We supplemented existing wildflowers with 11 different bee-friendly wildflowers on 20 acres of our ranch near the apiary. Because we wanted our honey bees and other pollinators to have more options for many months of the year. This photo shows some of the Indian Blanket that we seeded.
The seeding was a learning process based on our own research and consulting with the county Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Agent (he was very helpful).
First, we used a disc harrow to loosen up the pasture that had been previously used for livestock grazing.
Then we used a broadcast seeder attached to the back of an ATV to spread the different types of seed mixed with a special blend of fertilizer (based on soil sample testing) across the 20 acres.
Finally, we used a chain harrow on the area that had been seeded and hoped for the best.
Later this year, we plan to repeat the process with a mix of more wildflowers that are bee-friendly consisting of both annuals and perennials. Because we want to make it easy for our bees to create pure Texas wildflower honey.
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