Hi all
my home ranch is located in coastal northern caliornia. we've got lots of buckeye around. last year I thought I observed some sluggishness in two of my hives, which I've read can be a symptom of buckeye poisoning. in response, I cut down several of the biggest, likeliest culprits. This angry off my neighbors who liked the way the trees looked
this year, and for the future, I'm hoping to plant some flowering crops that might come at the same time as buckeye, to at least offer some variety to my girls. anyone have ideas about what might be a good crop to plant? seems like our buckeyes get really going towards the end of july.
thanks...
Is that California or Carolina?
At any rate, you could plant Buck Wheat Five to six weeks before you want it to bloom. It will go till frost and is some what dry weather tolerant. Buck Wheat can be planted any time after the last frost.
Pumpkins Mid May, cucumbers, summer squash, peas, beans, or any short season crop that blooms well that bees like. All melons. Most of these should be planted 2 to 4 weeks before you want the bloom. :)doak
PS
I am "hopeful" you can become un- Hopelessly lost.
I am not familiar with the climate in Coastal Northern California :roll: :shock:
Must be California. Don't know that anyone refers to the coast of NC as being "northern." :-D
http://www.tuscarawascountybeeclub.com/beebee.htm (http://www.tuscarawascountybeeclub.com/beebee.htm)
http://www.massbee.org/evodia.shtml (http://www.massbee.org/evodia.shtml)
;) RDY-B
I live in Placerville. A bit farther from you, but we have buckeye all over the property where I keep my bees. The blackberries bloom around the same time as the buckeye and they are always on the blackberries at that time. I don't know much, but it seems that there isn't a problem with my hives and the buckeye trees around here.
I planted 50 Yellow Buckeye trees (Aesculus octandra) in my yard this year. Naturally this topic freaked me out. I did some reading and learned that California buckeye (Aesculus californica) is the culprit. Fortunately I can keep my Yellow buckeye's. I didn't plant them for the bees anyway.
Yeah, northern California it is.
It seemed that the buckeyes bloomed earlier than the blackberries up here. and my poor girls just couldn't help themselves.
I love the buckwheat idea; thanks for the info...
A list of possible native plants for the honey bee
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Mussen/beebriefs/HB_and_CA_Native_Plants.pdf (http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Mussen/beebriefs/HB_and_CA_Native_Plants.pdf)
Plant Poisoning
http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/bkCD/Bee_Diseases/plantpoison.html (http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/bkCD/Bee_Diseases/plantpoison.html)
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http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/aescal/all.html (http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/aescal/all.html)
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Grazing: California buckeye often considered undesirable on rangeland
because of its toxicity.
Apian considerations: Honeybees are the chief pollinators of California
buckeye, but the pollen and nectar are toxic to them [5,9,14]. Losses
of adult honeybees and their larvae due to poisoning can be severe [9].
Human beings have been poisoned by eating honey made from California
buckeye [18].
Control treatments: California buckeye is susceptible to spray or
injection/cut surface treatments of phenoxy herbicides and picloram
[7,14,27]. Hand or mechanical brush control is ineffective unless the
root crown is removed [25,28].