Bees like Red and Stripey- The decline of the Honey Bee

The decline in the Honey Bee population is a serious global problem, which has me seriously concerned. Many crops depend on bee pollination and farmers often hire bee hives to place along side their crops to help pollination. Suddenly the bee keepers were loosing whole hives on a daily basis and now this is a world wide phenomenon often referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) or Honey Bee Depopulation Syndrome (HBDS).

I was amazed when I read in the March 2011 issue of the independent that

"The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees."

and in  later in March the UN issued a warning stating that

"Bee declines range up to 85 percent in some areas "

Although the exact cause is not yet known experts from The United Nations say that several factors maybe involved. ie..

• Decline in flowering plants
• Use of harmful insecticides
• Worldwide pollution
• Increase in pests such as the varroa destructor which attacks Honey Bees.

When I first decided to change to a more eco friendly lifestyle one of the first three rules I made was to only by vegetable and fruit plants instead of flowers. I have now changed this idea and take pleasure in my flowering plants as they have their purpose in the garden. I have just planted some big sun flowers to plant along the back of the vegetable patch to hopefully encourage our Andalusian bees, but actually bees like red and stripy flowers.

Not many of us can rush out and start a bee colony but here in Andalusia we are lucky in that running bee hives is popular and there are groups who hire fields in the campo for such activity. Also many of you may have seen on the trip up to Sierra Nevada that honey is sold along the roadside of in local shops.If you can't get to local products you could try http://www.elcortijodelasabejas.es which appears have a nice online service.

You Might also Like to Read Andy's article on Pest Control.

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Organic Pest Control

Organic Pest Control

Within the boundaries of organic gardening certain substances are permitted. Personally speaking though, these should only be used as a last resort against serious infestation. The ultimate aim is to encourage beneficial predators into your garden, creating a mini eco-sphere. To do this there has to be a food source which means allowing some destructive pests to flourish, if only briefly. By killing off pests such as aphids with pesticides you are depriving beneficial predators like ladybirds of a readily available source of food. If you really do have to use pesticides because of severe infestation then the following products should be of some use.

1. Neem oil is a non toxic, biodegradable broad spectrum pesticide that interferes with an insect’s physiology and mating patterns but doesn’t actually kill it. It’s the only insecticide that we use in our garden.

2. Insecticidal soap is another non toxic pesticide that when applied has to come into contact with the insect and only lasts while it’s wet.

3. Horticultural oil works by suffocating the insect and by disrupting its feeding pattern. It has low toxicity and leaves no residue.

There are many more organic pesticides on the market but for most allotment gardeners or smallholder the three listed above should suffice.  
 
Deterrents and prevention 
 Nature has its own way of dealing with unwanted insects in the form of garlic. It has long been known that certain plants, in particular their smell, deter harmful insects. Carrot fly for instance navigate by smell and can detect carrots from as far away as a mile. The strong scent of garlic masks the scent of the carrot making it far more difficult for the fly to detect the crop.
Other members of the alliums’ family, in particular chives and spring onions are also useful in the same way and are particularly effective against aphids.
 Plant your chives and onions close to those plants that are most susceptible. To get the best results cut or rub the chives to release the scent.
 You can make an effective homemade repellent by crushing a few garlic cloves then boil them in a litre of water for fifteen minutes, leave to cool then spray on your vegetables. Use only as a deterrent, in my experience it is of little use to plants already under attack.
 Companion planting
 Companion planting is an invaluable technique that all organic gardeners should consider using. Basically it involves planting ornamental plants to deter pests or attract pests away from your vegetables. As we’ve already mentioned members of the onion family can deter carrot fly and aphids by their smell which the pest finds unattractive. Here is a list of some of the most beneficial and easiest plants to find.
 Alliums; good against aphids and carrot fly
Basil; attracts aphids away from other plants
Nasturtiums; attracts cabbage white butterflies away from broccoli and cabbage
Marigolds; repels slugs
Coriander; repels aphids and carrot fly
 It’s also good practice to plant flowering ornamentals as close to your veg patch as possible, preferably in amongst your crops. They will attract bees and other pollinating insects essential for a bumper crop.
 Other pests
 As well as the usual, common pests that all gardeners come across at some time or other there are a few that you will encounter in Spain. By far the most problematic for us are grasshoppers and locusts. Left unchecked they can devour a young plant beyond recognition. Spiders are there natural predator, particularly the bloody big ones. Leave them and their webs in place and check it every so often. During the summer I guarantee that you’ll see a fair few grasshoppers caught up in its web.
 Sheep and goats have caused us a fair few problems in the past. Both will eat any unprotected tree and vegetables and don’t expect the shepherd to stop them. Good grazing is difficult to find in summer so a nice juicy patch of lettuces are just what there looking for. In the end we had to fence off our newly planted trees and enclose our kitchen garden with chicken wire, fence posts and a few old pallets. We are now on speaking terms with both the shepherd and goat herder, offering them cold water in summer. You have to be a little bit pragmatic in these situations; after all before us foreigners moved into the campo the shepherds had the whole of the countryside to graze their flock on. We allow the sheep to graze on the lower part of our land in amongst the old olives and almonds.