It has been a busy Summer for Bees & Greens, although the bees are definitely working longer hours than the humans.
Sweet Potatoes
The sweet potatoes are now on their final stretch, and hopefully in another month or so we’ll be able to start digging them up! We’ve mostly been weeding and watering them, and letting them sprawl out in the sun. We are excited to see what they look like under the row cover when the time comes to pull them out of the ground.
We also had some already-tilled space next to the sweet potatoes, so we planted some buckwheat and phacelia seeds just last week. This should provide good ground cover and hopefully some late-summer flowers for the pollinators.
What are the bees up to?
This time of year is when the beehives are close to their maximum population size. They have been diligently building up their hives, storing up honey, and preparing for the Winter. In the next month or so they will transition to raising new worker bees that are designed for Winter weather. The new bees will have significantly more fat on their bodies, and will hopefully live much longer than the typical Summer worker bee. Their job will be to keep the colony warm throughout the cold and wet Winter, rather than going out and foraging for nectar and pollen.
What are the beekeepers are up to?
We have started treating our hives for varroa mites and preparing to harvest some of the excess honey. So far it seems like this year may be a smaller honey crop than last year for some reason. Many of our other beekeeper friends in the area are reporting the same. That’s just how it goes sometimes! We coordinated a honey harvest party with our friend Charles “The Bee Guy”, and some of the folks who work on the farms in the area. We’re also still doing weekly deliveries of fresh microgreens to Bay Hay & Feed on Fridays. Hopefully we will have some jars of honey and sweet potatoes for sale as well in the coming months.
Thanks for following along and we hope you are having a pleasant Summer!