buckwheat

[rgennaro]

This spring when I set up my vegetable garden, I left one bed for fall vegetables to be planted around this time of year (kale, spinach, a second crop of beets, broccoli and cauliflower, etc.) In the meantime I planted buckwheat as a spring cover crop, and it is flowering right now.

The flowers are proving very popular with all sort of bees including honey bees (most likely mine), it's a beautiful sound and view in the morning when I am in the garden. Problem is, I am supposed to mow the plants down and till them into the soil to start my fall planting. My plan was to do it this weekend but I didn't want to take the flowers away from the bees

Does anybody know how long buckwheat flowers are "viable" source of food for the bees? Thanks.

[Nock]

It will start flowering at 3 weeks and continue to about 10 weeks. I have some that should start next week.

[BeeMaster2]

Rgenarro,
How big is your garden? Unless it is a quarter acre or more it will only bee a snack for your bees , especially since they have to share it with all of the native bees.
Jim Altmiller

[rgennaro]

The garden is 5000sqf. THis bed is about 400. Goldenrod is coming in so I don?t think they?ll miss it as much as I will 

[Oldbeavo]

20ft x 20ft is not even a Bigmac for one hive. How many hives do you have?

[rgennaro]

Two but one is very small ... buckwheat is going down!

[Acebird]

This spring when I set up my vegetable garden, I left one bed for fall vegetables to be planted around this time of year (kale, spinach, a second crop of beets, broccoli and cauliflower, etc.) In the meantime I planted buckwheat as a spring cover crop, and it is flowering right now.

What you intend to plant will be more beneficial to the bees than the buckwheat because of timing.