Planting Bee

Tip today - for the gardeners, the beekpeers and the homeowners.  We don't always enjoy sharing our human space with flying insects.  While the honey bee gets loads of positive publicity to protect it, other wonderful but also stinging critters get the boot.  Earlier this week we discovered a hive nestled in the tree of our front yard.  We carefully approached to get a pic of the little ones and then did some research.  Turns out we have bald faced hornets. These guys are very cool looking (think Ninja) - but they also have stingers built for repeat attack and are aggressive around their nest.  Now most would FREAK out and think destroy destroy destroy.  But the truth is these guys bring alot of benefits - they are pollinators, they eat flies and veggie damaging bugs and they keep other stingers out of our space.  These guys aren't destroying our home like the wood borer bees can do and they aren't chasing us around the yard like yellow jackets (these hornets are only aggressive within a few feet of their nest).  So we've decided to let them bee.....consider this option the next time around BEFORE you decide to kill off critters you've found in your space.

Tip today - Is your plant looking like the Miracle Grow commercial yet? If not, it might be a good time to give your plants a bite to eat, by that I mean pick up some organic fertilizer in the next week and work into the soil. I say organic fertilizer because this will ensure a slow release of the food your plant needs. Synthetic fertilizers (especially cheap low qualities one) release it all at once and then it leeches away in the soil, meaning your plant only gets like 20% of the meal you bought for it. Kind of like going to Fogo de Chao on a first date (waste of $ and in poor taste) . So treat your plants right - give them a meal that they can enjoy over a few weeks.

Tip Today - WORMS...I was that kid on the playground that used to pick up the largest worm I could find and try to show the other kids how cool it was. Although, now that I think about it.. my show and tell usually ended up turning into a game of chase in which my worm and I ran as a team after the other kids. ...ok sorry, back to the present - I've been using worms to turn shredded paper and kitchen scraps into compost. It's been very easy, neat to observe their behaviors and COMPLETELY smell free. Over the next week my tips are going to be all about how to start your own version of a worm farm.

Tip today - Don't be so quick to say no to big ideas.  Earlier I posted about introducing some teenagers to gardening.  I'm installing a project garden later this month based on their design.  What I didn't tell you was the story of how in creating that plan one of the ladies so "kindly" suggested trying to incorporate an owl into the project since that is their mascot. She then proceeds to use every gardeners worse enemy, google, to pull up a picture of a very large, very intricate 3-D standing topiary of an owl...and says in complete seriousness "Can you make this?"  To which I deadpan replied "Because I know magic?"....after a little laughter and one crestfallen face I took a few minutes to ponder how to avoid saying "no" all together.  I realized we could incorporate a version of her idea.  Imagine a coloring book with an owl drawing.  We are going to use a thin plastic edging to create that line drawing and then "color" it in with plants - mostly different lettuces so our owl is also edible - but the vegetarian kind of edible...can't wait to show pictures later. 

Tip today - Plan ahead for the Halloween. Pumpkins take FOREVER to grow, so plan to get those seeds in to ensure you can harvest around Halloween...and for those vampire hunters- you can plant garlic in the spring, NOT just the fall...but don't do what I did - I planted the entire clump of garlic in one hole, you'll want to separate each clove and plant it separately - that one clove will grow a whole clump like you buy at the grocery store all on your own.

Tip today - Ok this is a funny but serious one.  Don't blow smoke in your eye!  I know sounds like common sense eh?  So first time using the bee smoker and I put my face in the way - after some visine and husband prescribed pirate eye it's all better, fear not I'm still in love with bees... while many of you may not be using a smoker I did think this was a good story to remind you TO SLOW DOWN and BE AWARE intentionally, especially when you're doing something that is new or intimidating to you...of course I'm also the girl that walks into walls  so maybe the rest of you don't have these struggles.  Have a great weekend - out of town travel so you'll have to survive without tips for a few days.

Tip today - WATERING - many people say oh I can't grow things, I have a black thumb.  The truth is, most people just water too much.  I use myself as an example, my darling seedlings that I have been caring for over the past month were growing AWESOMELY, until I accidentally overwatered them, now they have turned a sad yellow color and there is a bit of white fuzzy mold on their peat pots...Luckily, I understand those signs now and know I just need to chill with the katrina rain, ya know.  So I'll move them up on the shelf so they get a little more air movement to dry out and I'll be sure to make sure that at least the top 1"-2" soil are pretty dry before I give them a wetting (versus a saturating watering).

Today's Tip - Don't let fear keep you from working towards your goals! I've been wanting to keep bees for no less than 365 days.  I spent 364 days arming myself with information to mitigate my fear that the bees were gonna get me and I couldn't do it - well yesterday the time came and I finally did it - I'm an official beekeeper, apiary registration and all.  It was exciting, I'm pretty sure I'm hooked.  For me it's like peeking out over the edge of a big cliff, exciting and calming at the same time.

Today's tip (as I prep to go put in my bees for the first time ever tonight)... so you got stung by a honey bee eh?  Step one, immediately remove the stinger by scraping or pulling out the stinger.  Step two, step away from the bees, that little sting sent out a smelly signal to the other bees that one of them just died, like right there on your nose.  IF you happen to have a smoker (not like the dude who is lame and still smokes, like the actual beekeeping smoker) then go ahead and puff a little on the bees and on the bee sting site - this will mask that smell some and they might not pick up on it. and then of course do all the other normal stuff, like whine, put ice on it, go to the hospital if your face becomes crazy big like a watermelon - you know the grown up responses.

Tip - When you're adding nutrients (fertilizer) to the garden READ the label and make sure you understand the instructions. For example Urea is a great way to increase your soil's ph - but it's basically super concentrated pee and can also completely wreck your soil - think dead grass spots from your doggies and can also wrech your skin with too much contact - think poor baby diaper rash. So if you're putting this, be sure to follow the instructions on the label...check out this link for all the detailed/researched base info on soil management

Tip today - if you had a garden last year and it's going in the same spot this year, be sure to flip your game! In other words what went there last year will do better if you move it to a different spot - but avoid putting the same "type" of plant there. For example corn and tomatoes are good plants to flip, and beans/peas are good to flip with just about anything...want more info on the science behind “crop rotation” check this link out

Tip today - if you had a garden last year and it's going in the same spot this year, be sure to flip your game! In other words what went there last year will do better if you move it to a different spot - but avoid putting the same "type" of plant there. For example corn and tomatoes are good plants to flip, and beans/peas are good to flip with just about anything...want more info check out the link