Happy Spring from the Good Cheer Gleaners!
Who are the Mason Bees?
Mason bees are gentle, native bees who typically nest in natural cavities found in old wood or hollow stems. They use mud to seal their nests (the masonry part of being a mason bee), and will happily live in houses built for them by gardeners and orchardists who want to bring these powerful pollinators into their yards.Solitary and hard-working, the males don’t have stingers, and the females will generally only sting if stepped on or squeezed, making them less dangerous to anyone with bee venom allergies. They’re more efficient pollinators than honey bees, due to the way they carry pollen on their bellies rather than rolled into balls carried on their back legs.Best of all, they’re known for visiting fruit trees - fantastic for Whidbey Island with its abundance of apple, pear, and plum trees!Why are they so important? The rapid decline in bee populations worldwide threatens our food supply as well as the health of the ecosystem. Encouraging and aiding wild and native bees helps ensure that we’ll have food to eat...and flowers to enjoy!Let them eat flowers!Well...not really. But mason bees do need flowers - they provide food, as well as pollen and nectar that the female stores alongside her eggs for baby bee’s first meal when it hatches. You can plant a variety of mason bees’ favorite flowers near their nests so they have easy access to food all season long. Some of the best plants for pollinators include: Lupine, Meadowfoam, Clarkia, Borage, Milkweed, Aster, and Oregon Grape. You can find seeds, including pollinator mixes, locally (check out Deep Harvest’s seed catalog or find their seeds at Bayview Nursery) or order here from Northwest Meadowscapes, located here on Whidbey Island.Proximity is key - the bees shouldn’t have to travel miles from their home to find flowers, so if you’re adding a bee house to the garden or orchard place it close by flowers and trees.
How to make a mason bee hotel, and where to rent bees for the seasonIf you want to attract and keep mason bees, you can make or buy a mason bee house. Making your own isn’t too tricky, but keep in mind that just drilling holes in a block of wood will only work for one or two seasons, as the nests will eventually get dirty or mildewed and have to be replaced or cleaned. Bee cocoons are also a tasty treat for birds and predatory insects, so they’ll need to be protected over the winter. The Xerces society has great information on caring for native bees here.Or, you can skip arts and crafts class and order a bee house here.Bayview Farm & Garden also carries mason bee houses, and bees - but they’re running low as it’s near the end of bee planting time (ah, the joys of learning... note to self: do this a little earlier next year). You can still order from Crown Bees here, as mason bees fly through May. They ship bees & bee houses directly to you. And it’s never too late to plan for next year - this is a perfect time to plant some flowers for bees that already live in your neighborhood, or decide where to build a bee condo. There are also summer flying leafcutter bees. Check out mason and leafcutter bee rentals and kits here.Island beekeeping resourcesWhidbey Island has its own beekeeping association - the Whidbees, which meets the first Wednesday of the month at the Freeland Library, 7:00 pm. Check them out of Facebook here
Farmer’s Market Gleaning starts April 27th!We’re super excited for the start of market season - fresh veggies and all the usual music, fun, and food at the local markets! Every Saturday, the gleaners head over to Bayview at the close of the market to pick up donations from our wonderful farm partners. We’d love to have you join us! The first market Saturday we’ll meet at the Good Cheer kitchen / garden to do an orientation and then head over to the market. You can sign up through the Good Cheer website under Events, or email the Gleaning Coordinator at gleefulgleaners@goodcheer.org for more information.
Grow a row for the food bankThe Island County Public Health department is promoting Grow a Row this year, to encourage local gardeners to grow extra produce and donate it to local food banks. Every summer, Good Cheer is fortunate enough to receive donations of fresh produce from generous South Whidbey gardeners, and we love to see what people are growing at home!Knowing what people are growing helps our Garden Manager (goodcheergarden@gmail.com) plan for planting in the Good Cheer garden, and gives our Produce Manager (goodcheerfreshfoods@gmail.com) an idea of what to expect and when. If you’re planning to plant an extra row, or just think that you might have some extra this season, Stephanie and Lissa would really appreciate hearing from you!
As always, you can sign up to join the gleaners here, donate a tree here, and check out our page on the Good cheer websiteStay tuned for next month - we’ll share some information about feeding and fertilizing your fruit trees, and how to avoid some of the common fruit tree pests.