Beekeeping probably seems like an unnecessary skill for a city dweller such as myself. I've gotten a range of reactions from people when telling them my plans; spanning from offers to help to amused disbelief. Since there is no bee class this week, instead of updating you on what we learned allow me to let you in on my decision making.
The main motivation for keeping bees is an environmental concern, rather than a love of honey. If I'm being honest, I don't especially enjoy the taste of honey. Over the last century the number of bees, as well as other important pollinators, has plummeted. Unlike other pollinators, honey bees depend on humans for survival. Non-native to North America, all varieties of honey bee currently in the U.S. were brought here from the old world by early colonists (c. 1622) until they were banned from entering the country in the 1920s due to concerns over foreign diseases. Beekeeping has become less common since then due to a social shift in our society away from rural areas/agricultural lifestyle and of course a growing distrust of bees. Environmental factors such as pesticide use have impacted honey bees as much as any other pollinator, but even without factoring that in they simply can't thrive without beekeepers. The U.S. government has recently pledged to save the monarch butterfly, but no similar investment has been made by the feds in the future of the honey bee yet. It's pretty much up to us for now.
So that is why I'm determined to keep bees, even if it must be in someone else's yard, and even if they end up not producing much honey. Beekeeping isn't practical if, like me, you rent a small apartment . . . in a building with other tenants . . . in a city which does not allow beekeeping. What then can you do to make a difference? The Great Sunflower Project crowdsources data on bees from people all over the internet. All you need is a plant which attracts pollinators (such as a sunflower) and internet access. If you don't have a yard you may be able to grow a potted plant or visit a nearby park to participate. I usually don't bother with non-edible plants in my garden, but this year I'll include some flowers just for this purpose.
Wouldn't ya know, as soon as I sign up for a course in Acton, I find a class being offered in Lowell? However it's being offered by Merrimack Valley Beekeepers Association, and I overheard a student in my class telling the instructor about his poor experience with their course. He decided to retake a course elsewhere so it must not have been useful. I'm also a little surprised they would choose to hold the class here since bees aren't welcome in Lowell. I'll take this as a good sign that interest in urban agriculture is growing in my home city, and maybe that will lead to a lift of the ordinance in the future.
Now that you know about the plight of the honey bee I hope you'll do a little something to help whether it be gardening, participating in The Great Sunflower Project, or starting your own hive. How do you choose to protect our pollinators?
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Mexican-inspired Quinoa Salad
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Usually I enjoy winter, but I think I've reached snow overload. Mostly I'm restless and looking forward to starting my garden. There's plenty of food in the freezer, but I decided to give sprouting a try to to satisfy the urge to see something grow.
Once in a while I miss the fresh tastes of summer. I found some corn still in the freezer so I combined that with some tomatoes and peppers I canned to create a Mexican inspired quinoa salad. This is a dish I make often in the summer time when those crops are in season. I don't have an exact recipe. It varies each time depending on what I happen to have on hand, which is how I tend to cook. This time it included the following.
Toss together:
1 cup cooked quinoa
chopped onion
chopped tomatoes
chopped peppers (any kind, sweet or hot)
corn kernels
feta cheese
Season with:
lime juice
chili powder
cumin
oregano
pepper
salt
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Sunday, February 8, 2015
Weekly Bee Update: Bee School
My friend, Nick , and I had been casually discussing beekeeping for a while and after a couple failed attempts we finally signed up for a beekeeping course!
The course is offered through Middlesex County Beekeepers Association, and is taught by the owner to a local honey business, Rick Reault. It consists of five two-hour classes, plus a hive visit. Unfortunately, due to the weather the class is already off schedule. So far we have attended two classes.
Here's a look at the syllabus if you're interested:
Week 1: The Bees (Queen, Workers, & Drones), Emergency, Supercedure, Swarms, Queens
Week 2: The hive setup, Location, Types, Equipment (protective clothing and tools)
Week 3: Packages, Nucs, Managing a first year hive
Week 4: Managing Pests and diseases
Week 5: Seasonal Management (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), Products of the hive (honey, wax, pollen, propolis), & Mead making
Week 6: Hive openings
On our first day we discovered that our city is the only in the county with ordinances against beekeeping. I had my suspicions since we live in an urban area, but wanted to learn anyway. Luckily, I've already had two offers from my in-laws to let me keep bees in their yards! (Mike's parents' or his cousins') They also might be able to get some used equipment for me from their neighbors. Not everything can be reused with a new hive, but anything that can be will help. Bees are more expensive than I expected. I've already reserved a package of bees for pick-up on April 20th.
After class I spent as much time outside as possible since we have three days of snow ahead. Nick, Julie, Mike, and I all went to a farmers market and then checked out a special Valentine's Day Open Studios. It was a fun day. I got some yarn for crafting and lots of yummy food so I won't get restless/hungry during the storm. Plus I have readings on bees to keep me occupied!
I hope you'll all be doing something fun indoors tomorrow.
The course is offered through Middlesex County Beekeepers Association, and is taught by the owner to a local honey business, Rick Reault. It consists of five two-hour classes, plus a hive visit. Unfortunately, due to the weather the class is already off schedule. So far we have attended two classes.
Here's a look at the syllabus if you're interested:
Week 1: The Bees (Queen, Workers, & Drones), Emergency, Supercedure, Swarms, QueensWeek 2: The hive setup, Location, Types, Equipment (protective clothing and tools)
Week 3: Packages, Nucs, Managing a first year hive
Week 4: Managing Pests and diseases
Week 5: Seasonal Management (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), Products of the hive (honey, wax, pollen, propolis), & Mead making
Week 6: Hive openings
On our first day we discovered that our city is the only in the county with ordinances against beekeeping. I had my suspicions since we live in an urban area, but wanted to learn anyway. Luckily, I've already had two offers from my in-laws to let me keep bees in their yards! (Mike's parents' or his cousins') They also might be able to get some used equipment for me from their neighbors. Not everything can be reused with a new hive, but anything that can be will help. Bees are more expensive than I expected. I've already reserved a package of bees for pick-up on April 20th.
After class I spent as much time outside as possible since we have three days of snow ahead. Nick, Julie, Mike, and I all went to a farmers market and then checked out a special Valentine's Day Open Studios. It was a fun day. I got some yarn for crafting and lots of yummy food so I won't get restless/hungry during the storm. Plus I have readings on bees to keep me occupied!
I hope you'll all be doing something fun indoors tomorrow.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Seeds Have Arrived!
The seeds I ordered for Seed Savers Exchange arrived in the mail! I won't be able to start seeds for at least another month, but I wanted to share what I'll be growing. From left to right, top to bottom:
Sweet Chocolate (Pepper)
Purple Beauty (Pepper)
King of the North (Pepper)
Stupice (Tomatoes)
Thai Basil (Herb)
Yellow Borettana (Onions)
Tall Utah (Celery)
True Red Cranberry (Beans)
Petit Gris de Rennes (Melon, Cantaloupe)
Summer Savory (Herb)
Green Culinary Sage (Herb)
Moonflower (Flower)
Historic Pansies Mix (Edible Flowers)
Titan (Sunflower)
Four O'Clock (Flower)
English Lavender (Herb)
Follow the links to read more about each plant. My favorite part about ordering from the seed catalogue is reading the cute anecdotes that go along with some of the plants. I especially enjoyed True Red Cranberry's story. Many of the varieties I chose are recommended for short seasons/northern climates, but I've never tried growing any of them before.
I've already started thinking about how I'll fit everything. I may be getting ahead of myself considering Boston just had it's snowiest 10-day period on record . . . but when the time comes to garden, I'll be ready!
Anyone else considering growing something new this spring?
Thursday, December 18, 2014
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant" - Robert Louis Stevenson
It's probably a little early, but I've started thinking about what to grow next year. The 2015 Seed Savers Catalogue came in the mail, and it is already bookmarked and dog-eared to death. This will be the year that I plan far enough ahead to order the unusual heirloom seeds in time for Spring.
Last summer I just planted a slew of things not knowing what would grow well or what we would actually need. Turned out that a lot of what was successful for us was also successful for our CSA farmers. Between our garden and the share there were things we got sick of or couldn't use up (cucumbers!).
There are certain crops, however, that I can never get enough of . . . so here are the things that we didn't see much of that Mike and I decided would be best to grow on our own.
Bell peppers
Onions
Potatoes
Beans
Mint
Rosemary
Garlic
Celery
There are a couple things I miss which we won't grow, probably for the same reasons our farmers don't; asparagus and mushrooms. The process for both of these crops is long and complicated. I've been searching for local farmers, but it seems no one's up to the challenge.
If you know of a mushroom farmer in the Northern Mass/Southern NH area, would you please hook a girl up? My hubby's got a pesky vitamin D deficiency.
Last summer I just planted a slew of things not knowing what would grow well or what we would actually need. Turned out that a lot of what was successful for us was also successful for our CSA farmers. Between our garden and the share there were things we got sick of or couldn't use up (cucumbers!).
There are certain crops, however, that I can never get enough of . . . so here are the things that we didn't see much of that Mike and I decided would be best to grow on our own.Bell peppers
Onions
Potatoes
Beans
Mint
Rosemary
Garlic
Celery
There are a couple things I miss which we won't grow, probably for the same reasons our farmers don't; asparagus and mushrooms. The process for both of these crops is long and complicated. I've been searching for local farmers, but it seems no one's up to the challenge.
If you know of a mushroom farmer in the Northern Mass/Southern NH area, would you please hook a girl up? My hubby's got a pesky vitamin D deficiency.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Lessons in Locavorism
After taking a Food Activism course during my last semester of grad school at Tufts, I was motivated to start eating more ethically. One of the biggest take-aways from the course was that there are many strains of food activism and competing causes. Sometimes there isn't an option available that hits all the checkpoints on your list (local, organic, vegan, fair labor practices, etc.) so you have to decide what to prioritize. I'm better able to identify which causes mean most to me and ways of supporting them through my food choices.
For about 9 months now my husband and I (mostly me) have been making an effort to source as much of our weekly groceries locally as possible. We've identified which farms in our area use organic, environmentally conscious, growing practices. We've even found local ethically raised animal products such as milk, eggs, fish, and beef. (I grapple with the decision to eat beef repeatedly , but I figure until I decide not to I might as well choose the lesser evil)
I always sought out local produce at farmers markets before, but we went the next step by purchasing a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. Small farms can have trouble making a profit and staying in business because most of the costs of growing are upfront, and the crop can be unpredictable due to weather. One bad season can mean a huge loss. By purchasing shares at the beginning of the season, CSA members help cover the costs of farming and in return receive an equal distribution of the crop, whatever it may be. This can be a gamble for the CSA members, but it safeguards the farm in the event of a poor crop.
We discovered our farmers by chance when we drove by one of their locations in Tewksbury, just a 5 minute drive from us (actually on the same road as our home). Farmer Dave's is comprised of a small group of farmers who provide shares all over Northeast Massachusetts, and contribute to hunger relief efforts.The initial share was 20 weeks of vegetables, enough to feed "1-2 people" per week. Their estimate was either way off or I don't eat as much as the average human. I could have fed a family of 3-4. I spent much of my summer freezing and preserving veggies. I even learned canning just because I didn't want to waste anything (more on this later). It didn't help at all that a couple weeks into the summer Mike left for the National Guard. For 10 weeks I was on my own with twice as much produce as I could eat. To anyone worried about getting ripped off paying ahead for your groceries, I'd say don't even think about it. It was a time-saver not having to go to the crowded supermarket every week, and it was much more cost effective. My grocery bill averaged out to around $20 a week.
In the fall we decided to extend our share through the end of the season. On December 10 we received our last share, and I was glad it was over only because I couldn't possibly fit another thing in my freezer. At this point, looking at what is there plus what is sitting in jars in my cabinet, I feel confident we have enough local produce to last through the winter.
Have you purchase a CSA share before, or are you considering it? Do you have any questions for me about my CSA experiences? Anyone have useful tips for dealing with vegetable overload?
For about 9 months now my husband and I (mostly me) have been making an effort to source as much of our weekly groceries locally as possible. We've identified which farms in our area use organic, environmentally conscious, growing practices. We've even found local ethically raised animal products such as milk, eggs, fish, and beef. (I grapple with the decision to eat beef repeatedly , but I figure until I decide not to I might as well choose the lesser evil)
I always sought out local produce at farmers markets before, but we went the next step by purchasing a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. Small farms can have trouble making a profit and staying in business because most of the costs of growing are upfront, and the crop can be unpredictable due to weather. One bad season can mean a huge loss. By purchasing shares at the beginning of the season, CSA members help cover the costs of farming and in return receive an equal distribution of the crop, whatever it may be. This can be a gamble for the CSA members, but it safeguards the farm in the event of a poor crop.
We discovered our farmers by chance when we drove by one of their locations in Tewksbury, just a 5 minute drive from us (actually on the same road as our home). Farmer Dave's is comprised of a small group of farmers who provide shares all over Northeast Massachusetts, and contribute to hunger relief efforts.The initial share was 20 weeks of vegetables, enough to feed "1-2 people" per week. Their estimate was either way off or I don't eat as much as the average human. I could have fed a family of 3-4. I spent much of my summer freezing and preserving veggies. I even learned canning just because I didn't want to waste anything (more on this later). It didn't help at all that a couple weeks into the summer Mike left for the National Guard. For 10 weeks I was on my own with twice as much produce as I could eat. To anyone worried about getting ripped off paying ahead for your groceries, I'd say don't even think about it. It was a time-saver not having to go to the crowded supermarket every week, and it was much more cost effective. My grocery bill averaged out to around $20 a week.
In the fall we decided to extend our share through the end of the season. On December 10 we received our last share, and I was glad it was over only because I couldn't possibly fit another thing in my freezer. At this point, looking at what is there plus what is sitting in jars in my cabinet, I feel confident we have enough local produce to last through the winter.
Have you purchase a CSA share before, or are you considering it? Do you have any questions for me about my CSA experiences? Anyone have useful tips for dealing with vegetable overload?
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