A while ago, I mentioned I’d put up several purchased wild bee habitats. They are mostly occupied, and doing what they are meant to do, so we should have plenty of wild bees next year! Then I saw this trash wood pile I’d been meaning to clean. The bees go in the little holes in the wood. This week, I’m going to drill more holes, and leave those little ‘trash piles’ alone for another year. If you over-groom your ‘edges’ of your orchard, and remove fallen down trees, and old grass/weeds that are in little piles? You are destroying wild bee habitat. I don’t want to be doing that! So I have reason to look a little more unkempt. Method to the Madness, as it were…
There is definitely a bee in there. I saw him go in!
I’m going to drill some more holes in these pieces of wood. I have three or four smaller piles like this, and will scatter them strategically around the edges near the woods and slough.
You can see the wild bee habitat zones in this photo. I’ve several spots along the slough and by the trees which naturally attract them (lots of fallen trees, and old grass on little knolls, etc.)
Here is the ‘Home Acre’ on July 21. That’s about 8 weeks after planting. The plants are thriving, and I actually picked about 1/2 cup total (or or two berries on about 1/4 of the plants), and ate them…
