Pollination of crops is achieved variously by insects, birds, and wind, according to plant species. Some plants can be helped by hand-pollination, but this is a very time-consuming process and works poorly on many plant varieties. The most simple and effective way to improve overall pollination rates (and therefore, yield) for a multi-crop system such as is encouraged in permaculture design and self-supporting gardens is to introduce and / or augment the population of bees.
Bee populations have been in general decline in recent years, and this is cause for alarm. It's not yet clear what factor or group of factors is mostly responsible for the precipitous drop in bee numbers, but it is clear that the self-supporting food producer and the casual gardener alike must do what they can to draw bees to their crops, and encourage them to stay around and reproduce.
Planting flowers favored by local bee species is part of the solution; check with your local department of agriculture to find out about native bee species and the flowers they prefer. The other best tactic for improving pollination with bees is to provide housing for them. The keeping of honey bees is a valuable and rewarding endeavor, but requires a significant time and effort commitment, along with the hassle of potential stings. In areas that are naturally favorable to solitary (nonsocial) wood-boring bees such as the 'orchard mason bee,' however, there is an easy, maintenance-free, and stingless solution.
Wood "Mason" bees have no sting and are solitary, which means that they don't build hives or make honey. Instead, they live in holes that they chew in wood. They are effective pollinators, require virtually no upkeep, and can't hurt humans. We can attract and retain these helpful and stingless bees by constructing a simple 'bee block,' which is a piece of wood with holes already started for the bees, and mounting it in an appropriate spot in our cultivation area. Arizona, Carolina, and many other states naturally host these bees, along with a great deal of places outside the United States. Contact your local department of agriculture to see if these bees inhabit your area.
The 'bee block' is a simple construction. All we need to build one is some untreated wood of at least 50 millimeter depth (~2 inches) at at least 100 millimeters (~4 inches) in height; width can be anything 50 mm or over. It is essential that the wood be untreated, or bees will avoid it. Wider (and taller) bee blocks will attract and house more bees. Tools are fasteners and a drill with 4mm and 6mm bits.
Assembly your bee block by fastening together the wood to be used. If you have a solid wood block that is as wide as you want the bee-block to be when finished, you can skip the fastening step. Strong carpenters' staples or brackets and nails can be used; do not use glue.
When the desired width has been attained, drill a series of holes about halfway through the block, spaced in a grid pattern about 19 millimeters (3/4 of an inch) apart. To improve probability that more than one bee species will be attracted to your block, drill 1/2 to 3/4 of the block with 4mm holes and the remaining space with 6mm holes.
After the blocks are fastened and the holes drilled, attach a sloping roof to the block in order to partially shade the entrance of the holes from the sun and sluice rainwater off the top of the block.
Most bees prefer a bee block that is hung in a sunny area, so hang yours in a spot that is in the sun most of the day. It's not known at present whether this is because they prefer sunny conditions outside their home or because they can more easily find block in well-lit areas. If you want to hedge your bee bet, you can make another block and place it in a shadier place.
After the block is hung, you need do nothing but wait for the bees to arrive. Again, planting flowers favored by your local bees will help in the initial attraction. Check the block once in a while to assess the occupancy rate. A hole covered or partially covered by the typical mixture of wood pulp and bee saliva is the sign of occupancy.
Common occupancy rates can range as high as eight bees per bee-block hole, giving us as many as 800 active bees from a 100-hole bee block.
This simple addition to your growing environment can bring considerable improvement in crop yield through improved pollination, with very little effort or maintenance. Attracting these bees will benefit not only your crops, but the health of your entire neighborhood ecosystem. After the bee population is established, spend a little time observing their flight patterns and use this knowledge to adjust next crop placement to achieve the desired effect (for example, improving pollination of a given crop by planting along the ‘bee line’ or controlling unwanted cross-pollination by placing plants of the same family but different species away from the same bee line).
Enjoy your bees and the benefits they bring, tell your buddies about them, and promote self-reliance through food raising for all!
Note on bees and cold climates :
Bees can thrive in nearly any climate. For example, the long summer and ample supply of fireweed has produced a healthy honeybee industry in Alaska since the Russians brought bees over in the early 1900s. More common than wood bees in cold climates are bumble, 'sweat,' and 'digger' bees, all of which nest in the ground. The cold-climate beekeeper should encourage soil-burrowing bees by identifying local species and planting the appropriate flower species (for example, bumblebees are particularly attracted to the lupine flower).
Depending on the species, bees in cold climates may migrate, may flat-out die (except for their queen, if social) or may 'winter.' Helping bees with wintering is done through a few simple steps :
1) Wrapping the hive or block : You'll want to give the bees some extra insulation, such as wax-impregnated cardboard, Styrofoam, or the Reflectix (mylar/foam sandwiched material) to decrease their need for food by means of keeping them warm. Bees literally shiver to stay warm in winter, so it's in the keeper's interest to promote their warmth.
2) Reduce the number of entrances to the hive if applicable. This applies primarily to honeybees, but if you have a block with unoccupied holes, cover them during winter. This step limits predation and 'robbing,' and eases bee comfort.
3) Open an entrance at the top of the hive, if applicable. This is to facilitate the escape of water vapor from the hive and convenience for bees to take flights as needed, for example to remove dead bees. This is not a rmajor concern for solitary wood 'mason' bees, but some advocate drilling additional holes in your bee-block toward the top (and cover with a slightly raised roof) to allow ventilation.
4) Be prepared for heavy bee attrition. Colony / hive bees lose 60% or more of their population in winter no matter what you do. Try not to choke up as you pick their dead bee bodies out of the snow. Also be aware that dead hive bees can pile up in commercial drawer-style hive, in the bottom drawer, blocking the bottom entrances. Empty these dead bees to prevent a hazard. This factor points up that it is usually wiser to encourage native bee species than attempt to cultivate imported bees.
Addendum regarding wasps :
Beware of wasps, several wood-boring species of which exist and can be a general nuisance with painful stings. Some wasps (those of the Sapygid, Mutillid and Tiphiid families, and some Sphecid wasps known as “Bee-Wolves”) prey on bees or are bee parasites. Sometimes a wasp will take occupancy inside a bee-block. Wasps are pollinators just like bees are, but their lack of body fuzz makes them much less efficient than bees. Most wasps will not attack humans unless disturbed, but some can be aggressive.
If you see a wasp entering your bee-block, you can choose to let it be or you can try to get rid of it. If you want to make it gone, you can either attempt to evict it yourself, or call a professional pest control operator. Note that we do not recommend or advise that you attempt to evict a wasp or wasps yourself, as they can be aggressive. However, those that choose to do so have had some success with the following method :
-Wait until nightfall and hold a flashlight on one hand for illumination. Wasps are less active at night.
-Fill a syringe or small spray bottle with a solution of one part isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to nine parts water (1:9 solution)
-Wearing full protection (long sleeves and trousers, gloves, hat and face shield), approach the bee-block and positively identify the hole or holes occupied by the invading wasp(s).
-Taking great care not to get any solution on neighboring holes occupied by good bees, spray the alcohol solution directly on, or if possible, in the wasp hole(s). This will kill the wasp(s) after a few minutes.
-Carefully remove the dead wasp or wasps if practical, and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Do not excessively jostle the bee-block.
-Fill the contaminated hole with a screw slightly larger than the diameter of the hole and be sure that it is securely fastened. This is to prevent any bees from trying to use that hole and being poisoned by any remaining residue.
Many permaculturists, who generally try to avoid struggling with nature, will choose to live with the invading wasps as long as they don’t become overly aggressive or eliminate many bees. (23,795)
Wasps: the biological blueprint for John McCain.
Dispute my claim? Reason me this, a wasp is a maverick of bee habitude is it not?
A wasp is most assuredly innately annoying. Not so much a sting as it is a wordless 'fuck-you'.
It could always be worse though, we could be tarantulas as opposed to hairless apes, then indeed would our efforts be for naught.
Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:06 am Wasps: the biological blueprint for John McCain.
Dispute my claim? Reason me this, a wasp is a maverick of bee habitude is it not?
A wasp is most assuredly innately annoying. Not so much a sting as it is a wordless 'fuck-you'.
It could always be worse though, we could be tarantulas as opposed to hairless apes, then indeed would our efforts be for naught.
Share
