The 15th anniversary of the Ferme les Petites Écores
Table of Contents The farm will be 15 years old in 2024! Where can I begin to summarize our last 15 years… Well! Let's start with a man, François, who has….
Bees can travel up to 5 km to forage for nectar, gathering sweet nectar that will become delicious honey. During these long flights, bees are exposed to numerous dangers. Whether it's predation by birds, mammals, or other insects, bees always fly with keen awareness of their surroundings. If this were the only risk they faced, everything would be fine. But that's far from the case. The environment in which we live has severely jeopardized the survival of bees. The average annual loss of bee colonies in Quebec was approximately 501 per 100,000 in 2022. So, what can be done to help the bees?
Sowing nectar-producing flowers
Keep the weeds
Establish a water point
Limit the use of pesticides
Promote the purchase of organic food
Buy local honey
Sponsor a hive
It goes without saying that bees get their food from flowers, but not all types of flowers attract bees. Some flowers attract them more than others because of their scent and color. So, which flowers can we plant to help them find the nectar and pollen they love so much?
Did you know that with a home vegetable garden, you're offering a beautiful bouquet of flowers that attracts bees and other pollinating insects? In fact, nearly 801% of what we eat must first be pollinated by insects. Here are a few vegetables and herbs that bees love.
And more !
Bees also love the flowers of small fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, currants, blackcurrants, haskaps, etc. Unfortunately, they don't go into sea buckthorn, This is because the latter has neither nectar nor stamens to produce pollen. Sea buckthorn is pollinated by the wind.
Another way to help bees is to sow bee-friendly flowers in a flower bed. By choosing a mix of bee-friendly flowers, your flower bed will remain in bloom from June to October and attract pollinating insects from spring to autumn. This will provide them with a place to find flowers throughout their active seasons.
What we call weeds is actually an excellent source of nectar for bees. For example, towards the end of July, there's a slight lull in flowering, and bees have more difficulty finding food. This short period ends with the arrival of goldenrod, which blooms from August to September. It's the first plant to appear at this time of year and will flower until mid-September in some cases. Unfortunately, it's considered a weed and is often cut or pulled up. Let it grow; it will make a lovely addition to your flower bed and requires no maintenance. Goldenrod and dandelions are two examples of flowers that are often disliked but very important for bees.
Weeds allow bees and other pollinating insects to find an abundant food source throughout the season, thus enabling them to have a healthy and varied diet.
To help the bees, let them grow.
Goldenrod flower
All living things need water. Bees will look for a place where they can safely land to drink. They will land without any problem on rocks, branches, grass, or lichen, for example. You can easily create a small watering hole in a container. For the water, be sure to use a non-chlorinated water and salted. To make salt water, add 1 tsp of salt per liter of water and stir. They need salt just like us and will seek out a source of salt water if available.
Bees use water to hydrate themselves, to feed the larvae, to produce royal jelly, and to cool the hive in summer. To cool the hive in summer, the bees place small droplets of water on the cells. Meanwhile, some bees fan the hive. The airflow causes the water droplets to evaporate, thus cooling the hive.
Furthermore, providing easy access to a water source for bees helps ensure they don't go to a water source that might be contaminated by pollutants or pesticides. It's a simple way to help bees.
No pesticide should be used preventively. You know, pesticides are used in many sectors, not just agriculture? Every time you use a product to kill wasps, ants, or spiders, you're using pesticides. These pesticides kill the insects that bother you, but they leave small residues in the air, on the soil, and on the plant that could be dangerous (and sometimes fatal!) for bees. Want to treat your plants? Wait until evening, as darkness begins, before using pesticides. Since bees don't fly at night, they'll be less likely to come into contact with the product.
By buying organic vegetables at the our farm store, By purchasing organic Quebec food, you ensure that no pesticides have been used in our fields. You are therefore helping to provide a healthy environment for bees and other pollinating insects where they can feed and drink.
A great way to support organic farming is to subscribe to an organic vegetable basket. If you're unsure whether a vegetable basket subscription is right for you, you can always come and choose your vegetables directly from the farm. Buying organic vegetables is a good way to invest in a healthy, pesticide-free environment.
In another article, we already gave you several reasons to buy local honey. One reason that hasn't been mentioned is that by buying local honey, you're ensuring there are bees in your area! Yes, in order to offer you that delicious honey you love so much, we have to have worked with the bees beforehand. Our job is to ensure that the bee colonies remain healthy and have enough food for their well-being. When we harvest honey from our hives, we make sure they have enough for their immediate needs.
Sponsoring a beehive is a simple way to help bees. By covering the costs associated with managing a hive (or part of one) for a year, you enable the beekeeper to manage more hives and thus help bees by ensuring the survival of the species. As a token of appreciation for your support, certain benefits are also available to you.
Many of these seven concrete actions to help bees are easily implemented. Remember that every little bit helps bees! This year, plant bee-friendly flowers, let dandelions bloom, and set up a water source for the bees. If you're so inclined, buy local honey and subscribe to a vegetable basket or sponsor a beehive. But above all, please limit your use of pesticides.
Table of Contents The farm will be 15 years old in 2024! Where can I begin to summarize our last 15 years… Well! Let's start with a man, François, who has….
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