentioned. The Tallow is the biggest honey producer here. But I hope this clover will help kick start the spring and supplement the early honey with wonderful sweet honey. Will see how it goes!
And thanks for the advice! Hopefully we will see a good result.
@@brucesbees The Bee Bee tree blooms late summer, late July early August when there is very little else around.
Hmm. I don’t know. Not familiar with it but that would be nice.
What type of clover? EggMan.
White clover.
Bruce.
In the years that I broadcast clover seed (crimson, Dutch and yellow) I put it down in the fall prior.
This was advised by the seller. We bought from Southern Seed Exchange, and we bought innoculant flocked seed.
We had beautiful fields of clover. The crimson came back on its own for 3 years. Big and tall with giant blooms.
Richmond, VA
I planted it in the fall but I think I planted it too late. A little of it came up but it is not impressive at all. I need some guidance on how to properly overseed with it. I plan to plant earlier next fall. Maybe that will help, but I think I also need to apply it differently.
Did it work?
Actually did not do very well. Very sparse stand. I planted it a little late and then we had a dry spell. If I do it again will plant either earlier in the fall or in the spring.
Mix the seeds with sand
Yes that is a great suggestion. With this spreader though it was easy to adjust the spread rate low enough for the small seeds. If using a tractor spreader would probably have done as you said, or maybe mixed it with rye or oats. Thanks!
Did anything come of this?
It did not grow as well as I had hoped. If I do it again I will need to do it differently. I need to do more research. We had a great spring flow though with privet so it was not an issue but would still like to have some clover around the bees in the future. May try again this year.
@@brucesbees hey man, any bad results is still good data. Yea I saw your latest harvest video. Looked amazing. Enjoy your break from UA-cam! I know how time consuming it can be.
Yes it can. Bees and UA-cam have consumed me to the point of exhaustion. I need to figure out how to be more efficient or scale it back a bit. I have a lot of stuff that needs to be done with the bees but not enough energy or time to get it done. Just gotta do the best I can. Thanks for checking in!
Bruce, what brand of spreader did you use?
Solo
What type of clover did you plant?
White clover.
I’ve been wanting to plant clover for a few years now. What kind did you plant?
White clover from Hancock Seed in Florida. I ordered Dutch White but it was actually a substitute with what I assume will be similar characteristics.
@@brucesbees Thanks.
What plant hardiness zone are you in?
I am not sure but I am in southeast Alabama. Maybe 8A?
Actually just looked it up. Looks like I am in 8b
@@brucesbees I'm in 8a. I'm also thinking about planting a seed mixture in my pasture. It contains a lot of clovers. I have been trying to decide when to plant. Looks like now is a good time. Please keep us posted. Luckily we have an old wheat drill. I'm going to try using it.
I think we are at the very end of the recommended time but who knows? It is still plenty warm now. In recent years very little freezing here.
Your European bees are invasive pollinators not needed or wanted in america. Thebusa has 1100 native pollinators russian Italian or japanese breed honey beea arent native to america.. which ones do you have?? Exactly not 1 american breed of honey bee.
Ok. Thanks for checking in.