PAm's Seeds for Bees Project

The Seeds for Bees program partners with California growers and beekeepers to plant healthy forage habitat that benefits honey bees and sustainable farming. Planting cover crops is cost-effective and provides multiple benefits from the first bloom to the long-term health of orchards and farmlands.

2018-2019 Seeds For Bees Enrollment opens July 1st, 2018
Click Here to Learn More and Apply!

Benefits of Planting Cover Crops

Sustainability Benefits:
  • Carbon sequestration/Carbon Farming
  • Chemical free nematode suppression with mustards
  • Amends soil with non-fertilizer sources of nitrogen

Soil Benefits:
  • Improves soil fertility 
  • Increases organic matter and water availability 
  • Suppresses weeds  
  • Prevents erosion and improves water infiltration 

Benefits For Orchard Management 
  • Attracts beneficial insects that control pests (IPM) 
  • ​Assists mummy nut decomposition
  • Reduces dust  
  • Decreases muddy orchard floor conditions 

Benefits For Bees:
  • Enhances Honey Bee Health and Vitality
  • Enhances bee nutrition by increasing forage where bees need it most
  • Improves bee nutrition by increasing forage diversity in orchards and farms
  • Jumpstarts worker bee vitality to improve pollination potential
  • Boosts bee’s immune system and their ability to fight pathogens
  • Reduces cost of hive management and pollination services

Benefits for other Pollinators:
  • Increases forage for ground and cavity nesting native bee species 
  • ​Provides forage for non-bee pollinators like migrating Western monarch butterflies