My Area

[Jim Ray]

Here is what my bees will have for foraging:

I live 2.5 miles north of Canyon, TX in a subdivision with 1.5-acre lots. I have established native grasses (and flowers) on my lot, which was formerly a wheat field. I also have established a significant number of hummingbird plants, some which are not traditional hummingbird plants (red and odorless), but also get high use by butterflies, and native bees. I expect the my bees to use some of these, too. I am now researching bee plants to put in. Any suggestions, particurly from those of you in the Southern Great Plains?

In a 1-mile radius, my bees (to arrive in April) will have access to fruit and flowering trees and shrubs, gardens, and flowerbeds in several subdivisions. We live on the edge of a drainage that will have wildflowers; there is also a lake there, about 200 yards from my house. There will also be wildflowers in a playa wetland, and surrounding grassland.

In a 3-mile radius, more of the same, but I'll emphasize a mile or more of the trees and flowerbeds of the city of Canyon, Texas, government set-aside grasslands (CRP), a cemetary, and yet another drainage/canyon. I'm checking to see if there is any cotton in this radius, as I have heard that bees use the cotton flowers.

Outside of what I've mentioned, cultivation of crops is widespread around my house, but probably nothing bees will use. There is winter wheat, corn, grain sorghum, and hay grazer. Will they gather pollen from any of these?

Anyway, that is what my bees will have to forage on.

[mike haney]

they will get all you need from the landscaping- you cant plant enough on your lot to make much difference. what you can and should do is provide a constant source of clean water or they will be going to the neighbors swimming pool. good luck,mike

[Jim Ray]

Thanks, Mike.

[tecumseh]

jim ray:
in the summer month water at your location would be my first concern... in the winter time hard blowing cold winds.

[Jim Ray]

Thanks. I plan on a water source and can provide protection from the wind. As you know, it really blows up here.

[tecumseh]

jim ray writes:
As you know, it really blows up here.

tecumseh:
that has to be the understatement of the day. I have also kept bees (in large number on the high plains of texas) and can remember one summer where we hauled water to apiaries in 50 gallon drums. I can think of few things I have done in my years of bee keeping that I considered more unpleasant.

[riverrat]

Get you a copy of Honey plants of north America By John Lovell it is a good referrence book on which flowers produce nectar and which produce pollen. Once you have that in hand you can look to see if you have the right plants in the area.;)

[brooksbeefarm]

I have 15 acres of mostly oak,hickory trees and brush aiong an old gravel road in the middle of no where.This last july I put 2 hives in the middle of it(I didn!t think they would do much).They were 1 deep hives and I put 2 med.supers on each of them(one with drawn comb the other with wax fondation)and drove off.I went back 3 weeks later and the girls had drawn the fondation and filled both supers(one had swarm cells?)needless to say I was surprised:scratch:.I took 1 super off of each of them and put supers on with foundation.They drew and filled them for winter supplies:thumbsup:.The land around this property in a mile radius is just like it.My point is that all plants bloom,we just don!t know what the girls work?:scratch:Good luck.Jack

[Jim Ray]

Thanks, guys. I ordered "American Honey Plants" and "Honey Plants of North America" this morning before work.:)

tecumseh, where all have you had hives up here? Just curious. I know of two beekeepers in Amarillo, and besides that I feel pretty isolated.

[tecumseh]

jimray writes:
where all have you had hives up here?

tecumseh:
that was a long time ago but we kept them around Amarillo (about 1500 hives) for the cotton honey. there was a lot of spraying in those days... so lots of years you raised lots of dead bees. there were (and I am informed still are) a lot of bees that migrate up from all over Texas to the Panhandle for the summer months. I have a fellow I know here that would like me to do the same for some type of seed production (detail at this time real sketchy). I assume there has got to be a lot of bees drawn up to that general area for the same purpose.

[Jim Ray]

Cool.

A few years ago I co-investigated a study on cavity nesting birds in the cottonwood bottoms of the east Panhandle. There was a suprising number of honey bee colonies in tree cavities (cottonwood mainly). Texas Tech and I should publish that some day.

I grew up at Dalhart, by the way.