Planting a Bee Friendly Garden

Guest Author:  Daniel Roath  

Gardeners are eager to get their plants in the ground as spring approaches. When planning your garden, consider accommodating honeybees and other beneficial pollinators. In return, the bees will pollinate your flowers, increasing your garden's annual yield. 

Here is a helpful guide as you prepare your bee-friendly garden:

• Native wildflowers: Rudbekia, Cosmos, Sunflower, Primula, Coneflower, Aster, and Goldenrod
• Herbs: Lavender, Mint, Rosemary, Thyme
• Berries: Blueberry, Winterberry, Strawberry
• Fruit: Apple, Peach, Cherry, Tomato, Avocado, Kiwi, Pear
• Vegetables: Cucumber, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Onion, Celery, Pumpkin, Squash

Choose plants that attract honey bees based on bloom shape and scent. Bees are drawn to two kinds of flowers. They like to crawl into the shelter of tubular-shaped flowers, and flatter blooms offer easy access. They draw from a variety of pollen and nectar's to satisfy their dietary needs. Plan for season-round blooms, choosing plants with successive blooms to help sustain the bees with a readily available food supply through as many seasons as possible. Grouping bee-friendly plants together will help attract bees.

Provide a fresh water source. Water is used to dilute and dissolve crystallized honey. It can also be evaporated and fanned throughout the hive to cool it during warm weather. Not to mention water is a refreshing drink for bees on a hot day. If you do not have a natural water source to draw from, consider placing a bird bath or shallow dish in your garden.

Plan your garden this year to aid these beneficial pollinators and consider becoming a beekeeper yourself. Brushy Mountain has all the resources to help you get started. Visit BrushyMountainBeeFarm.com for more details.

Farming is Hard Work

I have great respect for the farmers of America. Much like the veterans of our great nation, many Americans take their efforts for granted without second thought. Out of all the livestock, dairy, grain, vegetable, and flower farmers, none of them can acquire success without putting forth a lot of hard work and many times endure disappointment.

Americans today seem to want everything now, without wait or fuss. Grocery chains prepare food and package meats and vegetables together for an easy meal. Garden centers sell full grown tomato plants with ripening fruit for the customer to take home, place it on the deck, and start picking tomatoes within days. In my mind, the more convenient our lifestyles are, the harder it is to appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to create and serve the food and products we consume every day. On the other hand, if businesses do not capitalize on the emerging trends, they just might be left behind.

 

With that said, success doesn't come easily for farmers. Dedication and a "roll-up-your-sleeves and get-it-done" attitude is the recipe for success. Perhaps the best and most humbling reward is simply the pride and satisfaction in providing food for American families. Farming is a profession that should be honored with high regard in the USA.

Learn How To Start Seeds Indoors

I believe many gardeners today are somewhat reluctant to start their garden plants indoors as they find the process a bit intimidating, and better left to the pros. For me, I find seed starting to be a very rewarding experience. It really is very easy when you follow recommended guidelines. These guidelines require proper heat, light and moisture. If you follow these guidelines to start seeds indoors, you are assured of immediate success.

I tend to be a bit of an impatient person, and the sooner I can get my marigolds in bloom, the faster the rewards flow from my garden. Although some flowers can be direct seeded into the garden, I prefer to start them indoors to get a jump on the season. I use a 3 shelf light stand that allows me to start hundreds of flowers and vegetables indoors. In my post "Seed Starting Indoors While Waiting for Spring" you can see the seeds I've started this year.   

If you have never attempted to start plants indoors, here are a few recommendations:

• Choose easy-to-start-from-seed species like tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias.
• Start small and expand your efforts the following season.
• Check out our Seed Starting Video presented by Jeff Werner, our resident farmer and Mark Greene, our in-house horticulturist.
• If you are new to seed starting, we offer money saving light stand and heat mat combos to insure your success.
• I encourage you to use the web for information on starting flowers or vegetables indoors. Some species are a little more difficult to start indoors than others.

Good luck and let us know if you need any further assistance.