Happy July, Gardeners!

What a glorious gardening season that’s upon us! Have you been taking note of what’s working, what you’d like to change, and additions you want to add? I really need to start walking around with a notebook with all of the ideas that come to mind as I’m in the thick of it all. One dream I had that I put off for too long was setting up a honey bee colony on our property. We finally went for it this spring and have become so mesmerized by them. I know, I know. Honey bees are more about keeping livestock than gardening, but they do go hand in hand and it’s time we support our pollinators more than ever. 

Bee keeping in Illinois is highly favored and protected under state laws, which makes it very simple for purchasing bee colonies, supplies, and gaining support from other local apiaries. While honey bees are not native pollinators, that shouldn’t stop you from looking into raising and caring for your own colony. Pollinators are in a rapid decline, which is a real concern for our farmers and food sources. No bees means no pollination, which means no food. If we all started supporting pollinators by planting native plants, ending the use of pesticides and herbicides, and even caring for a bee colony, think about the change we could make to our planet! 

Before you think “I have no idea what I’m doing”, well, neither do I. I purchased our colony and have watched videos, reached out to local apiaries, found a following on social media, and started reading various books to support me. What’s even better? We need bees more than they need us. Within a week of installing my bee package, the bees already started building their comb and assigning jobs to the entire colony. Within two weeks I found bee propolis, half of the frames building out with comb, and a full nursery forming within the hive. If they’ve survived thousands of years on their own, surely us backyard bee keepers can do simple check-ups on our hive(s). 

We purchased a bee starter kit online, which came with the box, the frames, and most of the tools you’ll want to work with your bees this season. We chose to work with a small family farm, Meyer Bees, in Minooka to purchase our bee package this season. Our bee package came with 3 pounds of bees (which is approximately 10-12,000 bees and a queen) and sugar water for transportation. We set up our bees within five minutes and immediately watched them get to work on their new space. 

If this is something that excites you, I suggest you start doing some digging around to see where you’d like your box(es) setup, how many colonies you would like to care for, and ask some local folks who are also caring for bees. While I certainly have so much more to learn, this adventure has been a welcome addition to our property and our flowers. Let’s save the bees!