Use what the good Lord gave you
I’m pretty sure the bees of Rome, Georgia, have set a record this week. My friend David McDaniel let us know that he had his first swarm call on the last day of February, and I can’t think of a time when that has happened before.
It’s not out of the question, of course, but it’s the first I can recall. So it is worth noting in my book.
The change of season always seems to sneak up on me and it feels like we can turn from winter planning to springtime slamming on a dime.
A week ago it was too early to get into bees and gardens and warm weather projects, and now it suddenly feels like we should have started two weeks ago. Isn’t that the way things go sometimes? In an effort to keep up with the season, it is time for my yearly springtime pleas for the natural world, so here goes.
If the honeybees are stirring that means that the rest of the pollinators are too, and this is a particularly tenuous time for them. Those dandelions and other tiny flowers blooming in your yard as it begins to awaken for the year are critical food supply for all of those little critters.
It is to this end that I give you permission, in the form of begging, to leave your mower parked for a while longer. The more mono-cropped green lawns and concrete tableaus that we establish, the less food and shelter there are for these tiny but very important members of our community.
Why does it matter, you might ask? I mean, bugs are just bugs, right?
Wrong. A significant part of our food supply and most every blooming thing from trees to shrubs to plants rely on pollination to survive and thrive. Scientists around the world are busy creating technology like tiny flying robots and other methods to get around it as the pollinator population declines, but the bottom line is that the way that nature intended will forever be the best way for that pollination to take place.
Take those all-important homegrown tomatoes, for example. Tomatoes are what is called “self-pollinating,” meaning that their male and female parts are both located within each blossom so that the anthers and stigma can come together on their own. But there is no question that they benefit from the interaction of insects or wind to loosen the pollen and ensure a successful event.
Wind is not a terribly reliable source, as the blossoms must be vibrated at a specific frequency to most effectively release the pollen. And, in the insect world, there are only certain varieties of bumblebees that can do the trick. Only these bumblebees can vibrate the tomato blossom at just the right tempo and vigor to cause the most pollen to release from the anthers onto the stigma.
Numerous studies have shown that plants pollinated by insects produce not just more tomatoes but larger tomatoes. And who doesn’t want that?
If you remember your grandparents pulling in a cornucopia of giant and juicy tomatoes from their garden that you just can’t seem to match, it is probably because they had more bumblebees around to help.
And, if you think insects are important to those selfpollinating plants like tomatoes, they are especially critical to the ones that don’t, like squashes and cucumbers. These plants absolutely must be visited by an insect that is going from the male to the female flowers, carrying pollen from one to the other, in order to produce their fruit.
How can you help ensure that you and your neighbors have plenty of pollinating friends in your gardens? There are several things you can do.
One is to let those blooming weeds in your yard be for a time, allowing the newly emerging pollinators an opulent food supply to start their journey. If you feed them, they will feed you, in a sense.
Allow some of those fall leaves to remain in areas of your yard so that the ground-dwelling pollinators have a good shelter system for nesting. Location, location, location doesn’t just apply to business. Creating habitat for these beneficial bugs means they are more likely to be good neighbors to you.
Avoid those pesky pesticides. Even though the package tells you that it is specifically designed to kill mosquitoes, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be some other casualties to the crossfire. We have experienced too many times that one man’s “pest control” means a death sentence for our bees; there is no way around it. Herbicides are no better, so be careful in how you use any chemicals in your yard if you are hoping to host some friendly beneficial bugs.
And, last but certainly not least, plant your yard with things that are going to provide nourishment for the bugs as well as beauty to behold. Native plants and pollinator-friendly plants are a carefree alternative to high-maintenance grass and hybrid ornamentals. You can easily cut back on the level of work and maintenance your lawn requires by giving up the idea of the perfectly coiffed green lawn in favor of more natural beauty.
They say you can’t improve on what the good Lord gave you, and there are a lot of ways that we can live by that philosophy. Consider leaving the artificial interjections behind and let nature take its course.
Your tomatoes and your yard will thank you. And so it is written in the gospel according to me. Do with it what you will.