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Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

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I know you’ve heard me telling you about our dream farm we just moved to, with its ready-made flower and vegetable gardens. What a blessing for us! The former owner was a master gardener, and it’s going to take me some time to just get a grip on how to manage what has already been planted. But I’m determined to grow into a mini-master gardener as soon as possible so here is a few tips I am learning and wanted to share with all of my wonderful readers! 

One thing you also already know about me is that I like to live life from a laid-back, take-it-as-it comes point of view. That is, until I become really passionate about something I like doing—such as living a Paleo lifestyle, and proclaiming the virtues of using essential oils to maintain health instead of the chemicals most drugs shove into you.

So I know I’ll become just as passionate about gardening—but for now I want to share a few secrets I’ve found from my beginning research into gardening. Let’s just say this is a first installment on “Vegetable Gardening for Beginners.”

Let me start by saying I am aware that not everyone reading this will have ten wonderful acres of farmland on which to raise their fruits and vegetables. But hopefully you will find in this post some easy and potentially workable ways to start your garden no matter how much land you have—or don’t have.

I want to take a look at four starting points for any gardener:

  1. Where can you plant your garden?
  2. What are you going to plant in your garden?
  3. When are you going to plant your garden?
  4. When will you be able to enjoy the harvest from your garden?
  5. Where can you plant your garden?

1. Where can you plant your garden?

To get from wanting to have a garden to planting a garden you have to first of all determine where you will plant the garden. Are you stuck in an urban area where you see more concrete that dirt when you look out your window? Then you may want to bone up on Container Gardening. You can use just about any container— Smart Pots, wood, terra cotta, clay, an old sink, wheelbarrow, rubber boot, watering trough, and even cardboard boxes or bags or dirt. If you don’t even have a small balcony or patio to place your containers on, you can consider windowsill gardening from inside your home.

If you are fortunate to have some dirt—even a small area—where you can plant your vegetable garden outside, there are a few blunders you could make that would keep you from ever reaching the harvest stage. Avoid these five blunders:

  • Don’t bite off more than you can chew by planting your garden without considering the time and effort needed to maintain it. Do the necessary research to learn all you can, and then draw up a weekly checklist of maintenance tasks and stick to it.
  • Don’t ignore the light requirements for your plants. Full sun means six or more hours of direct sunlight, and some shade means that those plants don’t want to be wilting in the sun all day long.
  • Don’t forget to amend your soil. This is your most important starting task. Good soil means the right combination of silt, clay and organic material. Sandy soil requires working in a higher ratio of organic material to a depth of at least 4-6 inches. Clay soil needs to have compost material added to it.  Take a sample of your soil to your local university extension office for testing to determine what nutrients you need to add, or do it yourself using a store-bought soil sample test.
  • Don’t overdose your soil on added nutrients. Even the fertilizer made for organic gardening comes with specific instructions, which must be followed to the letter for best results. I like to use natural methods to eliminate garden pests.
  • Don’t overwater or underwater your garden. It is recommended that you stick your finger about an inch in the soil, and if it feels dry, water thoroughly. If the soil is still moist, wait a day and check again. Avoid watering above the plants, it can cause leaf spot and blight problems. Water directly over the plant’s roots.

2. What are you going to plant in your garden?

At first, when deciding what to plant in a garden with vegetables, it’s best to start small. Many gardeners get a little too excited at the beginning of the season and plant more than they need—and end up wasting food and feeling overwhelmed by their garden.

So first, take a look at how much your family will eat when you think about how to plan a vegetable garden. Keep in mind that vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash keep providing throughout the season — so you may not need many plants to serve your needs. Other vegetables, such as carrots, radishes, and corn, produce only once. You may need to plant more of these. You can find a list of 10 must-grow vegetables here. 

What you grow will be partially determined by how much space you have available. Remember that you don’t need a large space—you can have a good harvest from just a few container plants. Here are some great ideas for growing veggies in containers. 

3. When are you going to plant your garden?

Starting seeds indoors can help you get a jump-start on spring! Learn what you need and get tips for successful seed starting here. 

Knowing the right time to plant your seedlings outside in your garden depends on where you live. For example, I know that summertime gardening can be a challenge with hot, humid summers and mild winters in the South. Heat-tolerant plants will do best. You can get some ideas for when and how to garden for your area here. 

Vegetable gardening is divided into climate groups: cool season and warm season. Here are some tips to get it right for your area:

  • Plant for your zone. See this zone map. 
  • Cool season vegetables germinate best in cool soil. They are usually planted as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring.
  • Warm season crops can be started indoors, but wait until at least two weeks after the average frost date for your region to plant outdoors. Give them some shade while they adjust to outdoor temperatures.

4. When will you be able to enjoy the harvest from your garden?

During the time between planting and harvest you need to diligently care for your plants. Your veggies will grow faster and give better crops if you feed them. Choose natural products. Well-rotted animal manure from plant-eating critters (rabbits, goats, horses, sheep, chickens) is a great source. Look for prepackaged organic materials online or at your local garden center.

Build your own compost station. Adding good quality compost to your garden provides nutrients in a form plants can use, enriches soil health and enhances the soil food web, builds soil structure, improves drainage, and acts as a butter to toxins. You will find six ways to make great compost here. 

When harvest time comes, it comes big-time. For the gardener, the challenge now may be to keep ahead of a tsunami of vegetables. It’s best to take a basket out to the garden every day to see what has ripened. Picking vegetables as soon as they are ripe often encourages the plant to produce more. Most vegetables are at their peak of tenderness and flavor when they are relatively small.  Zucchini, for example, are best when they are no more than six or seven inches long. Then they get tough and woody. You will find some great harvesting tips for various vegetables and fruits here.

It’s crucial to keep track of what you planted and keep the seed packet so you know what to expect. There are many cultivars of vegetables today, bred for different characteristics such as size. You can plant a watermelon variety that ripens at eight inches across or one that’s not ready until the fruit weighs 30 pounds.  And it would be a shame to pick yardlong beans (which actually are best when they are 15 to 18 inches long) at the five to six inches that would be normal for pole beans.

When you harvest, look out for signs of trouble, such as yellowing leaves or rotting fruit, and remove the problem parts. Even if it’s something you can do little about—such as blossom end rot or cracking from too much rain—there’s no point in letting the plant put energy into fruit you won’t be able to eat.

If you do the proper research, and learn the lessons mentioned here in my blog, who knows? You may become the master gardener you always dreamed of being. Now…I’ve got to get back out to my gardening maintenance!

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

Sources

  1. https://www.dummies.com/how-to/home-garden/gardening.html
  2. https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/fruit-and-vegetable-gardening/5-common-mistakes-backyard-vegetable-garden/
  3. https://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/planning-your-first-vegetable-garden/
  4. https://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/when-to-plant-vegetables/

Log-Grown Shiitake Mushrooms

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Moving onto a beautiful, fully-functioning farm like Frank and I just did is a bit like having your first child; it needs your love and care immediately—even if it didn’t come with a Farming for Dummies instructional manual. That’s what happened when we went for a walk on our land; we found oak logs already inoculated with lots of potentially tasty Shiitake mushrooms, and not much “this is how to take care of them” from the former owners on how to take care of these log-grown shiitake mushrooms. 

So, as with many other farming chores, we began our own research into raising Shiitake mushrooms successfully. I want to share some of the basic information we have uncovered that should allow us—and you, if you would like to join us by growing your own—to harvest some delicious and healthy log-grown Shiitake mushrooms.

In this blog post I will provide some basic, practical answers to these five important questions:

  1. Why grow Shiitake mushrooms?
  2. How do I prepare my logs for growing Shiitakes?
  3. What do I do with my inoculated logs?
  4. Why do I have to shock my inoculated logs before harvest?
  5. When can I harvest my Shiitakes?

By following the information in these answers, we will be able to reap a bountiful harvest of these delicious and healthy Shiitake mushrooms.

1. Why grow Shiitake mushrooms?

Are you thinking, “Why on earth would I want to grow fungi?” If you’ve never learned to appreciate the taste of the many different kinds of edible mushrooms, that’s the place for you to start! Get beyond your knowledge that mushrooms are fungi, and get some sample tastes of how delicious and healthy these mushrooms are. Shiitake mushrooms are the third most popular mushroom in the world, and they are perphaps the healthiest of them all! Here are four unbelievable benefits to Shiitakes:

  • They are loaded with B-Complex vitamins.
  • They are believed to deliver anti-cancer properties to your body when you eat them.
  • They are low in calories, yet high in fiber content and loaded with protein.
  • They contain a multitude of minerals. Just one raw serving contains 1/20 of the magnesium and potassium you need each day, along with 10 percent of the phosphorus. But eat them dried or raw because they lose up to ¾ of their nutritional value.

2. How do I prepare my logs for growing Shiitakes?

The name shiitake mean “mushroom of the oak,” but shiitake mushrooms will also grow on sugar maple, hophornbeam, ironweed, alder, poplars, and yellow birch. But the mycelium’s (the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a network of fine white filaments) favorite food for producing a flush of lovely brown shiitake caps is oak, either white or red.

It’s not necessary to cut down an oak tree in order to get the logs you need for your mushroom growing. You can read some expert tips for acquiring logs from unique sources here (page 10). However you cannot grow shiitake on dead wood, such as old logs in your yard or woodland, or on firewood, because local fungi have contaminated these logs or the logs have dried out.

Early spring, before the trees leaf out, is the season most suggested for inoculating bolts for mushroom production. The logs should be 4-6 inches in diameter, which gives a prime amount of sapwood (the lighter colored outer layer), which is the primary part of the log where the fungi will colonize.

You will need to have a supply of shiitake mushroom spawn (mushroom mycelium) which is already impregnated in wooden dowel plugs, either in liquid form or mixed with sawdust. If you are using impregnated wooden plugs, use a 3/8-inch drill bit to drill to a depth of 1-1/4 inches before pressing in the plugs. Drill in 10-inch intervals down the length of the log. Leave 2 inches between each row, and stagger the holes from one row to the next. Then you will need to cover each plugged hole with very hot food grade wax (cheese wax or even beeswax will work) to ensure an airtight, flexible seal. CLICK HERE to order mushroom spawn. 

3. What do I do with my inoculated logs?

Now you are ready to create your laying yard—the place where the inoculated logs will incubate, and where you can give routine maintenance to them. This should be in a place of year-round shade to keep the logs from drying out due to sun and wind. A laying yard under the canopy of a forest is best. If you have just a small number of logs and no wooded area, behind the north side of a house or shed, along with a shade cloth, can provide year-round shade. Remember that you need to be relatively close to both electricity (for drilling), and water (necessary to irrigate and soak the logs).

shrooms

There are several ways you can lay out your logs. A stack of criss-crossed logs works well, as well as forming an X-pattern by stacking logs end to end, leaning each log against a strong wire. Be sure to label each log with the date of inoculation, spawn type, and force date (see below). Keep the logs off the ground, stacking them on pallets or non-inoculated logs.

Your logs need an incubation period of 8 to 18 months, or spawn run, during which the fungus colonize the wood. You will need to maintain favorable conditions so the mycelium can spread through the logs as quickly and evenly as possible. Your maintenance will include:

  • Keeping the moisture content well above 30 percent.
  • Using artificial shading if the natural canopy of trees thins out.
  • Protect the logs against competing fungi.

There are at least five common fungi competitors you may encounter: Black Bulgur or Bachelor’s Buttons, Trichoderma, Hypoxlyon, Turkey Tail, Split Gill fungus. You can find further information about fungi competitors here (pages 28-29). 

4. Why do I have to shock my inoculated logs before harvest?

Shocking your logs, or forcing bolts, is a matter of speeding up Mother Nature. Shiitake mushrooms are one of the few mushrooms that can be made to fruit on demand. Shocking involves soaking logs in cold water for an extended period of time (12-24 hours) to induce fruiting. By shocking your logs on a schedule, you can generate a steady supply of shiitake mushrooms on a predictable rotation.

There are several ways to determine if your logs are ready for shocking. One option is to observe the mycelium growth (white discoloration) on the end of the bolt. During March-April, and October-November, logs are allowed to fruit naturally with being soaked. During the warmer months, May-August, groups of logs are forced by shocking them every seven weeks. You will find complete information for these shocking procedures here (pages 30-34). We shocked our logs this week by putting all 20 of them in the creek that runs through our property. You can, also, use a child’s swimming pool or a livestock trough. 

5. When can I harvest my Shiitakes?

Shiitake mushrooms are usually ready to be harvested 7-10 days after shocking. Gills should be visible, and the outer edge of the mushroom should be slightly curled under. It’s normal to expect ¼ to ½ pound of mushrooms per log, or a higher yield with two shockings per season. Over the course of five years, each log should produce 3-4 pounds of fresh mushrooms.

When harvesting mushrooms, the goal is to efficiently remove the mushrooms without damaging the bark. Most experiences growers simply twist and pull the mushrooms off the log using their hands. Gently brush off any dirt and place each mushroom in an open basket or paper sack or other vented container. If you see thrips (tiny, slender black insects crowing in the gills) on your mushroom, they will usually dislodge by tapping lightly on the top of the cap.

For high-quality mushrooms, it’s important to get the in the refrigerator as quickly as possible, certainly within one hour of harvesting. Do not seal them in an airtight container. If you want to freeze your mushrooms, you must steam them first with a mixture of 1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1/5 teaspoons of citric acid per pint of water for 5 minutes to reduce darkening. Steam whole mushrooms for 5 minutes, pieces for 3.5 minutes. Cool promptly, drain and package, leaving ½ inch headroom.

You can also dry shiitakes, which will preserve them for up to a year. You will find great information on storing and preserving mushrooms here (pages 43-44). 

Now all that is left…

…is enjoying these wonderfully tasty and healthy shiitake mushrooms. While you are waiting to harvest your Shiitake mushrooms, start collecting some delicious recipes for ways to add them to your diet. One of the first things I want to make when we harvest our first crop of Shiitake mushrooms is some delicious Shiitake Soup!

How to Grow Shiitake Mushrooms

Sources:

  1. https://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/mushroom-information.html
  2. https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/how-to-grow-shiitake-mushrooms.html
  3. https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/growing_shiitake_mushrooms
  4. https://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/resources/ShiitakeGuide.pdf
  5. https://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for81/for81.pdf
  6. https://www.centerforagroforestry.org/pubs/mushguide.pdf

The Training of a Livestock Guardian Dog

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I know that by now you have seen the many pictures I have posted of our wonderful Livestock Guardian dog, a beautiful Great Pyrenees named Esme. She has been a great addition to our family, and by now, at  more than eighteen months of age, she has developed into a fantastic guardian dog for our goats and chickens. The care and training of a Livestock Guardian Dog is an investment that will NOT disappoint, as long as you do it the right way. 

Great Pyrenees are one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. They were bred as dogs of war and then used during peacetime as sheep guarding dogs. They are one of the least aggressive of the large guardian dogs (LGD), so often people cherish them as family dogs. They are regal, independent and aloof compared to other dogs breeds, traits necessary to spend days alone guarding flocks. This independence shows when you call them—they come, but maybe not on the first call.  

Raising a livestock guardian dog is much different than raising a pet dog who lives with you in your home. Making the right decisions in the period of training will guarantee that you livestock dog performs his duties perfectly for the rest of his life. But choosing to raise him as a pet with little or no specific guardian training will give you a dog who cannot be trusted with your livestock.

Raising puppies to become livestock guardian dogs is a 12 month to 18 month venture. These breeds of dogs are slow to mature and thus are often not trustworthy and reliable before this age. I want to take a brief look at three major areas of training for a livestock guardian dog.

  • How do I teach my livestock guardian dog to bond with my livestock?
  • How does my livestock guardian dog learn to obey fence and gate boundaries?
  • How do I socialize my livestock guardian dog to people and my surroundings?

How do I teach my livestock guardian dog to bond with my livestock?

baby esme

Livestock guardian breeds come with an inherent ability to guard that which they bond to. When you bring your pup home be prepared for him to spend the night where you expect him to spend his nights as an adult. With the stock. Not in your house.

Every day the pup will need to exercise and have interaction with his charges. You can allow free time outside the puppy pen whenever you are around to keep an eye on the action. For the first few weeks, lock the pup up when you are not there to supervise. During the small puppy-stage (which doesn’t last long in a Great Pyrenees) we used a large dog kennel and kept it in the barn with the goats. Our Esme slept in the large dog kennel at night and during the day we put her in a separate fenced section. She could smell and be out with the goats and chickens, but the fence kept her from developing any bad habits of chasing the livestock. 

NEVER throw your puppy in with your livestock and expect him to naturally take on the role of a Livestock Guardian Dog. A Great Pyrenees does NOT equal a good Livestock Guardian Dog. A well-trained and time-invested Great Pyrenees DOES! 

Over the next several months supervise the pup and discipline any unwanted action toward the animals such as chasing, chewing, and biting. And by discipline, I do not mean you EVER hit or kick a livestock guardian dog. This will leave a bad impression and could ruin the demeanor of the dog forever. You firmly say, “NO…my chickens,” and then walk away from the dog and show them no attention. If they continue to misbehave, you lock them in their pen (which they utterly hate). You can also praise the pup for good behavior. Pet and feed the pup when he is with the livestock, not when he is away from them so that he never develops the bad habit of being possessive of his food. Do not take the pup up to the house for food and attention. As the pup matures you will notice if he is bonding to your livestock or not.

If the dog is to guard, it is not good to raise it around other non-Great Pyrenees dogs where it can pick up bad habits such as chasing poultry or livestock. Great Pyrenees don’t normally chase, but if the big puppy bounces up to a chicken and the chicken runs the other way, the dog will give bounce after it. Once chasing starts, the chicken soon becomes a diversion, and that dog can no longer be trusted with poultry. Closely monitor your Great Pyrenees puppy for its first 12-24 months if you desire to raise a trustworthy poultry guard. Some dogs take 2 years to become trustworthy around chickens. We found that Esme took 15 months till we were confident in leaving her alone with the chickens but the training was SOOOOOO worth it.

Esme 

How does my livestock guardian dog learn to obey fence and gate boundaries?

A large part of success with raising puppies is being able to teach them to respect boundaries. Under no circumstances is climbing over or crawling under the fences going to work. Supervise and correct any attempts to go over or dig under fences as you see them. Use the time that you have the dog nearby and bonding to stock to set up the enclosure with hot wires, and allow the dog to learn the consequences of crossing electric fences.

Gates also need to be included in the training. LGD’s are smart dogs and will figure out that fences may be not so good but gates are okay. They need to know they do not cross gates unless invited out by you or moving with the flock. When raising puppies doing the work of teaching the pup respect for fences will go a long way to eliminating the core problem seen in LGD’s—wandering away from the flock and farm.

Adult Great Pyrenees will naturally cover a one to two mile radius. If that’s not allowable, the dog will have to be trained to a smaller area.  Fences, electric fences, and invisible fences all work good. Neutering helps to keep a male dog at home. Close supervision and correction the first two years will help yield a dog that stays within the property lines. 

When you bring your new puppy home, make sure you walk the perimeter of your property every day for a few weeks so that pup understands it’s boundaries. 

How do I socialize my livestock guardian dog to people and my surroundings?

esme and ari

The calm nature of Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs around livestock, combined with proper training, will bring out the naturally gentle and submissive breeding that makes these dogs a wondrous thing to behold around small and delicate kids and lambs. However, we need to always remember that these dogs aren’t bred for obedience. Patience is a must. We expect our LGDs to think and react when we aren’t there to protect our flock. We cannot simultaneously expect independent thinking and mindless obedience. These dogs are ALWAYS multitasking; they are bred to reject human instructions where they see a better way to behave. This is what makes them the perfect pasture companions to our chickens, sheep, goats, cattle and even horses. This is also why we have trouble with them obeying fencelines and expanding their territory. They are good at what they do, and they know it. Be patient with them and they will be everything you expect, and then some.

Some livestock guardian dog trainers believe that LGD pups should be raised with the livestock they will be guarding, isolated from humans. In reality, this is an exaggeration of recommendations made by scientists in the USDA bulletin about selecting, raising, and using LGDs. The publication’s language about minimizing the dog-to-human bond has been incorrectly interpreted to mean elimination of contact with humans. Training cannot be accomplished without human contact. We love, pet, show affection to our Esme, and in return, we have seen that nurturing blossom into an incredible human-dog bond. 

Livestock guardian dogs are working dogs and a balance of how much interaction to have with the dog must be found. Be wary of how much attention you foster on the pup. The idea is not to make him into a pet but to let him know your touch by petting him and handling him. Let him know you control the food, and the access to stock and you set the boundaries. LGD’s grow into large independent natured dogs. You will need to stay on top of the pecking order, not by using force but by quietly assuming the role because it is your place and your stock and your duty to keep everyone safe.

The health of your Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog

essss

Great Pyrenees generally stay in good health. Some more common problems may include mats in the fur (especially around the neck and ears), the double dew claws growing too long, ear infections (due to dirt and moisture in the ear), eye infections (pink eye), allergies and “hot spots”. Hot spots are caused when an area of the skin becomes inflamed. The fur will fall out, the skin will turn bright red and the dog wants to bite at it. Some ointment from the Vet and keeping the spot dry cures this problem or a mixture of lavender and melaleuca essential oils mixed into a all purpose salve (here’s my recipe I use).

Genetic problems include: underbite, entropia (small eyeballs), seizures and hip dysplaysia. Pronounced underbite shows up as wet spots under the chin and neck. Entropia is when the eyeballs are small for the socket size and the eye lashes stick inward causing irritation. This can be cured with simple surgery, but the dog should not be used for breeding. The cause of seizures is unknown, but from what we have heard, changing owners, being confined to a small area, or other highly stressful situations will tend to bring them on. Hip dysplasia is not quite as common as in other breeds because Great Pyrenees have not been over bred. The most common form of death that we hear about is being hit by a car or being stolen.

We had to have stomach surgery on our Esme due to the fact she ate two rocks that got lodged in her stomach and small intestine. Thankfully, she made a full recovery! We corrected this behavior by providing her plenty of raw marrow bones to chew on in the late puppy stage and continuing to feed her a large breed high quality puppy chow to supplement the raw feeding that we do with her when we have extra meat laying around. 

Conclusion:

Investing in a Livestock Guardian Dog was the BEST decision we made when we started our homestead. We found our puppy on Craigslist and she came from a working farm with working parents. We have invested hours of training into her and I couldn’t imagine our farm without her. The ultimate satisfaction of this investment comes when I look out the window and I see her laying down near where the goats are grazing and our free-range chickens are pecking happily in the dirt beside her. 

The Training of a Livestock Guardian Dog

Sources:

  1. https://www.ranching-with-sheep.com/raising-puppies.html
  2. https://www.lgd.org/civilizedpyr2.htm
  3. https://hoeggerfarmyard.com/early-training-of-livestock-guardian-dogs/
  4. https://www.milkandhoneyfarm.com/dogs/training.html

A Guide to Beginner Beekeeping

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How to Be a Honey Bee Guardian

As you know by now, Frank and I and our two little budding farmers just moved into our dream farm! We are just beginning to get acquainted with all the things waiting for us—comfrey, potatoes, asparagus, black raspberries, blueberries, and tons of fresh herbs—just to mention a few. But one of the farm perks we are most excited about are our five established honeybee hives. We have already tasted the sweet honey, and we know many of the flowers and vegetables in the gardens are so succulent and good because our honey bees have been busy pollinating them all spring. We are so excited to jump into this world of beginner beekeeping and hope to learn more in the months and years ahead. 

In this blog post I want to introduce you to the wonderful world of beekeeping. We are newbies at it, but our former owners have given us wonderful instructions for the care of honeybees, and we are doing our research to learn even more. Now you get to benefit from what we know, which I am sure will increase more and more as we begin the joyful task of being honey bee guardians. Let’s take a look at:

  1. Why are so many honey bee colonies disappearing?
  2. How do honey bees provide benefits to our farms and homes?
  3. What is life like in the bee colony?
  4. What makes a good beehive home?
  5. What do beekeepers need to have?
  6. What can you do to help protect America’s honeybees?

1. Why are so many honey bee colonies disappearing?

Honey bees have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years. A bee is the only creature besides us who manufactures food for humans. Every third bite of food that you eat has been pollinated by a bee. Natural diseases can cause populations of bees to die off, but most bee colonies were able to bounce back from adversity—until the winter/spring of 2006/2007. In that season, the die-off of domesticated bees was so bad bee researchers coined a new phrase: Colony Collapse Disorder. The normal loss of colonies was about 10 percent, but that year it was over 30 percent. Some beekeepers lost more than 80 percent of their bees.

Since then, in the US bees have been dying off at alarming rates, and beekeepers are continuing to report staggering annual losses. WHY? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE BEES?

A new class of systemic, neurotoxic pesticides—neonicotinoids–was introduced in the 1990s, and quickly became in use pervasively, being used to treat food crop seeds, as well as in lawn care and flea products. These products persist for years in the soil, and permeate the plants to which they are applied, causing pollen and nectar gluttation droplets, which are deadly toxins to bees. Thousands of beehives have been killed off by colony collapse, while government regulators in America steadfastly fail to take action and create a policy that will be meaningful for bees and beekeepers.  

2. How do honey bees provide benefits to our farms and homes?

There are a lot of good reasons to have a few hives of honey bees around.  For garden and orchard crops, honey bees provide the necessary pollination so there’s something to harvest at the end of the season.  For a source of a natural sweetener—honey—there’s no rival, and if the other natural products of the hive—pollen or propolis—appeal to you, then a few hives are certainly useful.  Plus, there’s the added benefit of having all the light you want from fragrant and clean-burning beeswax candles.  Sweetness and light in the same package.

Remember that bees pollinate every third bite of food that you eat. Some of the specific plants and vegetables that require bee pollination include:

  • Apples
  • Almonds
  • Watermelon
  • Pumpkin
  • Squash
  • Cucumbers
  • Avocados
  • Mangos
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Blackberries
  • Cranberries

Plants and food that benefit from bees include:

  • Tomatoes
  • Strawberries
  • Peppers
  • Eggplants
  • Soybeans
  • Lima beans (and other dry beans)
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Sesame seeds

3. What is life like in the bee colony?

The Bee Colony

Whether hidden in a hollow tree or kept in a beekeeper’s wooden hive, every colony of honeybees functions in the same way. A bee colony is made up of three types of bees: workers, drones, and a queen.

Worker Bees

Most of the bees in a hive are workers, sterile females that can number in the tens of thousands. Young worker bees are called house bees. They build and maintain the hive, feed the young, make honey and wax, and tend to the queen. Older workers fly from the hive to gather nectar and pollen for food and for use in making honey and wax.

As a worker bee buzzes from flower to flower, she gathers nectar and stores it in a specialized stomach called a honey sac. She also picks up pollen in her fine hairs and combs it into pollen baskets in her back legs. Heavily laden, she finds the shortest path home, making a “bee line” for the hive.

Interesting enough, female worker bees are the only honey bee that can sting you. 

Drones

There are hundreds of drones in a colony. They are males that develop from unfertilized eggs, and their only job is to mate with the queen. During the mating ritual, the queen flies high into the air, nearly 30 feet above the hive. Up to ten or more drones mate with the queen and then die. The queen returns with enough fertilization to lay eggs for years to come.

The Queen Bee

There is only one queen in a hive, and she can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day and may lay a million eggs in her lifetime. When a new queen is born, the old queen leaves the hive with about half of her workers to form a new colony.

When flowers are in bloom, bees work nonstop from sunrise to sunset, gathering pollen and nectar and pollinating flowers in the process. To be as busy as a bee is to be busy indeed.

4. What makes a good beehive home?

If you are thinking of starting beekeeping, the first thing you need to do is to decide where the bees are going to live. Where will the hives sit? If you live in tropical, or nearly so, locations, a bit of afternoon shade can be advantageous for both you and the bees.  But if you are further north, no shade at all is the best place to be.  Having the colony facing south or south east is ideal.

Getting started, like many new ventures, has a learning curve to be dealt with.  The most important part of that curve is assuming responsibility for the well being of a living being under your care… not unlike family pets, chickens, cattle or other friendly or productive animals.  A beehive may appear as only a box full of bugs, but a honey bee colony has a personality and lifestyle all its own, and as its keeper you must learn its ways and wiles so you do the best you can to protect it from the dangers of the bee world.  

Plan on how your bees will sit where you want them to sit.  Up off the ground is good, to keep the bottom off damp ground and to keep skunks, toads, ants and other nasties at bay.  Too, a beehive that sits up 18 inches or so off the ground (the recommended height) is easier to work because you won’t be putting heavy boxes full of honey all the way down and having to lift them all the way back up when you’re done.

5. What do beekeepers need to have?

Here are some very general recommendations.  A honey bee colony requires two deep brood boxes for the bees to live in, store some honey and pollen in, and raise their young.  A deep brood box (also called a hive-body) is one that holds eight or ten frames of comb and are 9-5/8” tall (or so… exact standards in beekeeping equipment are a bit fuzzy).  This can weigh as much as 90 pounds or so when full of bees, honey and pollen.  

Your beehive also needs additional boxes, called honey-supers (super = above), that are stacked above the brood boxes for the bees to store honey in.  These honey-supers can be the same size as a hive-body or, to confuse things, there are two sizes of smaller boxes—one is called a shallow honey-super because it is only 5 -11/16” tall.  This will weigh about 30 pounds or so when full of honey.  The other is a medium honey-super because it is 6-5/8” tall, and weighs about 50 or so pounds when full.  Which box to use will depend to some degree on your ability to heft.

A bee hive needs a floor, called a bottom board, that has a large, screened area so debris falls completely out of the boxes rather than accumulate inside.  The bee hive should also have an inner cover that sits directly on top of the top box (think of this like the ceiling in your house), and an outer cover that goes over the inner cover (much like the outside roof).  Together, these two covers keep the internal environment somewhat controlled and the elements out. 

You’ll need feeders... yes, you sometimes need to feed your bees. So what do bees eat?  Sugar syrup… a mix of half sugar and half water, fed in a container that the bees can get to inside, or sometimes outside the hive.  There are a variety of feeder styles available and each has advantages and disadvantages.  Find them in the catalogs you get from the advertisers in the journals you read, on the web (see references at the end) or from local suppliers you find out about at club meetings.  And don’t hesitate to ask other beekeepers what they use… and why they use what they do.

You will also need beekeeping attire—protective gear to wear when working bees.  A good veil to keep bees out of your hair, and a light-colored, light weight protective suit to keep your clothes clean when in the hives is a good start.  And beekeeping gloves.  Having bees walk on your hands the first few times in a hive can be very distracting, so use beekeeping gloves until you are comfortable with this aspect of the craft.

Along with the attire you get, you must have a smoker.  When you puff a little bit of smoke across the top of an open colony the bees inside retreat down to rapidly consume honey and they stay out of your way as you do your work.  Any communication between them inside is disrupted because the smoke masks all the chemical signals going on and they can’t talk…  the confusion goes on for several minutes while you work.  Then, when it begins to clear, they stop eating honey and start again to the top, a bit more smoke gives you a few more minutes to work undisturbed.  You have maybe 15 minutes though before all this smoke simply overloads the system and they quit eating and start checking out the problem.  That’s when it’s time to move to the next colony. 

6. What can you do to help protect America’s honeybees?

Gardeners who plant the right flowers and provide welcoming habitats can do their part in restoring the waning bee population.  We can nurture bees that will travel, pollinating fruit, vegetable and flowers around us, helping commercial growers to regain bees.  “Every single gardener can make a difference, even if you just plant one more container of flowers than you have previously, you can help!”, says the National Garden Bureau.

Small Steps

It doesn’t take much effort to help bees increase their population.  Here’s how to make a difference:

  • Plant flowers with open petals and upright stamens for easy access by our pollen-loving friends. Cosmos, zinnias and purple coneflowers are good examples.
  • Choose flowers that are heavy pollen producers like salvia, penstemon and goldenrod.  And pick colors that attract bees like blue salvia, yellow nasturtium, marigolds and sunflowers.
  • Herbs, oregano, mints, sage, lemon balm, rosemary, lavenders, thyme, cilantro and basil in particular, provide food for bees as well as humans.  So add them to your garden.   It’s simple to keep a potted herb garden on your back porch, close to the kitchen for cooking.  Bees will quickly discover it.  Pots keep invasives like mint in bounds, and they can be brought indoors for the winter to use.
  • Make sure your garden blooms from very early spring (crocus and early daffodils) to late fall asters to provide pollen as long as possible.
  • Limit or eliminate pesticides, which kill bees, and use compost instead of synthetic fertilizers that leave behind toxic chemicals.
Bees at hive entrance.
Bees at hive entrance.

Sources:

  1. https://earthjustice.org/features/the-case-of-the-vanishing-honey-bee?gclid=CjwKEAjwtYSsBRCDx6rM1v_uqmsSJAAZgf2qKVGPIYrPW3Lu2j8kEgYBvqMMeGsDSE-W9c9w0OM0IhoCYXzw_wcB#
  2. https://www.panna.org/issues/publication/bee-change-tips-tools-protecting-honey-bees
  3. https://www.almanac.com/content/honeybees-garden-busy-can-bee
  4. https://homestead.org/KimFlottum/BeginningBeekeeping/Bees.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjwkv-rBRDwoMLav-2l9KIBEiQAUTkDU6oTNtv5_aKKAFY9n0xWQsiKhNdyrI1CEp_twv9SzMIaAqOG8P8HAQ
  5. https://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening-blog/bee-buzz-blue-berries

 

The Paleo Mama Family is Hitting the Road!

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The last 4 years of farming and homesteading have been the best years of our life as a growing family. We have learned so much about God’s gorgeous creation; how to milk cows and goats, how to butcher our own animals, how to sheer sheep, how to harvest honey, and we’ve harvested the bounty of our hard work.

But we do believe there is a new adventure in our future. My husband and I know, all too well, how short, delicate and precious life is. We’ve loved and lost quite a few family members and friends over the 10 years that we have been married.

Our oldest child turns 9 this next year and in January we realized how she is already half way through her childhood with us. It brought me tears to think that my investment into her life at the most crucial moments, is almost halfway over. 

Since January we have felt a tugging on our heart. We didn’t know what it was at first, but the next step has become clear to us.

I knew God wanted me to go back to homeschooling for so many reasons, but mostly because I want to be with my kids and I miss them when they are away from me! I, also, knew I needed more freedom in our schedule and going back to homeschooling made sense for me. So, after months of praying about it, weighing pros and cons, I decided to homeschool again. However, this time I promised to be more flexible in our schedules and not follow a stringent curriculum. In fact, this time, we won’t be using any curriculum. More on that in a bit! 

This weekend was another big leap of faith. I, purposely, am over simplifying it because it was hard. I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want anyone else’s opinions to jar mine. My husband and I just did what we were supposed to do. We sold most of our livestock and animals, including our precious Livestock Guardian dogs, Esme and Everest, some of our pigs, half of our chickens, all our ducks, most of our 17 turkeys, and most of our rabbits. We started the purging process so we can take the big jump into our next dream. 

I felt peace letting them go, knowing they did what they were meant to do: they taught me patience. They helped shape my children into the farm kids that they are: independent, confident, and sustainable little human beings. 

We are 100% confident of our next step. We don’t see the one after that step but we know that we want to dedicate one whole year (or more) to traveling and seeing America and the world!

We are buying an RV and starting our tour of America in Dec/Jan!!!! We want to show our children the world, world-school them (letting the world be our curriculum), and grow our doTERRA team. We have some International trips in mind, as well, and we feel what better time than the beautiful gift of the present. 

We love our animals and they have become our family so this process has been difficult but the assurance of knowing you are in Gods plan makes things a little more easy. So we trust and we move on and we believe and we hope for a bright and beautiful year together as a full-time family. 

Our farm isn’t going anywhere right now…just the animals. They deserve loving homes that will care and appreciate them. Plus we need a home base for when the road gets rough!

What better time to go for the next dream then right now?! We don’t believe in just being complacent or satisfied with our life. We want complete joy and adventure and have the chance to create a life we absolutely love!

So….the adventure awaits and we move forward. The next 6 months will be a time of purging, preparing, planning and then going! We are giddy excited for this next season. We will always be farmers, but now we get to plant seeds of hope, adventure, and education in our children and in the thousands of people in our doTERRA tribe.

Peace, love and WANDERLUST!

Jackie

Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

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Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

Ylang Ylang essential oil is derived from the star-shaped flowers of the tropical Ylang Ylang tree and is used extensively in making perfumes and in aromatherapy. Similar to Jasmine, Ylang Ylang is considered an aphrodisiac and has been used for centuries in religious and wedding ceremonies. The essential oil of ylang-ylang is extracted by steam distillation of fresh flowers of the ylang-ylang tree.

The primary chemical components of Ylang Ylang essential oil are: germacrene, caryophyllene, linalool, and sesquiterpenes.  Along with its widespread use in perfumes and aromatherapy treatments due to its very pleasing and delicate fragrance, ylang-ylang essential oil is also used for a variety of purposes.

What are the benefits of Ylang Ylang Essential Oil?

Some of the primary benefits of Ylang Ylang essential oil are:

  • It reduces sad and anxious feelings and relaxes both the body and soul, thereby driving away tension, sadness, and tension. It also has an uplifting effect on mood and induces feelings of joy and hope.
  • It cleanses the skin, protecting it from environmental threats and supporting the immune system. 
  • Helps to balance hormones. 
  • It can be used effectively to treat mild acne.

What are Ylang Ylang’s cautions?

Some cases of sensitivity, nausea and headache have been observed when taken in excessive amounts. Otherwise, when taken in recommended doses, it is non-toxic and is not reported to cause any irritation.

Top Uses for Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

  1. Ylang Ylang can be used as a healthy skin toner. The antioxidants in it will help to protect your skin from the onset of the signs of wrinkles. Mix a cup of chamomile tea with 5 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil, allow it to cool, and use it as you would any other skin toner.
  2. Using Ylang Ylang essential oil as a hair treatment will promote the growth and health of your hair.  You can either add 2-3 drops of the oil to your regular shampoo, or you can massage a mixture with 2-3 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil with about a tablespoon of coconut oil into your hair and scalp, leave it in for 20 minutes and then, wash out with warm water and a mild shampoo.
  3. It can be used to make a homemade exfoliating body scrub. Add 5-6 drops of Ylang Ylang, and 5-6 drops of Clary Sage oils to a mixture of ¼ cup sea salt and 2 tablespoons or raw honey. Mix well with a spatula, and store in a glass jar. Use this as a part of your bathing routine.
  4. It can have a very calming effect when you are tense, stressed or faced with negative circumstances. Mix 2-3 drops in a carrier oil and massage into the shoulders or back, and apply to the feet. Add 3-4 drops to your diffuser and diffuse it aromatically to promote peace.
  5. It can be used to calm down children and promotes digestive support in a kids. Dilute 1 drop in a teaspoon of coconut oil and massage into the baby’s feet. You can also diffuse 2-3 drops in the baby’s room throughout the day and night.
  6. It can help your body balance hormones. Make a rollerball by filling it ¾ full with fractionated coconut oil and then adding 3-4 drops of Ylang Ylang. Use this to apply topically to your lower abdomen every day.
  7. It is a great oil to use to encourage relaxation even when you are working and or busy. Add 3-4 drops to your diffuse and diffuse throughout the room. You can also apply a drop before bed or add a drop to your shirt collar to promote relaxation.
  8. It is very effective at relieving tension. Massage a single drop into the muscle area of tension; this will give you both the topical and aromatic benefits of Ylang Ylang essential oil.

Where to  purchase Ylang Ylang essential oil

Home-made Ylang Ylang Essential Oil Recipe

Essential oils are a wonderful gift and so beneficial to all of us—including our kids. I regularly use essential oils with my children, and they love them. Their nightly ritual includes a relaxing bath, followed by rubbing essential oils on their feet before bed. Ylang, Ylang is one of the gentler essential oils that are perfect for using with your children. Read my blog on Kids and Essential Oils for general guidelines for use and information on what oils blend well for specific purposes.

Ylang Ylang and Emotions

Ylang Ylang is the oil of the inner child. It is a powerful remedy for the heart. It encourages play and restores a childlike nature and innocence. Ylang Ylang is also a powerful remedy for releasing emotional trauma from the past. It allows emotional healing to flow naturally, nurturing the heart through the process. (source) 

Companion Oils: Tangerine, Wild Orange, Geranium, Rose

So tell me?! How do you like to use Ylang Ylang essential oil?

Ylang Ylang Essential Oil