A Bee or not a Bee?

I’ve been outside painting the windowsills of the house bright yellow this week and splashed white emulsion on the wall around the front of the house. We also have walls either side of four very large steps leading up to the front door, which also needed painting white. As I was putting on the paint I couldn’t help noticing that I had company. I was obviously disturbing what looked like honey bees and they were making their irritation known to me by flying around my head. It wasn’t long before I found out that their nest was underneath the large concrete steps. Prior to painting I went around and sealed up any gaps in the wall and steps with a cement mix, unbeknown to me I sealed up the bees two entrances, and these I noticed had been neatly opened up again before the cement had time to dry. The steps and walls are all one piece of concrete and would take a mini digger to pull up so I can’t see myself getting in there and moving the nest, so I need bit of advice.

Asking for help
My first place to ask for help was Facebook and had some mixed comments. One or two people said that I needed to kill them all as soon as possible or smoke them out, which I wouldn’t want to do. Inishowen Home Baking said that they needed to have a nest professionally removed because the honey made a real mess and forced them to replaster some walls. They also mentioned that bees can be a bit annoyed when disturbed and advised keeping children away from the area. With bees being on the decline in Ireland I’ll need to come up with a method of removal that won’t kill the colony.

Foyle Bee Keeping Association
My next contact for help was Willie McMullan, one of the founder members of the Foyle Bee Keeping Association that was set up in 1999. The association has members stretching from Greencaste to Malin and Derry. Willie was extremely helpful and gave me a bit more insight into the habits of bees. When honey bee colonies get too large, they swarm and split up to form new nests, the original nest (such as mine) will still be in use. I had hoped that the bees would all just up and leave at the end of summer and move to a warmer climate, but that probably won’t happen. Ordinarily Willie and other professional beekeepers would only be too happy to remove a nest, if they could get to it, which in my case they can’t as it’s encased in concrete. The Beekeepers get called out to a lot of false alarms so Willie asked me to send in a few pictures to study.

Conclusion
The following day Willie had his conclusion. They are not bees but one of the 180 hover fly species that pollinate flowers in Ireland; this has saved Willie and his team a wasted visit. I feel a bit safer walking up the stairs now and I’m sure the postie will be more at ease when pushing the mail though the letter box.
While I was waiting for Willie to deliver the good news I did a bit more research about bees and found the An Taisce (The National Trust for Ireland) site very informative.

Bees in Ireland
Ireland has 101 species of bee – 14 are well-known social species including the honeybee and 13 bumblebee species. The remainder are lesser known solitary bees that do not form colonies but make individual nests.
Bees are not only a large component of biodiversity, but they also provide a valuable ecosystem service of pollination. The majority of our flowering plants require pollination to reproduce. As humans, we rely on pollination for 1/3 of all foods that we eat. In Ireland, crops such as apples, strawberries, clover and oilseed rape all benefit from pollination and the value of this service to the economy has been estimated at €53 million per year. The worldwide estimated economic value of pollination is € 153.000.000.000
30% of bees are currently threatened in Ireland, with this figure rising fast. Many butterfly and hoverfly species are also threatened. The main threats to pollinating species include habitat destruction, agricultural intensification, and a lack of food sources and nesting sites.
Here are some suggestions for attracting pollinators into the garden:

Tips for attracting bees and other pollinators
1. Avoid pesticide use
2. Use local native plants.
3. Chose a diverse range of colourful flowering species.
4. Choose species that will flower at differing times through the growing season.
5. Plant flowers in clumps, this will attract more pollinators
6. Choose flowers with differing shapes, again providing a range of flower shapes means more bees species can benefit.
7. Plant in the sunniest and most shaded areas.

Seed Saving Projects

I’m nearly ready to plant some seeds. I am restricted to containers at the moment as I realise that dogs and small gardens don’t go well together, it’s a bit of a mud bath and the only things growing are in places where the dogs don’t sit, run and fight, which doesn’t leave many places.

I’m doing my best to steer away from the big companies that produce sterile hybrid seeds and shop more locally with people who are concentrating on developing heirloom seeds. I think these are more suited to our climate and adaptable enough to give us good quality fertile seed for the years ahead. I find the seed business quite a complicated issue, but there are a few companies specialising in conserving our plant stocks, the most prolific one in Ireland being Irish Seed Savers based in Scariff, County Clare. Irish Seed Savers promote agricultural biodiversity for food security in the future.

Seed Savers specialise in:
Preserving Irish Biodiversity
Irish Seed Savers have over 600 varieties of heritage, open pollinated vegetable varieties from Ireland and from gene banks around the world.
Seed Bank
Their latest project is the construction of a new Seed Bank and processing and drying facility.
Native Irish Apple Collection
There is a unique orchard of over 33 self rooting varieties of apple trees that require no grafting for propagation. This is probably the largest collection of this type of apple tree in the world.
Research Projects
Irish Seed Savers Association has been involved in a variety of research projects over the last 15 years. Research into apples, plums, grains and vegetables are ongoing. Some of the research has included the antioxidant properties of some of the old apple varieties and the omega contents of native flax seed. They are particularly proud of the Education Project, which is aimed at educating the young in the importance of biodiversity.
Grain Project
Before the introduction of the potato, Irish people included grain as a dietary mainstay, particularly oats. Oats were used in breads, desserts, drinks, medicines and cosmetics . Ongoing research is bringing back field planting strong of strong varieties. To date, many native Irish oats and several wheat, barley and ryes have been re-established. The varieties of grain that are available for farmers to grow today have steadily decreased over the years and the potential for these native grains as a reliable food source is great.
Preserving Native Trees
They have devoted over 2 acres of land to a native Irish woodland and wildlife sanctuary. Some of the varieties in our Native Irish Woodland are Alder, Ash, Silver Birch, Bird Cherry, Hazel, Holly, Rowan, Oak, Scots Pine, White beam, Spindle and Willow.
Heirloom seeds Definition
A lot of the seeds at Irish Seed Savers can be classed as Heirloom seeds.
The definition of Heirloom Seeds is “A cultivar of a vegetable or fruit that is open-pollinated and is not grown widely for commercial purposes. An heirloom often exhibits a distinctive characteristic such as superior flavour or unusual colouration.”

Apart from being very enjoyable, what else does saving our own seeds achieve?
• Create new varieties adapted to your growing conditions and your tastes.
• Save money by saving your own seeds and/or trading with other seed-savers.
• Preserve the genetic diversity of our heirloom food plants.
• Empower your own personal breeding goals instead of the commercial goals of agribusiness seed breeders.
• Helps to retain the plants vigour as well as pest and disease resistance.
• A garden is not just for working in, make it a pleasurable peaceful place for sitting and relaxing, enjoy it!

GreenFriends Europe - Seed Saving Project
The interest for saving seeds is wide and recently the worldwide Amma Group have set up seed banks around the world saving heirloom non hybrid seeds, three of them are being set up in Ireland and will complement the ‘Get Growing courses that have already started, which are designed to teach people the important skills of organic growing and are taught free of charge. The seeds will have the proper vigour to grow without the dependency on chemical fertilisers and can be replanted continuously. Her message was clear: These heritage, non-hybrid varieties are very precious and worth saving. They will have the strength to carry on, even if chemical fertilisers should be no longer available, by just using traditional organic methods. Furthermore, they produce plants that keep on being true to their parent plants over generations, which means their seeds can be saved year after year. Amma said these non-hybrid heirloom seeds will become very important for our food production in the future.

To produce the seeds for the seed bank, three large organic gardens in Ireland are now dedicated to that purpose. Additionally, GreenFriends Ireland is working on a manual and workshops to instruct people on the proper way of saving seeds - the ‘Seeds of Life’ project. For more information contact: David Maloney, GF coordinator, phone no: 0863350202, e-mail: greenfriends.irl@gmail.com


‘Children, one of our priorities should be to preserve Nature. We must put an end to the practice of destroying the environment for money, for our selfish short-term needs. Each family should grow trees and plants in their yard.’ - Amma

Fence Building

Photo: Yes, I put the fence up with a mattock

Building a fence
I have decided to put a fence up on the dividing wall to our neighbours. As much as we get on, it’s best to have a bit of a visual barrier with people next door. We never really took much notice in the winter months but as the weather warmed up and we were all outside more often it became more difficult to constantly acknowledge the neighbours as we made eye contact over the small wall. I’m not antisocial (some might disagree) but it’s nice not to be overlooked and have a bit of privacy.


Plan well
I mapped everything out on my head for a week before putting the plan into action and started to fix the posts to the existing wall. All seemed to be going well until I noticed that the horizontal D rails only go up to the half way mark on the planks. To avoid boring you with the details, it isn’t right; the fence will warp in no time. I am now in the process of taking most of the fence back down again and fixing some larger posts into place. I always say that gardening jobs should be well planned and drawn onto paper before proceeding. I should have listened to myself. All is not lost though, like a builder friend of mine once said “There’s a solution to every problem” It just might take me a bit more time and money than I expected.

Smart Consumer
Talking of money and the garden, I was asked by a journalist from the Irish Independent to contribute to an article similar to their ‘Smart Consumer’ page. I am more than happy to do so because I enjoy making do and mending in the garden. The journalist has sent me a list of six questions and I must confess I am finding them extremely difficult to answer. I’m not sure what it is, maybe I am totally out of touch with consumerism or the very nature of what gardening stands for in the present climate.

Here are my thoughts to the questions; maybe you have ideas of your own.
1. Gardening has a strong tradition (among the hard core green-fingered) of sharing and swopping plants with friends and neighbours. Is this tradition still strong, particularly in our enduring period of austerity?
Here I mentioned about the LETS Trading system growing again after the economic boom and also groups such as the GIY set up is growing too in many areas and local gardening clubs (in Donegal) are more popular than ever.

2 What, in your view, are the worst examples of over-priced gardening tools, equipment or ornaments?
I just said anything that doesn’t last a season is a waste of money or doesn’t deliver what it promises. I also said cheap tools are really dangerous as they break under normal working conditions.

3 Do supermarket flowers or plants have anything to recommend them, value-wise?
I said that a lot of the plants and flowers come from controlled environments and can be neglected on the shelves. They do look pretty though if only for a moment.

4 There are some basic tools that would be regarded as essentials, such as spade, fork, rake, hoe, secateurs, shears, hand trowel and watering can. Are there any other tools that come to mind (perhaps more modern, cleverer ones)? And would you recommend buying the best brands you can afford?
I mentioned my trusty mattock, it’s not big or clever but I use it for everything from digging up brambles to resting my tea on. I also mentioned robot mowers!

5 If you know nothing about gardening but would like to get a head start through some kind of consultation with someone who can suggest how you get your garden in better shape or even engage in some kind of redesign, do you think that is money well-spent, a good investment? If so, how would or should you go about finding a good expert or designer?
This one I found very hard to answer. You can get loads of information from the internet about designing a garden, but it might not all be good. There’s something very special and personal having someone look around your garden and give you professional advice. I suggested getting the professionals in by referral r through gardening groups, but the customer will have to build up a relationship with that person and come up with a contract should work commence. There are not many people having their gardens landscaped now though so there are a lot of people to choose from. This gets back to my fence problem...plan and then re-plan before you commence work, it will save a lot of time and money.

6 Are allotments still good value? The grow-your-own movement seems to be going from strength to strength. Any tips on vegetable gardening?
Here I mentioned about community gardens being great for housing estates as you don’t need fuel to get to and from the plot.

Let me know if you have any ideas yourself, especially the ones about clever products on the market.

ACEO Titanic 100th Anniversary images

Check 'em out on ebay...

Summer is Here

Before and after the trampoline being put into place

As summer is here and it’s such a beautiful sunny day, I have decided to write this week’s article in the garden. As I sit on the chair, all I can see on the laptop screen is dust and a rather unnerving reflection of me squinting in the glorious sunshine. I don’t like wearing sunglasses so I only have myself to blame. I also don’t like wearing headphones but I do occasionally if I want to be ignored on public transport. They are never plugged in but who’s to know that.

We have a perfect place to sit in the new garden. It’s actually the base of a removed greenhouse with an old 18” block wall surrounding it that most probably supported the glass frame before it was removed. The dividing fence put up to the rear of the greenhouse was a bit shabby so I have splashed wood stain all over it. I bought a big gallon container from one of those budget shops and only paid 2 euro for it so I wasn’t expecting it to be much good. It was though and it went on like treacle and covered well in just one coat. You can sometimes, very occasionally get more that you pay for in these shops, as it was the same quality as a named product costing 10 times more. It was worth the gamble.

Early summer
We have managed to clear the shrubs at the top of the garden this week. The cut wood was good and dry so I combined lopping, chopping , burning and shredding to avoid having to hire a skip to take everything away. Not only have we saved 120 euro on a skip and got lots of chippings to mulch the poor soil, we also have enough wood kindling to get the water hot in the back boiler for a few weeks so we will save on energy bills too. The really fiddly bits were burned when the neighbours were out at work so they probably wondered why their washing smelled of charcoal as they took it indoors in the evening.

The space made from removing the shrubs is going to be mainly for vegetables, I say eventually as half of it has just been covered up by the trampoline only moments after clearing the space. The bouncy plaything fitted well in our old acre garden, but finding somewhere out of the way it a small town garden is proving to be a bit of a challenge. It has been taking up most of the lawn up until now, so at least it is out of the way. I’ll have to find vegetables that’ll grow well underneath the black mesh for at least another two years until it drops to bits.

Moving the compost bin
We have moved the compost bin closer to the house. It’s not something you think about in good weather much but in winter the last thing you want to do is traipse through the mud to empty the peelings. I have also reclaimed some old paving slabs and made a bit of a path to it too. The bin was never very far away but it looked a bit lost in the corner of the lawn area when we moved the trampoline. Our lawn measures 8 metres by 8 metres so a quick strim in summer will keep it tidy. The same can’t be said for the few people who contacted me regarding the robot mowers that are on the market.

Robot mower review
Here are two comments from people who don’t have one of the tekky machines:
“If it rains a lot the mower doesn’t come out of its charging kennel. That means if it rains for a long time the grass will be uncuttable.”
“The robot mower could be stolen from the garden. After saying that it would be useless without the docking station but young kids who just want to mess with it wouldn’t care about that.”

And from someone who has one:
“I have had one of these mowers for two years now and think it’s fantastic. It works effortlessly and silently cutting and mulching the grass in the summer and it is really reliable. I pondered long and hard about buying either one of these or a ride on mower. The costs were about the same but this method frees up my time when I want to relax. You just don’t notice it at all.”

If ever I get a large garden I might consider one, in the mean time I can cut our grass with a pair of scissors. Not just now though, I’m far too hot sitting in the sunshine. I’m off indoors.