Watch this informational, inspiring video about honeybees with Dr. Lynn Royce and learn a bit about colony collapse disorder, an issue I've written about here since 2007. From the amazing Cooking Up a Story website--and please overlook the commercial for the processed cereal product. :-)
http://cookingupastory.com/
Dig it!
bobbi c.
Showing posts with label Colony Collapse Disorder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colony Collapse Disorder. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Disappearing bees
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
February 28, 2007
Something a little more serious this morning….In more than 24 states across the country, bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Ann Johansson of the New York Times and other journalists across the country, this is not only threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, but is also a threat to many of our important crops, such as the almond industry in CA. Not to mention our entire food supply!
Researchers aren’t sure where the bees are going. Some hives have died off, some have simply vanished.
For sure, widespread pesticide spraying of agricultural crops can kill bees, as can small doses of spraying, such as a homeowner might do in their gardens or yards. That’s just another reason that organic gardening is friendly to the environment.
Our entire food supply relies on pollination by bees and other such insects. There are many alternatives to synthetic pesticides on the market today. Next time you’re at your local garden center, look for the natural or organic section…see what’s there, and follow the directions on the label.
dig it!
bobbi c.
February 28, 2007
Something a little more serious this morning….In more than 24 states across the country, bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Ann Johansson of the New York Times and other journalists across the country, this is not only threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, but is also a threat to many of our important crops, such as the almond industry in CA. Not to mention our entire food supply!
Researchers aren’t sure where the bees are going. Some hives have died off, some have simply vanished.
For sure, widespread pesticide spraying of agricultural crops can kill bees, as can small doses of spraying, such as a homeowner might do in their gardens or yards. That’s just another reason that organic gardening is friendly to the environment.
Our entire food supply relies on pollination by bees and other such insects. There are many alternatives to synthetic pesticides on the market today. Next time you’re at your local garden center, look for the natural or organic section…see what’s there, and follow the directions on the label.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Every third bite...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 22, 2007
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
Just ran across this quote about the disappearing bees in the My Dog’s Nose blog. Experts have a name for the disappearing bee thing now….Colony Collapse Disorder. The blog author has an opinion that the bees don’t like the genetically modified plants out there. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that’s not a correct assumption.
“Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. Every three bites….think about that for a minute.
Many people have written to me, saying that they’d keep bees if they weren’t allergic to them. This can be a problem for many folks. As far as I know, I’m not allergic to bee stings (although I am allergic to everything else in the world), and I will truthfully say that I work amongst them everyday in the garden and have never been stung. Honeybees are usually docile creatures, unless you happen to disturb their nest. One thing to remember, never swat at a bee!
This story is “burnin’ up the wires” so to speak, and it should. It’s an important issue for all of us.
We’re getting lots of nice, soft spring rains. We need it badly, although it’s too wet in the garden to plant much. I get around that by digging a hole, filling it with slightly moist potting soil, then smoothing that over. That way, the roots aren’t over-saturated. That’s one advantage of growing in raised beds; they drain fairly fast and are a bit drier than the surrounding soil.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
March 22, 2007
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
Just ran across this quote about the disappearing bees in the My Dog’s Nose blog. Experts have a name for the disappearing bee thing now….Colony Collapse Disorder. The blog author has an opinion that the bees don’t like the genetically modified plants out there. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that’s not a correct assumption.
“Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. Every three bites….think about that for a minute.
Many people have written to me, saying that they’d keep bees if they weren’t allergic to them. This can be a problem for many folks. As far as I know, I’m not allergic to bee stings (although I am allergic to everything else in the world), and I will truthfully say that I work amongst them everyday in the garden and have never been stung. Honeybees are usually docile creatures, unless you happen to disturb their nest. One thing to remember, never swat at a bee!
This story is “burnin’ up the wires” so to speak, and it should. It’s an important issue for all of us.
We’re getting lots of nice, soft spring rains. We need it badly, although it’s too wet in the garden to plant much. I get around that by digging a hole, filling it with slightly moist potting soil, then smoothing that over. That way, the roots aren’t over-saturated. That’s one advantage of growing in raised beds; they drain fairly fast and are a bit drier than the surrounding soil.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Let us eat lettuce!
April 18, 2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Just got this link to a great article from Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee’s Garden Seeds. It’s all about lettuce…how to plant, different varieties, etc. Lettuce can be planted in pots, too.
More on the disappearing bees…..Scientists in Germany have a theory that the bee problem is being caused by mobile phones! They think that the radiation from handsets is disrupting the bee’s navigation systems. I am NOT making this up! Here’s a LINK to a story in the Independent, a UK based online news source.
It seems that Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t just a problem in the US anymore!
Scary stuff…
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Just got this link to a great article from Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee’s Garden Seeds. It’s all about lettuce…how to plant, different varieties, etc. Lettuce can be planted in pots, too.
More on the disappearing bees…..Scientists in Germany have a theory that the bee problem is being caused by mobile phones! They think that the radiation from handsets is disrupting the bee’s navigation systems. I am NOT making this up! Here’s a LINK to a story in the Independent, a UK based online news source.
It seems that Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t just a problem in the US anymore!
Scary stuff…
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
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