tdump
Cool Member
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2015 10:40 am
Location: US North carolina peidmont

Pollinator seed pack from burpee

My large garden is on my neighbors land,about a 60 by 130 foot plot. there is 2 bee hives there and there is a red clover field on 3 sides of the garden. The guy next door also has 4 hives. So the bees have plenty to work with. I got this free pack of seeds, says it is 21 different plants to help bees. Since I also have a garden at home,and those same hives have bees coming here as well I want to plant these seeds here in a small plot. Trouble is I am afraid what ever draws bees is going to draw deer. :( which leveled my Maestro sugar peas right before I was going to get a crop. I can only get those seeds from burpee and I used to love to eat them when I was young.
Since there is no list of plants on this seed pack,does anyone know if what is in it is going to draw deer? If there is deer drawing stuff in it, I will put it near the hives and grow my peas at home and maby not loose them.
Sorry for rambling.

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Usually the packet will have a list of plants that could be in the packet with a percentage of the seeds in the mix. Bees are attracted to scented small flat flowers. They can see blues and yellows but not reds. Composites are a bee plants. Sunflower, marigolds, zinnias. Also swee alyssum, cuphea, basil, lavender, clover, buckwheat, and other members of the mint family like sage , catnip, salvia. Carpenter bees really like the lavender and verbena. They also like fruit trees in flower and the honey from citrus and avocado is among the best. Our bees for the last week have been feasting on corn tassels.
tubular flowers usually attract butterflies.

tdump
Cool Member
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2015 10:40 am
Location: US North carolina peidmont

Ok,I will look into the basil ,I wanted to plant some zinnias just to look at.

The carpenter bee,hum, if I can get them to eat the lavender and quit chewing up the rafters of my sheds and barn,I will get some of that!

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Carpenter bees look for unpainted wood. Try caulking the holes and painting the rafters.

We put out artificial beehives which was a bundle of bamboo about 1/2 inch-3/4 inch in diameter hung on a tree. They still like to go under the house where the wood is not painted, but they used the artificial hives. We also have a hive for leaf cutter bees and beehives at the garden.

The basil attracts honey bees and also some of the other beneficial insects
The carpenter bees like the verbena and lavender (blue flowers)
All of the insects like the sunflowers.
We find bees on almost any small flower that is in bloom. Mint, thyme, Russian sage, pineapple sage, rosemary, orchard trees especially citrus, mango and avocado, onion scapes, anything in the parsley family when they are in bloom (parsley, Queen Anne's lace, carrots , fennel, dill, caraway, fenugreek.) They also like buckwheat (cover crop) flowers and corn tassels. Although bees are necesssary to pollinate cucurbits, it is not their favorite flowers. They are always on the sweet alyssum, cuphea, and yarrow (yarrow is very invasive, I got rid of it.) alyssum and cuphea are good because they stay in bloom for a very long time.



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