I'm looking for a 2nd apiary site for about 20 hives. A local farmer heard this and wants to talk to me about space on his land. I'm sure he's thinking he'll get pollination for free.
To use blueberries as an example, though, I know that bees should be placed on the crop when 5% of the flowers are blooming. Any sooner and the bees are likely to ignore the flowers because they are already traveling elsewhere. Is it like that with most crops needing bees for pollination?
I don't mind him benefitting from my bees in exchange for permanent space, but I don't want him to think that resident hives will solve all his pollination issues, then have him be upset that his crop yield is down.
And, no, I haven't addressed pesticide issues, yet. The pollination question came up first.
Alicia
Permanent hives will solve his pollination, even on blueberries, I have permanent locations on orange, blueberries, cucumbers, zucchini and watermelon, now weather the location has enough forage for the full year for your bees that is another question that will be answered after the first year,
Pesticide don't worry about them as long as he is not spraying when the blossoms are open which will be in the first half of the day, ideally he should spray after 3 in the afternoon by that time the flowers will have been fully harvested by the bees, if he sprays too early he wont have anybody to pollinate the next day
good luck
Bob
I don't think your bees will ignore blueberries if you put hives in there too soon. Bees are smart. They are going to hit fields close to home rather than flying a mile. My bees sit right behind blueberries all year long and do not ignore them when in bloom. How many acres of berries does he have for your 20 hives?
I believe he mentioned eight, but I don't know for sure yet. I was just using the blueberries as an example, though.
Thanks for the information, especially about the spraying. He's a bit out of my area, but it's a great location for bees, so I'll give it some more thought.
Thanks, again!