The Blessing of Bees

After spending the last few weeks helping to harvest the apples in the orchard, I am reminded of the importance of bees.

Restoring an old orchard that has been neglected like the one we've been working on takes a holistic, long-term approach. We've been working on restoring the soil fertility (especially the mycorrhiza), welcoming natural predators (bats, spiders, sheep in the summer) back to the land, practicing appropriate and not over zealous pruning, and generally caring for the whole system. We've already seen a larger percentage of surviving trees than we thought we could bring back to health and production. Each year, the quality of produce goes up. The first year we were lucky to get cider apples. This year we had some delicious dinner table apples and maybe, just maybe, even a small few that might make a couple months in storage. While we are no where near finished bringing the orchard back, we are taking the right steps to get there in a few more years!

Through those years we hope to keep our closest allies, the honeybees. Bees are the magic pollinators on the farm. Not only do they pollinate the apple blossoms, but they work on the veggies in fields by the house and the herbs and culinary flowers, too! Because we focus on a full, seasonal system that includes natives and wild habitat along with our delicious food, the bees have food near by that is safe and organic all year round.  Luckily, we have strong healthy bees working beside us on the farm.

A few of you who have stopped by our farm stand have mentioned your own interest in becoming beekeepers. Talking to Les directly can help you find more specific resources. However, in my spirit of thanksgiving to the wonderful bees, I thought I'd share a documentary that I have seen recently called Vanishing of the Bees from 2009. It's even on Netflix! This movie highlights the concerns over thousands of bees disappearing and decimating the bee population. Even if you have no intention of starting your own hive or planting food for bees, this video is produced well and tells an important story we should all be paying attention to.

I'll be back on the farm this weekend to help harvest more apples. Hope to see you there!