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When we first moved in here, 11.26 acres heavily wooded w/creek, we cleared out 2.5 acres from the middle of the property, I duly spread the necessary lime since this is a red clay environment, then the fertilizer, an organic one. Betsy spent a fair amt of money on good grass seed that I spread over the entire yard, except where the house is. She fussed because I bought a pound of clover seed and threw it out in handfuls around the edges of where my garden would be. Betsy does not like clover, she still fusses about it. The clover got the bees into the area where the garden would eventually be, it worked quite well, I have not had a single pollination problem. Fire up your tiller and scuff up areas on the sides of your garden and the front, spread clover seed and let nature work for you in this.
When we first moved in here, 11.26 acres heavily wooded w/creek, we cleared out 2.5 acres from the middle of the property, I duly spread the necessary lime since this is a red clay environment, then the fertilizer, an organic one. Betsy spent a fair amt of money on good grass seed that I spread over the entire yard, except where the house is. She fussed because I bought a pound of clover seed and threw it out in handfuls around the edges of where my garden would be. Betsy does not like clover, she still fusses about it. The clover got the bees into the area where the garden would eventually be, it worked quite well, I have not had a single pollination problem. Fire up your tiller and scuff up areas on the sides of your garden and the front, spread clover seed and let nature work for you in this.
Yeah that is a part of the problem. The LL mowed the blasted field before the clover blossomed. He is into friggin lawns and grass, and I keep telling him I hope he can digest grass.
I may have to sabotage the lawn tractor, and assorted other mowers he runs. He mows the blasted lawn around the house each 4th day too, and would like it better if I would. I again repeat I can't digest grass.
Location: where the moss is taking over the villages
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Bees... I haven't been outdoors enough to think about it, but I'll keep a look out now. I'm in Oregon.
I have noticed the garden spider population dwindling, though, in the past 4 years. Late bloom, so to speak, this year & they aren't very big...
My cousin, in the Temecula (California) area, has a bee removal business - he's very busy. He sells the bees to a bee keeper... He has no interest in saving the bumble bees, though, to my dismay. I don't ask what he does with them... I don't want to know unless I have the energy to bug him about "saving" them... I've heard they are useful pollinators.
I love bumble bees, even though they terrify me if they get too close.
I really think it varies from one part of the country to another and depending on what you have in your garden. On the west coast, lavender is a bee magnet. Here where I live, I didn't see bees till I added my garden and flowering plants to it. I intend to add more attractive flowers to increase the bees around my garden. I am very careful when I work outside now to not disturb them, but as other poster said, they really don't want anything to do with humans. "Live and let Live".
I will be able to tell better once the corn pops out at the top. The clover is coming back up now from getting cut. I see fuzzy fat bumbles and I see flat honey bee like squash bee's, and just one more a total of 4 euro honey bee's to date this season.
The whole garden is late to a wet cold Spring, which delayed everything, counting planting.
My strawberry season is a lost cause, while the plants are just getting started. The first crop is so late at this point, most any thing I get will be washed, smashed and frozen for winter.
A bee magnet I've noticed this year is the Queen Anne's Lace. To DH's dismay, I made him leave many clumps of it intact (he hates it). It is hot and dry here in PA, so QAL is abundant. I left a lot of what he calls "weeds" that grow blossoms in summer that attract the bees. Some weeds are good. I also planted a wildflower bed next to my vegetable gardens, and the bees love it - I counted about 35 to 40 bees in the one garden in one day. This was next to my cucumber patch, and I've had a huge crop of those.
There are others, but none seemingly as efficent. However as of today there are around 8 corn tassels attracting honey bee's, which is something of a relief. Thar's a hell of a lot more corn than any 8 plants, but evertying here is late. Dang hot out there too.
This AM I was out nuking a vole. The war hasn't been won, but thar's a lot of no mans land to cover for that vole now. I mowed by the fence it lives outside of to the garden. I mowed the weeds on the outside fence row and then found the voles hide. I saw it with my own eyes and tried to kill it, but it's faster than me. With gas I nukes the nest, and the area, trying to send a mesage that staying here will be bad.
If I get to kill it I will make a bag of it sartin.
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