Are Honey Bees an Invasive Species?

Honey bees are  model workers and important pollinators, but are they invasive? Should we be trying to save them or should we be forcing their eviction? As beekeepers, we get asked a zillion questions about bees. Over the years, the most common questions have centered on how to "save the bees." Just recently, that tone …

If You Build It – They Will Come….. Attracting pollinators and breeding a better berry

From the very first day we walked the land, I have been looking for bees. And they were scarce. I would occasionally see a bumble bee and I did see a honey bee or two - but not very many. Any flowers at the property were usually devoid of life. Maybe it was because the …

Black Eyed Susan is Dominating our Prairie – Uses, Plans, and Lessons to provide adequate honey bee forage

Quick Rundown: ~ 11 acres of prairie planted the end of May 2017 followed by dry hot summer. No noticeable germination of prairie seeds in 2017. Spring 2018 was very dry but the early summer was quite wet. Black Eyed Susan came out in full force by mid summer 2018 followed by spotted bee balm. This …

Another Quick Prairie Update 7/06/2018

 Here are two more shots from the prairie - taken July 6, 2018. You can see a lot of black eyed susans. I walked the entire prairie and was able to identify at least 7 or 8 of the 48 species we planted - and a whole lot more that we didn't. It's so beautiful …

Prairie Restoration – Year 2

Prairie: photos taken June 21, 2018 We seeded our native prairie in May 2017. We seeded very heavily - 48 different species, a high percentage of forbs - 136lbs of seeds for 10.6 acres - 12.8 lbs/acre and about $800/acre just in seed costs! I'm spelling it all out because so far it has been …