[elkhound]

i seen a documentary about bees and it showed various studies but one showed where bees that had greater variety of blooms to feed on were healthier and had less mite problems and all the other issues bees are having. i noticed this year less bees even those wood boring devils are far and few between.

do you plant flowers? i am currently in planning stage for planting flowers in a meadow and one place i red said be sure and not plant till the ground was frozen for good or seed would germinate and then when it got cold again kill them.so its not like fall seeding a lawn. so i will wait till late winter to toss flower seeds out.


i need to come up with a simple hand planter for other larger seeds i want to add in mix.i been looking at old corn hand planters.i need an idea to job a hole in ground and drop seed in and cover it..i am thinking an old tent hole with a pvc pipe to get seed in hole and then just scuff hole shut with my foot.ideas...thoughts?

 

[elkhound]

flower seed in expensive...i guess everything is nowa days.

http://hancockseed.com/honey-bee-wildflower-seed-mix-2-lbs-590.html

 

[ROSEMAMA]

Elk, do you have an herb garden? Lots of herbs have showy flowers -- think multitasking

 

[7thswan]

Yes, I plant alot of flowers and have loads of prennials and Herbs. Hyssops (herb) seems to be my best attractant besides the clover in the grass. I do cut the grass where I walk quite often because I'm always barefoot and am alergic to honey bees. So, I provide much other food for them, they have never bothered me. Small bumble bees seem to pollinate most of the plants in the veggie garden. Because of our strange spring, very few of my fruit trees got pollinated. The Baltimore Oriels did my apple trees, I watched them and put out a feeder too, as they nest in our Willow tree and down in the woods.

Many seeds can be planted now, because that is how Nature does it. Some seeds need what is called stratification , a cold/freezing period before they will germinate.

 

[7thswan]

Here is a very recent pic. Red Sails lettuce in a raised bed, with a mixed bed in back. On the end one can see the fronds of a wayward aspargus plant. My gardens have everything mixed together,berrys,grapes,flowers,herbs. Some call it cottage gardening. It might also be called permaculture. I guess it could be called a kitchen garden too as I do go out when cooking and cut fresh and have an antique bath tub that has herbs right near the back porch. This pic is just a very small area, you can see some of the many fruit trees in the very back.

 

[Ernie]

Why ain't you got no wildflowers, man?

Ain't got to do no nothing to make 'em grow.

 

[elkhound]

Why ain't you got no wildflowers, man?

Ain't got to do no nothing to make 'em grow.

well i do have some...but its not enough in my mind. see i am surrounded by woodland....1,000's of acres in fact...i have the only open land in a 5 mile long canyon.the other factor is i have some steep very poor red/purple shelly type soil.i am trying to build a meadow on very steep ground....and its a south facing hot and dry aspect too.but its way better than it was.


one of my better planting has been crown vetch but it can be very invasive.but it has lot of blooms and deer love it.

i have had limited success with clover/alfalfa/ creeping red fescue and more i cant think of right now.

i been reading ben falks book and a few things i have read so far have caused a lightbulb to go off in my head and i am going through tons of seeds i have looking for items i have never planted and i wanna try plus some of this seed is actually get a bit old and i wanna get it out and planted and producing.

one newer seed i am going to plant is this bright red amaranth i got from baker heirloom last year.it aint doing me a bit of good in an envelope. and i an getting together a order for shroom spore to add on logs i will be cutting as soon as trees go dormant .


i been redoing things on my homestead and taking a hard critical look at certain things i have not been happy with end results and i am going to do something about it and doing it along a bit at a time.

 

[elkhound]

one aspect is i am thinking a type of permaculture grain field for my chickens to graze in with multi layers of food...clovers and grasses...dwarf corn...milo...wheat...amaranth...pumpkins...rye for those big grain heads....etc etc....then smothered in wildflowers.......roflmao....my brain is straining...lol

a side note..is i am thinking of getting pigeons and doves and build a simple roosting area and let them be "wild" and then harvest as i need.but i gotta have enough stuff growing or something to toss out on ground during lean times to keep from leaving.so a multi layered meadow with all these aspects in mind is where i am at currently.

 

[elkhound]

Elk, do you have an herb garden? Lots of herbs have showy flowers -- think multitasking

not as much this year...but i try to keep various things.

 

[elkhound]

check this out...in past year i have ate this a few times and liked it .

http://www.rareseeds.com/quinoa-brightest-brilliant/

Quinoa, Brightest Brilliant

 

[elkhound]

Quinoa, Shelly 25 Black

http://www.rareseeds.com/quinoa-shelly-25-black/

 

[elkhound]

my lower meadow is covered in milo and foxtail millet.it was suppose to be another kind of millet..but guess what...they lied about contents in bag...it was suppose to be proso millet.

 

[Ernie]

Nothing quite as attractive as angiosperm genitalia waving about in the breeze.

A shameless display of meristematic activity going on out there.

 

[calliemoonbeam]

We're on the same wavelength again Elk, lol. I've been looking into wildflowers too, as well as butterfly gardens. It's funny, the pasture across the road from me is covered in wildflowers, but I don't really have any. I'm also trying to figure out how to grow enough forage to raise chickens and rabbits without buying feed or supplements if possible. I know my grandma raised chickens without buying anything extra.

I haven't really grown flowers much. I never gardened much at all before I moved here seven years ago, other than small tomato/pepper/okra/squash plots, so I've been on a steep learning curve ever since then. But I'm starting to realize that flowers are not just for looking or smelling good, so I'm trying to incorporate them into my gardening more, diversify more and go more permaculture instead of rigid garden beds/layouts.

On the one hand, I'm deathly allergic to bees, lol, but on the other hand I know how important they are to the food supply, so I want to do everything I can to encourage their habitat and health. I think clover is a good idea too. I know where I lived as a kid our yard was covered in clover, and the bees were everywhere...that's how we discovered my allergy, I stepped on more than one, ha!

I love your multi-level wildflower/forage planting idea, as well as love, love, love 7thSwan's gardens! That's what I aspire to. Don't know if I'll ever get there, but I'm trying. My biggest obstacle to permaculture is my poor soil and living on a hill with massive runoff.

The quinoa is a good idea too, good for the animals, as well as yourself. I've been eating quinoa for about 8-9 months now, and I love it. It's also apparently really easy to harvest, unlike some grains. I found the following comments about quinoa and amaranth on Salt Spring Seeds : http://www.saltspringseeds.com/scoop/powerfood.htm

"The protein content of these two foods has a essential amino acid balance that is near the ideal. They both come closer to meeting the genuine protein requirements of the human body than either cow's milk or soybeans. They are high in the amino acid lysine, which is lacking in most cereals such as wheat, sorghum, corn and barley." A few years ago, I had never even heard of quinoa or amaranth, lol, typical city girl.

I have so much to learn and so much to do and so little time, lol. I'm always saying I need to clone myself...but I guess that would defeat my whole purpose of trying to go organic and non-GMO, wouldn't it?

 

[elkhound]

Nothing quite as attractive as angiosperm genitalia waving about in the breeze.

A shameless display of meristematic activity going on out there.

i had to use google translate....for a second there i thought you had went texas swahiliy pig latin....lol

 

[elkhound]

We're on the same wavelength again Elk, lol. I've been looking into wildflowers too, as well as butterfly gardens. It's funny, the pasture across the road from me is covered in wildflowers, but I don't really have any. I'm also trying to figure out how to grow enough forage to raise chickens and rabbits without buying feed or supplements if possible. I know my grandma raised chickens without buying anything extra.

I haven't really grown flowers much. I never gardened much at all before I moved here seven years ago, other than small tomato/pepper/okra/squash plots, so I've been on a steep learning curve ever since then. But I'm starting to realize that flowers are not just for looking or smelling good, so I'm trying to incorporate them into my gardening more, diversify more and go more permaculture instead of rigid garden beds/layouts.

On the one hand, I'm deathly allergic to bees, lol, but on the other hand I know how important they are to the food supply, so I want to do everything I can to encourage their habitat and health. I think clover is a good idea too. I know where I lived as a kid our yard was covered in clover, and the bees were everywhere...that's how we discovered my allergy, I stepped on more than one, ha!

I love your multi-level wildflower/forage planting idea, as well as love, love, love 7thSwan's gardens! That's what I aspire to. Don't know if I'll ever get there, but I'm trying. My biggest obstacle to permaculture is my poor soil and living on a hill with massive runoff.

The quinoa is a good idea too, good for the animals, as well as yourself. I've been eating quinoa for about 8-9 months now, and I love it. It's also apparently really easy to harvest, unlike some grains. I found the following comments about quinoa and amaranth on Salt Spring Seeds : http://www.saltspringseeds.com/scoop/powerfood.htm

"The protein content of these two foods has a essential amino acid balance that is near the ideal. They both come closer to meeting the genuine protein requirements of the human body than either cow's milk or soybeans. They are high in the amino acid lysine, which is lacking in most cereals such as wheat, sorghum, corn and barley." A few years ago, I had never even heard of quinoa or amaranth, lol, typical city girl.

I have so much to learn and so much to do and so little time, lol. I'm always saying I need to clone myself...but I guess that would defeat my whole purpose of trying to go organic and non-GMO, wouldn't it?

yep....its crazy we look up same things...you aint a govt hacker looking around my brain pan are you....lol.....i am calling 1-800 NORTON.....ROFLMAO !

 

[COSunflower]

I couldn't garden this year except in pots on the deck so only had flowers etc. there and saw NO bees all summer!!!!! I saw a couple on my cherry tree in the spring but that was about it. Hope to have more going next year after surgery.

 

[moonwolf]

one aspect is i am thinking a type of permaculture grain field for my chickens to graze in with multi layers of food...clovers and grasses...dwarf corn...milo...wheat...amaranth...pumpkins...rye for those big grain heads....etc etc....then smothered in wildflowers.......roflmao....my brain is straining...lol

a side note..is i am thinking of getting pigeons and doves and build a simple roosting area and let them be "wild" and then harvest as i need.but i gotta have enough stuff growing or something to toss out on ground during lean times to keep from leaving.so a multi layered meadow with all these aspects in mind is where i am at currently.

Regarding birds. I am amazed around my stead the wild
'Volunteer ' plant growth started from birds eating seeds
and pooping out viable seeds that sprout. One that surprised
me is clematis now climbing along fence via bird help.
Another is a rambling grape vine. Out in the field I've seen
'Wild ' crab apples and plums. These, no doubt sprouted
with bird as the natural seeders. Permaculture at its finest!

As to the original theme of your post, my open fields that
aren't seeded by human help are filthy with growths of
goldenrod ( which attracts all kinds of wild bees), fall asters
And lots of old pasture spreading trefoil.
I helped some along with Australian grown white clover seed
That does well on drier soil. I also let a mini stand of big blue
stem prairie grass grow is pretty neat growing up about
Ten feet tall by summer end. Don't forget even the lowly
dandelion in profusion attracts bees for pollination of
other plants growing at the same blossom time.

 

[Tommyice]

A few years back (when I lost some of my freelance clients and had little money coming in), I ripped out all my flowers and planted only things I could eat. This year the garden was a bust (uncooperative weather and rodents free-ranging) and life had other plans for me but when I was outside I was thinking about flowers again. My wisteria was loaded with blossoms and bees as were my rose of sharons.

Next year the patio gardening area will be flowers and herbs and the vegetables are going to stay in the big garden area.

 

[elkhound]

A few years back (when I lost some of my freelance clients and had little money coming in), I ripped out all my flowers and planted only things I could eat. This year the garden was a bust (uncooperative weather and rodents free-ranging) and life had other plans for me but when I was outside I was thinking about flowers again. My wisteria was loaded with blossoms and bees as were my rose of sharons.

Next year the patio gardening area will be flowers and herbs and the vegetables are going to stay in the big garden area.

you will find this interesting..in the documentary it said bees in city were healthy because of all the flowers people had and even though not many trees it was enough various blooming things to keep them fed for longer periods versus monoculture fields.

they also found farmers that put in wildflower strips had greater bee populations and their crops produced more per acre from better pollination.