Bee Hotels 

Most gardeners I know are very aware of the decline of pollinators, and many have made an effort to increase the nectar sources in their gardens available to these insects. However, some of my gardener friends are less aware how the loss of available habitat compounds the environmental challenges these bees face. In fact,  the  compulsiveness of gardeners to tidy  up their beds every years adds to this problem.

Loss of habitat particularly affects  native bee species. Most of these bees are vey small and live solitary lives. Seventy percent (70%) of them burrow into the ground and thirty percent (30%) tunnel  into the stems of herbaceous plants to lay their eggs for next year's generation while a few choose to bore into soft woods. 

Here are a few ways backyard gardeners can make the lives of these little critters  that are looking to make a homestead a little easier  by: 

Bee hotel awaiting guests.

Planting more native plants (although nectar is nectar, native bees really need the native plants  with which they evolved in order to leave a posterity); 

Delaying cleanup of native plants at the end of the season until later next spring (e.g. leave that milkweed, goldenrod or blackeyed-Susan stalk alone); 

Installing a few bee hotels around your gardens. These can be made from scrape wood. The hotels I make combine soft woods and the stems of herbaceous plants.  The bees don't mind living shoulder to shoulder with different bee species; and, most importantly, they are not aggressive either to their neighbors or to you.

Reducing the expanse of lawns by utilizing more native plantings, especially ground covers, and increasing areas for  leaf litter and other detritus.

For more information about bee hotels, see this document from Michigan State University.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Lingonberry or cowberry)

Recently I've been thinking  about how I can reduce the size of my  small lawn and make our landscaping  more environmentally friendly. In deference to my neighbors, I don't feel compelled (yet)  to create another vegetable patch in my front yard, but adding native plants that might also provide something edible   would be ideal. 

After exploring various options, I've determined  that  Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Lingonberries) might be the answer. It occurs naturally in northern parts of North America and Scandinavia; and as an evergreen growing only to 12 - 18 " in height,  lingonberry  would compliment the rhododendrons and mountain laurels  already thriving in front of the house. 

I considered its cousins, Vaccinium macrocarpon (American cranberry) and Vaccinium crassifoliuim (Creeping blueberry), but these are unsuited for my location.  American cranberry needs a bog environment that ideally has layers of sand and peat to survive, and creeping blueberry seems relegated to the milder climes of the southeastern states.  The Albany Pinebush might be for it suitable, but our winters are still too severe.

As a member of the genus Vaccinium, like blueberries, lingonberries need well drained acidic soil. A check of soil pH showed that my laurels are now growing in moderately acidic soil (pH 5.6 - 5.8)  while and the immediately adjacent  lawn area is slightly acidic (pH 6.4 - 6.5). Given these values, I plan to increase the acidity in the lawn area simply by adding peat moss  into the soil along with  sand to improve soil drainage. In the long haul, I will continue to add coffee grounds and Christmas tree needles as part of my mulching regime.  As for being edible, although lingonberries are part of Scandinavian cuisine,  I'm just hoping that some native fauna will take a liking to them.   For more information about growing lingonberries, see this  website by the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

GARDENING UPDATES: Thrips, Pollinators and Agroecology

Back from the much, much  cooler West Coast. The East now has the heat; and, as gardeners know, the bugs...

Recently, we posted a short article on a unique way to control flea beetles.  You can recognize their  damage  by  spotting the small, buckshot size holes  they make in leaves while dining.   Flea beetles  are sort of easy to see as they are about 1/8" long,  round and usually brown or  black.

Thirps - egg to adult  Source: MSU

Another common pest that backyard gardeners will be encountering whose activities also show up on foliage are thrips.

Thrips do not look like flea beetles. They are very small insects (1 mm, i.e. 1/25 of 1 inch in length). The adults deposit eggs inside of leaves. The young emerge and reach adulthood in about 30 days ready to start a new generation. As summer temps increase, they even develop faster and, of course, breed faster... Their fecundity can quickly reach epidemic proportions in small gardens and on farms.

Infected leaves from thrip piercings. Source: Cornell U

Leaf damage from thrips appears different from that of flea beetles,  but can lead to similar results.  Thrips make tiny piercings into  leaves in order to suck plant juices.  These piercings also expose plants to many possible viral and bacterial infections as shown in the  photo.

Organic control solutions include 1) keeping soil under plants clear of debris because this is where thrip lavae go to pupate (so this is not so practical if you mulch;  row covers and landscaping cloth may be better solutions),  2) using beneficial insects like ladybugs, 3) deploying sticky traps; and 4) if you're not using beneficial insects, consider applying insecticidal soap sprays or natural insecticides like Neem oil as a last resort because these can also kill beneficial insects like bees.

A  recent video produced by Cornell's Eastern New York Horticultural   Program and  available from  Rensselaer County Extension's Facebook site explains how to recognize thrip damage as well as ways  to control thrips.

BTW: Rensselaer County Extension's Facebook site is a great source for information about all aspects of gardening.  We've  added it to the Related Resources links on the right side of this page.

Pollinators  & Neonicotinoid Update

Neonicotinoid compounds comprise the largest  group of insecticides used around the world today; and, in case you missed it, back in April, 2018 the European Union permanently banned the use of the three most commonly used neonicotinoids from outdoor use by farmers.   The EU's action recognized that the growing body of research (e.g. Cornell's research summary)  associating these chemicals with the decline in pollinator populations is simply too strong to be ignored. This is both good and bad news for European and British farmers - those growing certain field crops such as soy beans and corn are not happy; those raising crops that are highly dependent upon insects for pollination like fruits and many veggies are happy.

Source: USDA

The status of "neonics" in the U.S. varies.  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the Northwest has stopped using them in 2016on its feed crops for wild animals, and a few states  also have banned them. New York has been considering a ban since 2016, but so far proposed legislation has not made it to either the Senate or Assembly floor for action leaving the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation just to promote a "best practices" approach towards limiting the use of "neonics" in the state.

Like many issues there are competing needs and interests.  Neonicotinoids can be sprayed on plants,   soaked into the ground around plants or used as coatings on seeds. They do not directly affect animals and birds as earlier insecticides did, but "neonics" do directly affect a few important groups of insect pests that are the bane of some farmers and turf managers (think golf courses & sport fields). 

Neonicoinoids are absorbed by plants and then ingested by munching and sucking insects whose "brains" subsequently become fatally impaired.  Birds are indirectly affected by having to cope with reduced insect populations -- they have less to eat. Honey bees and their kin pollinators seem to be affected by some of the residual compounds of neonicotinoids. -- Research also indicates that "neonics" may not decompose as quickly or as thoroughly as advertised and that there is also a leaching problem of these compounds into adjacent areas.  This is both a problem for organic farmers as well as  the natural environment.

WHAT YOU CAN DO  - The three most used "neonics" are imidacloprid, thiacloprid and clothianidin that are used extensively in agriculture, ornamental nurseries and incorporated into popular insecticides available to the general public.  To minimize the impact of these compounds on the environment, you can 

• Avoid buying insecticides that lists one or more of these ingredients. 

• Plant native plants in your garden and maybe even some plants  considered to be weeds like milkweed, mullen or Queen Anne's lace for  bees and other pollinators. 

• And finally, buy organic whenever you have a choice.

Agroecology - A New Farming Movment

Finally, FWIW: Recently an opinion piece in the New York Times,"Bringing Farming Back to Nature" by Daniel Moss and Mark Bittman (NYT June 26, 2018), introduced a new word to me, agroecology. The term identifies a growing world wide movement to incorporate  ecological principles into agriculture. 

Daniel Moss leads the AgroEcology Fund, an organization funding sustainable agriculture throughout the world. Mark Bittman, who needs little introduction to foodies now also spends time outside of the kitchen promoting healthy eating and sustainable agriculture.  This short article worth a checking out to learn about  ongoing efforts to move away from the monocultural farming model -- a little hopeful news is getting harder to find...