Five Ways to Help Our Disappearing Bees

Colony Collapse Disorder is claiming many of North America and Europe’s bees. But there are simple things you can do to help keep them buzzing.

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s still springtime. And thoughts naturally turn to the birds and the bees.

Except, of course, this year — where the bee seems to be in trouble. You’ve probably heard about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) or Vanishing Bee Syndrome, the mysterious and rather dramatic die-off of domesticated honeybees in Europe and North America. Scientists aren’t really sure what’s going on yet. All that’s known for sure is our bee colonies are suddenly disappearing. Affected bees simply leave the hive and don’t come back, making diagnosis of the problem even more difficult.

In some areas, losses of honeybees are reported to be as high as 75 percent. The situation means a lot more than high honey prices: bees are primary pollinators in both the human and animal food chains. The collapse of bee populations is bad news if researchers can’t get a handle on the issue, and bee colonies don’t recover.

So what could be happening here? There’s some research pointing to unusually high concentrations of parasites and fungi — which are normally present in bee colonies — but nobody knows why the levels are so high. Pesticides, genetically modified crops, and climate change are all being investigated. A theory that cellphone radiation might be a factor was quickly dismissed after briefly topping media reports.

Few of us are research scientists capable of chipping-in some lab time to help out, but there are some things we can all do to assist honeybee and natural bee populations close to home. We’ve got five specific areas for you to consider. Let’s get buzzin’!

Plant things that bees like

Bees are all about pollen. If you want to support the many different varieties of bees which range through your yard, plant some things which will feed them.

The good news here is that bee-friendly plants are easy to grow. Scatter a variety through your yard, ensuring a good supply of pollen through the warm months. A few general pointers: avoid horticultural plants that are “double.” These usually have extra petals instead of anthers. And bees prefer flowers that are blue, purple, or yellow.

Clover is a great choice. Bees love it, and clover makes attractive and robust ground cover. There are organic varieties available.

Other bee-yummy plants: sage, salvia, oregano, lavender, ironweed, yarrow, yellow hyssop, alfalfa, honeywort, dragonhead, echinacea, bee balm (guess where the name comes from?), buttercup, goldenrod, and English thyme.

Flowering trees are also attractive to bees. Try tulip poplars, tupelos, oranges, and sourwoods. Don’t forget that bees need sources of shallow water. Nichols Garden Nursery has several items to help foster mason bees, an increasingly important variety in view of the domestic honeybee’s troubles.

Unless you have particular bee allergies, don’t be afraid of attracting pollinators to your property. The “bees” that give most people trouble — yellowjackets, wasps, and hornets — aren’t really bees at all, and won’t be attracted by bee-friendly plants.

Provide bee habitat

A secure place to live is crucial to solitary and colony bees. Unlike honeybees, which live in the waxy hives with which we’re all familiar, natural bees make use of many kinds of shelter: abandoned animal burrows, dead trees and branches, and in underground nest tunnels.

You can help wood-nesting bees by setting out a few inexpensive bee blocks. These are basically blocks of wood with holes of various sizes. Providing a mound or two of loose earth — particularly if they’re close to a water source — is like opening a rent-free apartment complex for burrowing bees.

Hosting a few bee shelters will give you the opportunity to watch your visitors thrive.

Eliminate garden pesticides

Pesticides are bad for humans. They’re worse for bees. Investigate organic and natural means of pest control.

You’ll find plenty of tips at OrganicGardenPests.com. Moving in the direction of organic gardening and natural lawn care is a healthy choice, in any case.

Vibrant, chemical-free plants and gardens are a friendly invitation to wild bees.

Let your veggies bolt

If at all possible, allow a few leafy vegetables in your home garden to “bolt,” or go to seed, after harvest.

Seeding plants are a bee’s best chance to stock up on food before the colder months. Unlike their wasp and yellowjacket cousins, which die out each winter, real bees slow down and wait for spring. Making sure their larder is stocked will help them snap back once the weather warms.

Support your local beekeepers

Beekeeping as a hobby has declined in recent years. Commercial pressures and unstable bee populations has made raising bees less attractive, but we still rely heavily on domesticated honeybees to pollinate our crops and gardens. Seek out your local beekeepers and buy their honey. There are health benefits to eating local honey, and keeping small beekeepers in business is good for everyone. You’re likely to find them selling honey at local farmer’s markets and weekend flea markets. Treat yourself to some filtered or comb honey and enjoy one of nature’s treasures.

Do you have kids? One of the best things you can do is tour a local beekeeper’s hives. Teaching children the interdependence of living creatures is something which will stay with them forever. You’ll probably put a smile on some beekeeper’s face, too.

How to Start with Organic Gardening

Gardening the world’s most popular pastime. It’s also a tangible way to reconnect with the environment. Here’s how to get started — organic style.

From clutches of little flowers in window boxes to rambling backyard vegetable and ornamental beds, gardening is enjoyed by more adults than any other form of recreation.

Perhaps the urge to garden is buried somewhere in our DNA. Growing food, rather than chasing it, is the cradle of all civilization. So if you’re somewhere the weather is starting to warm, and you’re beginning to feel a bit restless looking  at that empty yard, don’t be surprised. And give it a shot.

Before you pull on your gloves and start tracking down that missing shovel, consider organic gardening. With a little planning, you can be kinder to the Earth while enjoying  fresh, wholesome veggies and beautiful ornamentals.

Start with the soil

Before 1940, virtually all gardening and agriculture is what we’d call “organic” today. After World War II ended, companies which had been producing gunpowder and explosives saw the potential to retool for peacetime. They began turning out variations of the same salt-based, water soluble nitrogen fertilizer in current use.

And they worked, at least for a while. The high yields of chemical fertilizers come at a cost: damaged soil, sterilized of the natural fungi which assist healthy root growth. That led to more potent fertilizers, and finally pesticides to kill the pests which moved in to attack weakened plants. It’s an endless cycle, and the reason that commercial produce is so full of pesticide residue.

Organic gardeners use carbon-based solid nitrogen fertilizers: in short, compost and natural by-products such as cottonseed meal, fish emulsion, or manure. You might want to start by getting your soil analyzed to see what it’s lacking. Then get your compost heap going. That spoiled lettuce could be back later in the season as a handful of fresh rosemary. Just let nature do her thing.

Be smart about your plants

Whether it’s flowers or tomatoes you’re after, success will come easier if you choose varieties appropriate for your location. Find out what worked for your neighbors. Have a long chat with someone at the County Agent’s office or local nursery. Gardening can be a social activity, and you’ll find plenty of people ready to lend advice if you ask.

Mulch is your friend

It’s not organic gardening if you’re spraying to keep the weeds down. Fortunately, nature has

provided us with a great way to keep things from growing where we don’t want them to:  mulch! The best part is that mulch can be so many things — wood chips, leaves, sawdust, hay, or grass clippings.

A caveat, though: know where your mulch is from. If you’re buying pre-packaged, source it. Several major retailers are currently under pressure to stop selling cypress mulch allegedly harvested from irreplaceable old-growth stands in Louisiana — the same wetland ecosystem which protects populated areas from hurricane storm surge. You’ll find a big list of mulch pro and cons here.

Fight pests with non-toxic remedies

All gardeners eventually have a run-in or two with pests. Sometimes you can beat them by being smart about how you arrange your planting, splitting up stands of like vegetables to make it more difficult for pests to migrate between their favorites, or by mixing veggies with aromatic herbs and flowers. OrganicGardenPests.com is a terrific resource when it comes to identifying and targeting specific garden annoyances.

You can also fight fire with fire, introducing predator insects to keep the riff-raff down. Ladybugs (ladybirds, to our UK readers) are a classic example. They’re a joy to see in the garden — unless you’re an aphid. Beneficial insects are available by mail.

Have fun!

Relax. Get your hands dirty. Enjoy the way soil smells when you turn it, and the satisfaction of harvesting or looking at something you’ve grown in harmony with nature.