yearofplenty

Almost Half of Western Washington Bee Colonies Suffer Collapse

I ran into Jerry Tate from Tate's Honey Farm at the Rocket Bakery this morning. I asked him how his bees are doing and he said they are great, but added that Western Washington Beekeepers are really hurting. I probed for more information and he explained that based on the research of the state beekeepers association, 45% of Washington bee colonies have collapsed (died) west of Ritzville. By contrast, only 25% of colonies to the east of Ritzville have suffered that fate, which is about average for beekeepers since the rise in recent years of varroa mites and the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. The survey included all state beekeepers with over 1,000 colonies.

Jerry's hunch is that the late supply of nectar in the Spokane region helped eastern Washington bees whereas western Washington bees didn't have as much available late in the summer. From what I've read, the onset of colony collapse usually has a multiple factors that conspire together. It's a good lesson in the complex nature of the environment. We'd like to think there is one innovation that will fix everything, when it's actually the systems and the interactions of a variety of factors that need to be addressed.

One bit of trivia I learned from Jerry is that many western washington beekeepers send their bees to the Dakota's for part of the summer. He also mentioned that California bees also come north and spend some time in Washington before heading east to the Dakotas.

Jerry and others from the state association will meet with the state Secretary of Agriculture tomorrow in Olympia. Our state's economy is incredibly dependent on tree fruit, especially apples, and without bees to pollinate the trees there won't be any apples.

King Blooms, Queen Bees and Big Apples

One of the joys of our experiment was learning so much about where our food comes from and the processes that bring it to market. More specifically we became friends with the people involved in the food business and the learning continues. The other day I ran into Jerry Tate from Tate’s Honey Farm at the Rocket Bakery. He had a truck full of bees and was headed up to Greenbluff to place his bee hives in and amongst the blooming fruit trees. In our conversation we got on the topic of apples and he mentioned that they put the bees out when the “king bloom” is on. This was a new term to me, so I asked for more information and he explained that apple trees have a blossom bunch with a large blossom in the middle that blooms before the others. Fruit growers pollinate this large flower and then when the others emerge they zap them to keep them from fruiting. This is how we get the big apples in the store and it helps explain why I only get whimpy little apples on my apple trees. I need to snip off the little guys.

So today I went and investigated my apple trees and sure enough, they are full of blossom bundles with king blooms in the middle standing above all the others (see picture above). This is probably old news to most folks, but to a novice like me it’s a thrilling discovery. And the good news is that Jerry’s bees down by the river are close enought to be roaming my neighborhood and will pollinate the flowers for me.

Jerry also mentioned that without people like him taking bees up to the orchards there would be little to no fruit on them. I haven’t heard much about bee colony collapse lately but you can understand why it is such an important issue. If you want to participate in efforts to learn what’s going on with the bees go to www.greatsunflower.org.

Jerry sells his honey at the Millwood Farmers Market, Wednesdays from 3-7pm and at his home location on Saturdays.

Real Raspberries in Eastern Washington

I discovered real, big, juicy raspberries today. Not the usual small. limp ones typically grown around the Inland Northwest. Washington produces almost 95% of U.S. red raspberries, but it's the west side of the state with all its moisture and rich soil that have bragging rights on that. In talking to those at the markets around here who sell berries, and from my own experience, I've learned that Eastern Washington is just not a great place to grow raspberries. Too dry and too hot. I'll keep trying though.

If you want some real juicy ones, Mo and Martha Bereiter from Newport will have them for another week or so. I guess the altitude and cedar forests surrounding their place keep up the humidity enough to get great berries. They sell at the Millwood Farmers' Market on Wednesday 3-7pm and at the Humbler Earth market on Sundays from 10-2pm. They also sell huckleberries, mushrooms, and other great stuff.