Homemade Hummingbird Food

Back on The Earthly Gardener in April 2007, I posted the recipe that Husband came up with for hummingbird food.  Over the years, our recipe hasn't changed.  With the coming of the birds (although not so many for us this year for some reason), I thought I'd bump up the recipe and post it here again.

Boil a quart of water and mix in one cup sugar, stir until dissolved. Let cool until you can put your finger in it. Pour this into feeders, hang the feeders in a protected spot away from pets, and stand back! Our feeders each hold one quart, but we only fill them halfway each time. We change them twice a week or refill sooner if needed, and it’s important to keep mold and other gunk like that from growing in the sugar water. Every week or so in the high hummer summer season, we clean the feeders using just a few drops of vinegar in a lot of water, scrubbing with a brush if necessary. Then rinse very well.

We don’t use red dye in our food; it’s not necessary, and I’d hate to harm the birds. Most feeders either have red tips on the ends of the tubes, or red disks at the bottom, and these are sufficient to attract the birds.

Growing lots of red flowers and vines and things that have red blooms will also help you attract hummingbirds. And then there’s the blooming rosemary bush, which they love!

Until next time, go attract some hummers to your garden!

Happy trails!

bobbi c.