Why Should You Plant Garlic In The Fall? I love garlic! I never really knew how much I liked it until I was an adult and cooking for myself. So in the interest of saving money, I have decided to grow my own garlic. I have a neighbor who always plants a huge crop of garlic and I love driving by in ... View Post
Trimming Cedar Trees
Trimming Cedar Trees Why are we trimming our cedar trees? My feelings toward cedar trees change with the seasons. In the winter I love them because they are green and seem cheery among the dead grass and leafless trees. In the summer I hate them because of their bagworms, fire danger and the ... View Post
What To Do With Cut Tree Branches
What To Do With Cut Tree Branches I LOVE TREES! Trees provide shade, beauty, a refuge for birds and so much more. But trees aren't always perfect in their natural form. If you find yourself in need of trimming your trees you can find out how we did it by reading Trimming Cedar Trees. After you have ... View Post
Your Vegetable Garden In September and October
What To Do In Your Vegetable Garden In September and October You may be thinking that you get to take a break from your vegetable garden in September and October. After all, you just spent Spring and Summer planting, watering and harvesting. If you need a break then you have earned it. You ... View Post
Where Do I Place The Hive?
Where Do I Place The Hive? The hive location doesn't really matter much to the bees, and they will adapt to their surroundings. But you can help make their lives more productive if you follow a few guidelines. SunWindRainDirection of the hive entranceAccess to waterEase of ... View Post
Planting Wildflowers
Planting Wildflowers in 5 Easy Steps Wildflowers are important to pollinators like bees and butterflies. They also provide beauty to our landscapes so that we can also benefit from their presence. With so many of the natural wildflowers disappearing from farming and development, planting wildflowers ... View Post
How to Get Rid of Stickers or Sand Burrs
Stickers Are My Enemy If you have stickers or sand burrs in your yard I’m sure you feel my pain. And when I say feel my pain I mean it literally. I have had a little piece of the sticker embedded in my hand for months before it finally stopped hurting and went away. When we first moved onto ... View Post
Are My Neighbors Allergic To Bees?
Bee ConsiderateChances are pretty slim that your neighbors are going to be stung by your bees. But you should check with them to make sure that they aren't allergic to bee stings and let them know that you are planning to start a hive. A great way to warm them up to the idea of living next to bees ... View Post
Growing Weeds
Growing Weeds I hate to brag but... I am an expert at growing weeds. I don't even have to work at it, I just wake up and they are there. I'm not talking about the occasional stray weed or grass that finds it's way among the tomatoes. I'm talking about an entire garden bed full of unwanted ground ... View Post
Should I plant wildflowers near the hive?
Why Bees Need Flowers? Bees use nectar and pollen from flowers as a food and energy source. Depending on your area there may be an abundance of wildflowers, landscape flowers, crops or trees, and shrubs. Bees will fly about 3 miles from their hive to find their nectar and pollen source. Just ... View Post
Beekeeping Terminology
Beekeeping Terminology There are many words that I didn't know when I first became interested in beekeeping. Here is a list of the common terminology that every beekeeper should know before they get started with their first hive. Apiary - The place where bees and their hives are kept by a ... View Post
To Bee or Not to Bee?
Do I want to be a beekeeper? Does the presence of a bee make you want to get up and leave the area? That is exactly what happened to me at a baseball game last week. I didn't freak out and run around like a crazy person. I simply got up and walked away until the bee left the area. When I sat back ... View Post