Hairy Vetch

[Honey's Honey]

I have some troubled spots on my property and I'm thinking about planting hairy vetch to improve the soil but I also want something that's good for the bees. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with the hairy vetch? Is it a good nectar producer? What kind of honey does it make etc.
Thanks in advance.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Best I can tell it makes a nice water white honey and lots of it.

When I disced the vetch area it was very noticeable how the disc would go deeper into the ground. I makes a major soil improvement.

[dragonfly]

My experience with hairy vetch locally is that bees don't work it much. There's probably preferable sources blooming in this area at the same time. It is easy to grow and comes back readily from seed, though.

[mendocino queen honey]

We usually get a nice crop of yellow of white honey from purple, common and hairy vetch. really, our first crop of the year. Has a vanilla/ansise flavor to my palete.

You'd have to plant at least a couple of acres of it to see any of the honey-imo. It is planted by Cal-trans along the highways- i guess to help control erosion.

Matt

[cow pollinater]

In my experiance, hairy vetch has been quite fickle. At one place the bees work it quite well in the mornings and late afternoon but at another place just five miles away they won't touch it even when there is nothing coming in.

[BjornBee]

Hairy and Purple vetch are good nectar sources (Except at Cow pollinator's place. I heard it was fickle.) Crown vetch does not have a nectar source.

[Myron Denny]

Is there somewhere we can compare the amount and quality of the honey made from different plant sources?
Possible honey source crops:
Hairy Vetch was the standard here for years, now you don't see it at all.
Anyone had experience with Arrowleaf clover for honey production?
Canola acording to what I read tends to crystalize too quick.
Is there any crop that will compare with Hairy Vetch for quality and quantity?
Almost all legumes require soil that is not acid, our Co Agent says 6.0 PH.

[Ted n Ms]

I think it's the difference in the ph of the soil. Probably needs a low ph.

[soupcan]

Not at all uncommon to see Vetch nectar dry up in the heat of the day.
Sometimes the bees will become real mean real fast when this happens.
Also it seems that bees will vist more often vetch that is planted on better quality soil than the poorer soils.

[Jaseemtp]

Dragonfly how well does the vetch do in our area?
When is the best time to plant it?

[bradley39482]

hey ya'll
i dont know much about vetch, but white clover does very good for bee's and the soil, not to mention deer! lol but white clover puts nitrogen back into the soil and grows very well even in high ph soils. i planted a 1 acre plot of clover and rye grass together and the clover really helps the grass! it is also very good for the soil in preventing erosion, the bee's make a very good honey from the clover, the down side to clover is that it is expensive.

[Ross]

Around here i get loads of water clear honey and fast draw of snow white comb.