And just like that, the Painter applied green to all which was brown, dormant and bare. Fields of green grass, clover and henbit in every direction. The woods have closed their windows becoming thick with vibrant leaves and foliage. Spring stirs something primal in our very being. Just as the birds frantically build their nests, we feel the same sense of urgency to start the process of procuring food in some subconscious preparation for the next winter to come. Our bouts of spring fever began as early as February, they intensified in March, then come April the house once again became a place primarily only for sleeping. All those long-awaited spring chores seem to require completion all at one. At the same time however, mid-April is mushroom season, and well, you have to have priorities.
BEES
Mean bees happen. We usually have at least one cantankerous hive that is a bit more aggressive than the rest. This April’s hive check revealed the meanest hive yet. In defense of the bees, protecting the hive from predators and threats is necessary. Back in the 1800’s, people known as honey robbers destroyed wild hives for honey. Bears and racoons will also gladly tear up a hive for honey and likely larvae too. Hive beetles, varroa mites and mice, are guaranteed to find their way into beehives and wreak havoc. The bees do their best to keep uninvited guests under control, (although human intervention is really the only way to keep hives from being destroyed by these invasive little buggers).
Queen Cell is light yellow at bottom right of frame
The temperament of a hive is completely dependent on the temperament of the queen based on the genetics of her father. Her pheromones are the pulse of the hive. Sort of like herd mentality found in people, but explainable through science.
We want our bees to defend their hives, but overly aggressive bees are a concern. In order to cool the temperament of a hive, the current queen must be removed so that the bees can begin growing a new queen. The new queen will likely have a better disposition than the former because the genetics for disposition are from her father, not her mother. When the baby queens are born, they will fight until there is only one queen alive. She will leave within a few days and fly out to a drone field. Drones, male bees spend their days hanging out in one specific area for the sole purpose of mating with new queens. These drones are from many different hives and all carry a slight variation of genetics to pass on to the queen’s eggs. Those eggs are fertilized by up to a dozen drones which will result in the baby bees being genetically diverse. This is nature’s optimization. For example, if there is a hot summer, some of those new bees might have the genetics to survive well in heat, some might not, but the hive will survive. Either way, this almost always solves the problem of a mean hive.
Juvenile CHICKENS
The new chicks have graduated from their primary school brooder into the junior high runner. The runner is a long fully fenced (all sides and top) transition area for the juvenile chicken phase. They have a miniature coop inside to roost and have extra protection from predators at night. During the day however, they are free to run around, get some sunshine and interact safely with the adult chickens right on the other side of the chicken wire. We chose this method because it is a good way to acclimate the young’uns to being outside and it allows them to get to know the adults they will soon be joining. This has helped reduced the roughness of the pecking order initiation after they are introduced into the flock.
Remember those babies from March? They grow FAST!!
GROWING- Perennials
There is nothing more satisfying than planting a seed in the garden and a few months later picking cucumbers, carrots and green beans. It’s magical, miraculous and pretty exciting. It can also be a ton of work, especially during the many very hot and very humid days Missouri is famous for. Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re not about to stop growing annual food, but there is something to be said about perennial food. Here are a few favorites that we grow here at Fourteen Acre Wood- Nearly all can be planted in April/May
Asparagus
REMEMBER where you planted it and keep the ground around it cleaned up or mulched and harvest in April. DO NOT harvest until the second or third year. Allow the plant to go to seed and leave it be. Unless cooking right away keep your asparagus in a plastic bag in the refrigerator (I use bread bags).
Berries
Blueberries prefer a well-drained and more acidic soil, between 4 & 5 pH. Keep the base mulched and keep the plant well watered. Depending on the type of blueberry you plant you’ll be harvesting between June and July. Blueberries also make a great edible addition to flower beds.
Blueberry flowers
Strawberries are also a FANTASTIC berry in that they will take over whatever area you give them and usually come back each year with even more berries than the year before. I like to rinse them off, split them in half lengthwise, freeze them on a cookie sheet and keep in freezer bags. Nothing like a strawberry smoothie in January that actually tastes like strawberries!
Strawberry Flowers
Blackberries are also a wonderful perennial and we have hundreds of wild blackberries that planted themselves here from the edges of the fields to the edges of the woods. They grow excellent berries for jam, freezing or pie. They are however filled with thorns and a haven for poison ivy. Blackberries are usually ready to pick mid-July to mid-August when it is extremely hot and all sorts of insects are just waiting to find every last inch of exposed skin for a snack. Being the only one in the family that doesn’t have a negative reaction to poison ivy, it’s my job to pick the blackberries. Long sleeve shirt, overalls and rubber boots at 8am is the only way to go. Get in the brambles, pick like mad and get out! The thorns still manage to tear me up, but it’s worth it. This month we planted three thornless blackberry bushes which will eventually produce a less painful harvest.
An eventual orchard? With the addition of three more peach trees we are now up to five peach, one pear, one cherry and two apple trees. When choosing fruits and berries to grow make sure to check your local Extension Office (Here’s a link to the Missouri Extension) before buying. Any store will sell any tree, strawberry plant or blueberry bush even if that particular type is doomed once planted in your region. Climate, insects and fungus are just a few examples of fruit and berry threats. To have the best outcome with the least amount of chemicals, follow the Extension recommendations.
April was just as much of a weather roller coaster as the past several months. Slowly, but surely, we’ll be back in the garden playing in the dirt! Onward summer!!
April 20th Surprise
Fourteen Acre Wood
Audrey L Elder
Comments