In order to create great Texas wildflower honey, our bees need plenty of sources of pollen and nectar. That’s why we spend time planting wildflowers (both perennials and annuals).
Now when you think of flowers, chances are springtime comes to mind. And that’s when most people try to get their seeds. Yet that’s way too late.
As a practical matter, you want to get your seeds in August or September and seed so you have blooms next spring (or in two springs if perennials).
There are several ways to seed. For our ranch, we’ve chosen to do broadcast seeding without spending a lot of money on equipment. It’s similar to the wind spreading seeds. However, we control where the seed is spread rather than leaving it to chance and the weather.
As you can see in the picture above, attached to the back of our Honda Pioneer 1000-6 UTV is a broadcast seeder. We simply load the seeder with wildflower seeds mixed with fertilizer and clean dry sand as a carrier. At the bottom of the seeder is a spinner that flings the seed out (broadcasts it).
Maybe you’ve noticed something dragging behind the seeder on the ground. That’s a chain harrow (looks like chain link fence) that helps rake the seeds into the soil.
Now when the ground is dry, we use a disc harrow before seeding to break up the soil. However, this year, we’ve gotten enough rain that just using the chain harrow is sufficient.
How long does it take to broadcast seed wildflowers for our honey bees? About 8 hours to cover 20 acres. However, we typically split that up into two days because we use different seed mixes that should be planted at different times. For example, the south pasture’s seed mix can be planted as early as September but the north pasture’s mix has to wait until December.