Planting for Bees

Bee on dandelion

It’s time to take advantage of these winter doldrums, especially as we look out at fresh snow (again) in February. While the bees are busy rubbing their wings for heat and (hopefully) tending the new brood that will be spring bees, we can curl up by the fire and dream of warmer days. What better way to do that than with the seed catalogs? We’ve been stock-piling them since Christmas, so time to jump in and start planning our plantings.

Bee on hyacinth 

For us, there are two things at the top of the list to consider – the first is to find plants that feed either the family or the bees, or both. Because we have locust trees, which create an amazing flavor in honey, we want to compliment that taste. Raspberries work well, and we have a lot of them; it’s a good thing because both the bees and the boys love them. We will be planting some lavender this year, adding to what we already have, and I am hoping to add more herbs around the new apiary. Crocuses and hyacinth which bloom in the spring are always good additions (but those are planted in the fall. We have our crocuses planted in the lawn so they come up and are finished before the grass needs mowed). Bee balm (monarda), cosmos, Echinacea, foxgloves, and all blooming trees are a great addition. Asters and zinnia in the fall are also nice, and goldenrod is another important plant here, providing nectar and pollen when most plants are shutting down in the heat of the summer.

Bee on Cherry Blossom

The idea of tilling up some of our field to plant it to clover and wildflowers also has some appeal. It would be a good three-season food source for the bees, and would cut down on our need to mow the field as much, reducing our carbon footprint. We will also be experimenting with cover crops – planting buckwheat on a part of the old pasture to help choke out invasive weeds and to feed the bees – they love buckwheat (but it does make a darker honey). We can leave the cuttings on the field at the end of the season, and that will help improve our soil. We have begun introducing white clover to our lawns. This is primarily to feed our bees – nothing quite like clover honey – but also to help keep the areas green in the hot temperatures when lawn just doesn’t do it without copious amounts of watering, and cuts down the need for mowing.

Bee on Apple Blossoms

This takes us to the second most important consideration; to choose plants that are hardy and that will not require or come with any chemical contamination. Along with this, we need plants that can withstand the hot summers without a lot of water. We have been leaning more toward heirloom seeds, loving the varieties but also the nostalgia of them. We lean toward West Coast Seeds from Canada and Johnny’s Seeds in the US, simply because of the variety and quality – we know what we are getting and that it will be safe for our bees. We want to grow plants that complement each other, creating a symbiotic relationship wherever possible to fight diseases and pests. Sometimes compromises have to be made – marigolds are wonderful for keeping pests away, but don’t make the nicest honey. Fortunately a little marigold goes a long way in protecting the garden, and if there are other sources of pollen available (like raspberries!) the bees will choose those first.

Bee on buckwheat

We would be remiss to not mention the vital role dandelions fill for the bees. In the spring, when there are not a lot of other plants blooming, dandelions are a godsend. They are a wonderful source of pollen and a first source of nectar for the bees, keeping them going in a time when the bees are trying to build hive strength with only a few resources. Please do not spray your dandelions – they are really only determined but misplaced flowers.

If you find you do have to spray your plants, please avoid doing it mid-day when the bees are their busiest. In the mornings, when it is still too cool, or in the evenings, when they are returning home for the day would be a much better time, if you must. This isn’t just about our bees; it’s about all the bees and other pollinators depending on these plants for sustenance.

As an added note from our last blog, we finally have a ‘cleansing flight’ day for our bees! It’s still colder than what it should be for them to venture out, but when nature calls… 

FLOWERS FOR BEES: Calendula, Butterfly Bush, Cleome, Clarkia, Columbine, Cornflower, Cosmos, Forget-me-not, Delphinium, Dianthus, Digitalis, Echinacea, Blanketflower, Hollyhock, Candytuft (Iberis), Linum, Lavatera, Lobelia, Lunara, Lupins, Morning Glory, Nasturtiums, Purple Tansy, Poppies, Scabiosa, Snapdragons, Statice, Strawflowers, Sunflowers, Veronica, Yarrow, Zinnea

HERBS FOR BEES: Bergamot, Borage, Chamomile, Chives, Lavender, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme

Springing Forward

The swarm that started it all!

With the hope of ending 2016 a bit stronger than this last year (hopefully by tripling our hive count), this is the time of year when we have to do some planning. Of course, we plan the best way to split hives – there are a couple ways to do that. We plan the best strategy for watching out for and dealing with swarm cells, when the hives get too big and decide they want to make a new queen that will then take most of the young, strong bees to a new hive. Swarms are also a means for us to grow our yard, though, because when a swarm, either feral or from another bee yard does a surprise landing in some stranger’s back yard, we can go out and gather it up. It was a stray swarm landing in our yard four years ago that made us start this journey in the first place. We will be trying some ‘split hives’ where we put a divider right into the hive, like a bee condominium, with queens in each side. This allows them to keep the hive warm yet, and gives them a chance to get established without having to start completely from scratch. We will do a blog on this as we get into actually doing it.

Early hive activity 2016.

We have to plan on what purpose our bees will fulfill. They could strictly produce honey for us and this usually involves putting them into orchards and crops for the purpose of pollinating those crops. This is a very important part of having honey bees, and some would even argue that it is the only reason for having them. We could put pollen traps on the hives and gather the pollen for sale, because of the medicinal values. We could do likewise for propolis, which can be used in natural therapies. Some people raise bees simply in order to create more bees, breaking up the hives frequently and allowing those fragments to grow into full hives for sale, or for their own use. Queen rearing is a big business, and takes a special skill, because the queen cells are grafted into several dedicated frames, and are then caged and sold. There are even some apiasts who gather bee venom. Just about everything about bees can be used, so the options are many. Thankfully we don’t have to commit to just one thing, and can try our hand at several of them.

Another issue to make decisions on is where to put the primary bee yard. Right now, we have a small yard near the house, but if we are going to grow the number of hives, we also have to grow the area, then make sure it will be safe from any rather unwelcome guests, including (but not limited to) skunks, racoons, and bears. Since we have been spending the last few days refencing the property, we have been able to give this problem a bit more consideration, and believe we finally have a spot picked out for it. The next step will be to get it fenced and set up for moving the bees. Of course, not all of them will go to one spot in our yard. Hopefully we can find several other locations to set them out, allowing them to access more sources of pollen, and also to ensure that if something happens to one yard, we still have some bees to carry on with.

While it might be right that these plants are
protected from unwanted pests, they fail to
mention how deadly they are to pollinators.

Being avid gardeners at heart, we also need to consider what plants we want, and where we want them, to offer the best advantage to both the gardens and the bees. Some plants are just not what the bees want, while others can attract bees from miles away. Finding out which is which is a much more challenging undertaking than we thought it would be, because opinions differ greatly for many plants. Ideally we will avoid double-flowering plants – the ones that originally had just one layer of petals but now have been hybrid to the point of having two or even three layers of petals, making the flowers much fuller. By making them fluffier, it also makes them harder for the bees to find the pollen. We also must avoid any plants containing neonicotinoids. ‘Neonics’ are absolutely NOT bee friendly.

We also need to consider the flavors our plants will add to the honey. Some plants, like sunflowers, add no noticeable change to flavor but are an excellent source of pollen for bees (and the birds love the seeds all through the fall and winter). Others, like the blooms on the locust trees, add a wonderful flavor to the honey that is easily detected, and in some areas will add value to the finished product. We have a lot of locust trees on our property, and will soon have more, but we are also leaning toward planting more lavender. Alyssum, cosmos, and of course, dandelions are all plants that bees love, and that are vital to them. Planting some of these near the vegetable garden will ensure that all our plants are well pollinated and produce as much as possible – well, not the dandelions; the wind will take care of planting them all over the yard. It already looks like we are in for a bumper crop this year.

One of our bees on an apple blossom. 

The final consideration in choosing plants is blooming season. We want our bees to eat for as long as possible, but sometimes there are dry spells in a season where not much is happening, at least as far as flowers are concerned. Living in a rural community, we can count on the alfalfa and clover to provide for them throughout the summer and fall. We know that corn crops will do nothing, but berry crops will be wonderful in the spring. Of course, the orchards need bees, and our bees need fruit trees, so we have that one covered, at least for this year. We need to find plants, like primula, that will bloom early in the year, and some, like goldenrod, that bloom late. The value of the plants to the bees also will vary because of geographic location and anomalies, so it’s all a learning curve, but we’re more than happy to experiment to see what we like, and what our bees like.

It goes without saying that there are many more things to think about and plan for, like keeping the bees healthy, and the need for water, but at this time of year, these are the priorities in our bee yard.

BooBoo Bear was just a little guy last year, but even when little
these guys can do a lot of damage to a hive.