Buckwheats Up

[biggraham610]

Planted this last friday. Have 2 other stands planted 2 weeks prior. Will plant again in 2 weeks. G :chop:

[Better.to.Bee.than.not]

I predict a dark honey harvest in your future....... looking good. do you harvest the grouts also, or do you till it under green or something?

[10framer]

what kind of planter did you use?  i just broadcast and disc mine. 

[Tightwad]

I have buckwheat up and it is blooming like mad. But I see no bees on them at all, there must be something out there the like better.

[Kathyp]

tightwad try checking at different times of the day.  some things they like in the morning, some things in the PM.

[biggraham610]

Better to bee, I just till it under, I use it to just cover the ground during the summer to keep grasses down, of course, I chose it for the bees as well, will probably till it under and plant again once its flow dries up.
T Wad, I waited to plant it so that the bloom timing is during our dearth. Here we still have a moderate amount of things providing nectar.
10 Framer. This is the planter I use. Its an old Ford 308 I think.  :chop:

[10framer]

i have a covington two row but i haven't used if for buckwheat.  i plant it for the bees and to hold the blackberries back.
i'll turn it under then plant milo in a few weeks.

[biggraham610]

Is milo of any advantage for the bees? Or are you planting for the other wildlife? I double the rows on the buckwheat with the planter, turn around and straddle. Gives me 16 instead of 32 inch rows. Heres a picture of one of my feed patches for the game, its a mix of chicory sanifoin and alfalfa. bees love it when it flowers.

[10framer]

milo is for the deer and if it does well i'll let my chickens have some.  i planted chicory for the first time last year and the deer walked right through the milo to get to it.  my understanding is that it is good for the bees.

[biggraham610]

yeah, the deer love the chickory, I think they like the clover and alfalfas better though. Thats why I like to keep a mix, they can choose. G :chop:

[10framer]

i've got a few kinds of clover around too.  i mixed ball clover with the chicory.

[Better.to.Bee.than.not]

milo makes great spawn for growing mushrooms....jus sayin.... edible mushrooms of course, I do not grow the funny kind.

[buzzbee]

Tightwad, bees usually work the Buckwheat before 11 am. Then the nectar shuts off pretty quickly I've been told and can make the bees a bit moody if nothing else is blooming.

[biggraham610]

Tightwad, bees usually work the Buckwheat before 11 am. Then the nectar shuts off pretty quickly I've been told and can make the bees a bit moody if nothing else is blooming.

I will be able to share my experience after it blooms, but have read the exact same thing on another forum. G :chop:

[biggraham610]

Two weeks, its starting to get in front of the deer now. G :chop: