Neighborhood
garden for september 20, 2008 ************************************************************* ORCHARD BEES AND
HORSERADISH BY GEORGE EDGAR
AND GLADYS JEURINK
you don’t see orchard
bees and horseradish together very often. A letter from a reader
prompted this article. He asked two questions as follows: 1. “I made
four nesting blocks for solitary wood nesting bees. Do I
have to clean the holes out?” 2.
“Also, I planted horseradish in the spring. Do you wait a year
to
cut the root?” George will answer
the question about the bees and Gladys will answer the question about
the horseradish. ORCHARD BEES BY GEORGE EDGAR “There are
more than 20,000 species of bees. The greatest diversity is found in the
tropics, but over 3,500 species have been reported in North America.
A few species are social and live in colonies.
Bumble bees and honey bees are social bees.
However, most bee species are solitary insects that live in a
hole in the ground or in a hollow tube like cavity.
They form a pollen ball mixed with a little nectar, lay an egg on
the pollen ball, and seal the cell for the young to develop.
In solitary bees, the young have no contact with their mother.
Their mother’s only contribution to their future is to provide them a
pollen ball in a suitable location.” (“Artificial Habitats for Tube
Nesting Bees”, Cooperative Extension in Gage County) The Orchard
Mason Bee is a small black or blue-black metallic, gentle bee that is
native of almost the entire continental United States. In the Eastern
part of the country it is called a Blue Orchard Bee. This solitary bee,
Osmia lignaria, was pollinating the fruits and flowers of the continent
for millions of years before the first colonists brought the honey bee
to North America. It does not live in hives, and is unable to make its
own hole but depends upon others for the nest site. In nature it
frequently lays its eggs in abandoned beetle holes in the old growth
forest, within hollow stems, woodpecker drillings and insect holes in
trees and wood. In cities it will use the spaces between shingles on a
dwelling or any other small holes it can find. If we provide
proper holes for egg laying, the Orchard Bee is very easy to propagate
in your yard. They are
completely non-aggressive and perfectly safe to raise in your backyard.
One writer said, “In my yard with children and dogs we all happily
co-exist. The males don’t
even have stingers and the females will only use theirs in times of true
distress. In fact, unless you actually squeeze one of the females
between your fingers, it is almost impossible to get stung.” (Orchard
Mason Bee by Lisa Novich owner of Knox Cellars in Sammamish, Washington)
Dr Marion
Ellis, Entomologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and head of
the Bee Keeping Program, has been encouraging me to raise some next year
to pollinate my fruit trees. I plan to do that. Gladys gave me a
container of nesting tubes and I plan to purchase another.
My carpenter friend next door is going to make a box to hold
them. Also I plan to do a series of articles this winter on the orchard
bees, what nesting tubes are, and plans on how to make your own wood
nesting box. The question
asked by the reader was about cleaning a wood nesting box. Yes, you need
to clean them. A wood nesting box is basically a 4x4 block of wood with
5/16th inch holes drilled on 3/4 inch centers. You can buy
wood nesting boxes or make your own. If you make your own make sure the
holes are straight by using a drill press. It is recommended that you
have at least two boxes and alternate each year. In the Spring the bees
leave their nesting block and go in search of pollen. Before the bees
leave the box, hang up the second one. Then, when they are gone, clean
the old one by brushing or re-drilling holes and rinsing with a mild
chlorine solution. You can just drop the empty nest block in a Clorox
and water solution for a half hour, dry, and store until next year. If
you don’t clean the old one you invite disease and mites to invade. Copyright 2008 HORSERADISH
BY GLADYS JEURINK Sometimes
called Red Cole, Horseradish is known for its pungent roots. The sap
causes skin rash in some people. Harvesting of the roots is not done
until after frost has affected the leaves. If you have a very vigorous
plant you can harvest a little of the roots the first year.
The plant is very invasive so it needs to be in an area where it
can be controlled as small portions of the roots will grow if left in
the garden. It needs deep soil preparation that drains well as it can
get root rot in wet areas. In drouth stress the roots will become woody.
The plants grow about 3 feet high and 18 inches wide.
People who grind the roots to make their own horseradish, do so
outside and with gloves on, adding only vinegar to their grindings.
Copyright 2008 ************************************************************* If you have a
question for Gladys or George, write or e-mail the editor. The editor
will forward it on and one of them will answer it in a future column or
respond by e-mail. |