Welcome to our first monthly newsletter! We’re excited to keep you updated on what’s growing – in the ground and on our microgreen racks, and what’s buzzing – we think honeybees are pretty fascinating and are excited to share seasonal bee facts with you! Interested in receiving these in your inbox? Sign up here.
What are the Bees Up To?
Not much. This time of year, they spend nearly all of their time in the hive, in a cluster around the queen – it’s cold and there’s no nectar or pollen to collect anyway. The worker bees vibrate their bodies to generate warmth (think shivering, but more voluntary). While worker bees (all female) live for three to four weeks each in the summer, winter bees live much longer – they’ll survive the winter to keep the queen going until she begins to lay eggs again in the spring. There are no drones (males) in the hive this time of year, having all been kicked out a couple months ago by workers who didn’t want to keep them fed all winter, useless as they are (hah! really though).
Since there’s no food to be found out of doors, the bees eat through their honey stores for the winter – don’t worry, even though we had a great harvest this year, we left plenty behind for them!
What are the Beekeepers Up To?
Not much either! Hoping the bees are doing okay – it’s too cold this time of year to open the beehives, we’d just release all that heat they’d worked so hard to produce. Dreaming about next growing season – we’ll be excited to share more in the coming months about our plans to expand to outdoor (!) farming next season. We’re eating lots of microgreens, working our day jobs, and spending time in front of the fireplace reading books and researching turnips.
Green Things in December?
Indeed! Microgreens always shine as a point of interest and dense nutrition added to any meal, but we’re feeling especially grateful for them in December, when other fresh, local greens are hard to come by. We’ve been eating a lot of eggs, potatoes and winter squash from other local farmers, and soups – all topped with microgreens.
If you want some too, we’re on Kitsap Fresh now, or are starting to get a delivery service rolling for folks who are on Bainbridge Island or in Poulsbo and are interested in monthly or bi-weekly delivery of fresh microgreens to your doorstep. Fill out this form if you’re interested in that!
Until Next Time
Next time you hear from us, we will have made it past the shortest day of the year – they’ll still be short, but it’s just a little better when you know they’re getting longer, right?