Honey Bee Forage Map and Black Locust

The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Honey Bee Forage Map and Black Locust

Black Locust wasn't listed as a major honeybee pollen and nectar plant on the webpage I linked to yesterday, but the species came highly recommended during the bee workshop we attended last month. So I poked around a bit more on the internet and stumbled across NASA's HoneyBeeNet. The site includes a very comprehensive forage map which divides the entire U.S. into regions and lists the primary pollen and nectar producing plants for each region. Black Locust is among the top seven plants listed for our region.

So, a couple of a weeks ago, I asked Mom if she had any Black Locust seedlings under her trees that I could transplant to our farm. "Are you sure you don't have one in your woods already?" she responded.

"Our forest is too old to have Black Locusts in it," I huffed, thinking unkind thoughts about silly parents who don't understand forest succession.

So she saved a seedling for me, and last Wednesday I brought it home. Now, where to put it? I wandered around looking for a good spot, then decided to plant it in some very young woods at the edge of our yard. "A few of those little trees will need to come down to give it light," I thought. I peered up into the canopy --- and discovered half a dozen little Black Locusts growing above my head. They weren't blooming because Japanese Honeysuckle had them nearly smothered, but I pried them free and have high hopes they'll bloom next year. Now I just have to apologize to Mom....