Mushrooms & Microgreens
Our microgreens are now available at Bay Hay and Feed on Bainbridge Island, and we’ve recently shared our first batch of oyster mushrooms (or the first batch that didn’t go straight into our own bellies, at least) there as well. We love Bay Hay and Feed and are pretty darn excited to get to participate in our community through them. Being quite literally just up the road from us, this feels like the epitome of local, and they’re fantastic to work with.
What are the bees up to?
We entered the winter with three hives, and we know we’ve lost one. Colony loss is, sadly, very common, with many beekeepers experiencing more than 50% losses each year. This can be due to a lack of resources, moisture, or most commonly, a pest called the varroa mite that has decimated honeybee populations around the world.
The good news is, there have been a few nice and warm days here and there over the past month or so, and it’s been a delight to visit the hives over lunch and see some activity around the other two. We hope they’re gearing up for spring, we know we are!
What are the beekeepers up to?
It might still be cold (someone said something about the possibility of snow next week??), and it might still be February, but spring is in the air. Daffodils are coming up, and osoberries are just starting to leaf out. Leek and onion starts have joined the microgreens on the racks, and we’re counting the days until we can start more things to grow outside.
In the meantime, we’re continuing to hone our systems for microgreens and mushrooms so that we can continue to produce smoothly and consistently. We’re also planning on expanding our beekeeping operation just a little this year. We acquired some new hives from our fellow beekeeper on the island, Charles (say hi to the bee guy when the farmer’s market opens back up this spring!), so we’re taking inventory, sterilizing, and making sure we’re ready to go when new bees arrive sometime in April.