Why it matters:

No bees = No fruit and no honey. And which honey-bee populations are thriving? City and suburb bees! So get a smoker and one of those radical net hats and get keepin’… bee keepin’.

Recap:

Okay, maybe you’re hip to this crazy groove and maybe you’re not, but after backyard vegetable gardens and chicken coops, the latest in backyard eco-ccol is bee keeping! (Oh and pygmy goats… and outdoor showers… and cisterns…)

But let’s stick to Bee Keeping. Perhaps you’ve heard of Colony Collapse Disorder. No this isn’t what happened to Jamestown (not to be confused with Jonestown. Mmm, Kool-Aid) after the capital was moved to Williamsburg. No, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is none of those things. Where to begin?

Farmers and beekeepers have a pretty sweet deal going. For many trees to set fruit (oranges, apples, almonds, etc.) they need pollen from another tree of the opposite sex (seriously). The easiest way to accomplish this is for birds (of the humming variety) and bees (hence the song) to transfer that pollen. For birds this is more of an accident, but for bees, who feed the pollen to their larvae, collecting the stuff is very important.

So farmer Joe gets his trees pollinated and beekeeper Hubert gets his bees fed. Perfect! Uh, except, over the past several years, and for reasons as yet unknown, entire colonies are simply disappearing at an alarming rate. Fruit and honey producers are feeling the sting. (Zing! Sorry, this is serious. I know.) Scientists have floated theories from the growing presence of modified genes (thank you Monsanto!) to a growing list of pesticides and herbicides (again, thank you Monsanto!), to a lack of crop diversity.

That last one is raising some eyebrows. Oddly enough, the two places where hives seem to be thriving are in cities and suburbs. I know what you’re thinking, “I live in a city or suburb!” As strange as it may sound, cities and suburbs tend to be more biologically diverse than agricultural areas. (Ask the guy who lives downstairs from me!)

And here’s the kicker… that vegetable garden you’re so proud of? Well your tomatoes may not require pollinators to set fruit, but they’ll be much healthier and productive with a few visits from the local honey bees. Think of your veggies like a royal family, they can keep inbreeding, but kids kinda look… off. So what are you waiting for? Time to suit up.

Great. Uh. Okay. Now what?

Don’t worry, I’m gonna walk you through this. First, find out if it’s even legal for you to keep bees where you live. Your local city ordinances will answer this question quickly, you might even be required to acquire permits.

Next, determine whether anyone in the family is allergic to bee stings. Then again, nothing bonds a family like a white-knuckled race to the emergency room. Okay. Legal? Check. Life-Threatening? Negative.

Now all you need is a little gear and know-how. Both can be found in the indispensable Backyard Beekeeper. A quick search for local beekeeping clubs should be relatively productive, and for your kiddos be sure to check out 4-H, an organization dedicated to keeping American kids connected to our agricultural roots (yes it’s still around).

Commentary:

“You lost me at chicken coops.” Okay, vegetable gardening is one thing, beekeeping is something else. But urban beekeeping is booming and though it might sound crazy, aficionados say it’s no more difficult than keeping those tomatoes growing (for myself, a near impossibility).

Obviously there are time constraints, and upfront costs to consider, but the benefits of beekeeping are undeniable. People sink hundreds of dollars into their vegetable gardens every year, thinking miracle grow and a lot of swearing will mean bigger, more productive plants, but a few bees might be all the doctor ordered.

And who can’t get down with pounds(!) of free honey? You may never touch a drop of High Fructose Corn Syrup again!

Creative Solutions:

• Grab a copy of Backyard Beekeeper
• Check out the latest issue of Bee Culture magazine
• Peruse their list of beekeeping clubs in your area
• Lay out a spread for your buzzing buddies by planting Nichol’s Garden Nursery’s Bee mix.

Tagged as: backyard bees, backyard chickens, backyard farming, beekeeping, bees, chicken coop, composting, fertilizer, high fructose corn syrup, honey, pollen, pollinator, sugar, sustainable gardening, vegetable garden