Here on Prince Edward Island a huge expansion of the blueberry acreage and
attendant pollination requirements means that it will not be too many years
before we exceed the carrying capacity of beehives on the island unless
there are changes to the present cropping practices.  A large portion of the
land is in potatoes, and so it is of great importance to beekeepers here
what crops get rotated with those potatoes.

Presently, the most common rotation is potatoes, grain, and hay.  The hay is
almost all double cut red clover.  There is lots of discussion in the list
archives about red clover.  I clearly remember one post by Andy Nachbaur
stating the his bees had made many crops of honey on red clover.

My own experience has been quite variable.  It is rare that I have seen the
bees working the first flowering.  I have sometimes made crops on the second
flowering.  This year the bees seemed to ignore it altogether.

I would put to the list the following questions:

1.  Are there varieties of red clover known to be better honey yielders?
For example, I have heard that there might be one called "crimson" that has
a smaller flower.

2.  What might be some other possibilities for potato rotation?  The
advantages of red clover to the farmers here is that the seed is cheap, the
clover is tall, palatable to cattle in silage, and vigorous.

3.  Does anyone have information on rotating sweet clover with potatoes?
There is one grower here who tried it one year, and was sufficiently
impressed that he is going to try another field.

Thanks,
Stan