• Home
  • About
  • Fundraisers
  • Accessible Garden
  • CSA
  • Events
  • Unity Projects
  • Resources
  • Our Team
  • Blog
  • Products
  • In The News
  • Gallery
  • Volunteers
Unity Gardens Inc.
  • Home
  • About
  • Fundraisers
  • Accessible Garden
  • CSA
  • Events
  • Unity Projects
  • Resources
  • Our Team
  • Blog
  • Products
  • In The News
  • Gallery
  • Volunteers

You Don't Have To Bee A Beekeeper to Like Bees 

6/12/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Laureen Fagan
With all the interest in beekeeping and a potential urban beekeeping ordinance in South Bend, it’d be easy enough to think that bee talk is just for the apiculture enthusiasts. But many people can “keep bees” and support bee populations through the gardening plants they choose and practices they use.

By now, most people know why it’s important. Bee populations are suffering from mysterious fatal conditions that include colony collapse disorder, with losses upward of 30 percent. It’s a worldwide problem – and it’s your problem, because according to a 2010 United Nations Environmental Programme report, bees pollinate about 71 percent of the top 100 food crops grown around the globe.

I’m not interested in beekeeping. I don’t want hives in my yard. Frankly, I’d like to have the suit just for the mosquitoes sometimes! But I do garden to support bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects, and here’s a few ideas for how you can be a “beekeeper” at home in the yard, garden – or even balcony.

1.       Choose plants that attract and support bees, and plant so that there’s always something in bloom that’s providing nectar and pollen. Consider native plants – at home, the bees love the spiderwort and sunflowers. Also consider herbs and small fruit in the garden. My strawberries and raspberries love the bees, and the bees love them. Leave your milkweed for the beneficials, and don’t forget to think about your lawn as a “beekeeper” too. That’s a lot of clover for the bees. There’s a great resource for bee-friendly plants in the Great Lakes region atxerces.org

2.        Limit the use of insecticides. Lots of people are talking about the neonicotinoid use in U.S. agriculture, but some home products – carbaryl (Sevin) as one example – are highly toxic too.

3.       Create a nesting habitat and provide shelter for bees. “While most people are not equipped to raise honeybees in their backyard, creating nesting habitats for native bees is surprisingly simple,” say the experts at University of Illinois. And don’t forget the H2O. Bees and butterflies drink too, and during hot dry spells may need help finding water.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    AuthorS

    Hi, my name is Mitch. I am the Unity Gardens Manager. I am a Purdue Master Gardener and teach many of the gardening classes. I also manage the LaSalle Square Garden, and maintain the website, blog and newsletter.

    And I'm Kayla Jackson, the Communications Manager for the Unity Gardens. I manage our social media, videos, blogs and all other forms of communications. I am a 2020 Ball State graduate with a degree in News Journalism and Telecommunications.


    For older stories check out our
    old blog .

    Archives

    June 2020
    June 2019
    January 2019
    January 2017
    August 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    December 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    Native Planting

    RSS Feed

Mailing Address                                     Main Garden
Unity Gardens                                        LaSalle Square 
PO Box 10022                                          3701 Prast Blvd 
South Bend IN. 46680                           South Bend IN 46628              
Ph: 574-315-4361   call or text message
e-mail
growunitygardens@yahoo.com     

                                         
  • Home
  • About
  • Fundraisers
  • Accessible Garden
  • CSA
  • Events
  • Unity Projects
  • Resources
  • Our Team
  • Blog
  • Products
  • In The News
  • Gallery
  • Volunteers