By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Being an agriculturist and urban gardener I have always gardened for 2 reasons.

One, reason is for food and two, for my own personal beauty.

As a human being I have enjoyed manipulating the environment to create what I want regardless of the monetary and environmental cost until now.

I have always used somewhat regional plants for my landscape and my garden has always been full of whatever my family and I like to eat, forget nature in my vegetable garden. We all feel that less nature in the vegetable garden would be very helpful but… But without nature we have no food and as Albert Einstein believed if bees died out the human race would only last 4 years, so to all gardeners we need to take a stand and save the pollinators of the world.

As I sit in my backyard with squash, tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, pumpkins, etc. blooming in my garden I see or hear a total of zero bees. A few flies visit me, a hummingbird, and morning doves but no bees. It almost feels like a remake of Rachael Carson’s Silent Spring being played out in my backyard. As a responsible human being and gardener I do not want a future without pollinators so what can I do.

First Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

The declining bee population has troubled scientists and gardeners.

A new study gives hope that one day soon, bees may flourish again.

Bees are a very beneficial insect in gardens, serving as one of the main pollinators for fruits, vegetables and flowers, as well as producing honey.

For the past few years, people began to notice that the bee population was declining. In fact, entire bee colonies were dying off in alarming quantities. The problem was dubbed “colony collapse disorder” and many theories were presented. However, it wasn’t until recently that scientists were able to identify a cause.

Scientists were able to identify a fungi called Nosema ceranae. Once the colonies were treated with an antibiotic, the colony recovered.

“In a study Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Keeping unwanted pests out of your garden doesn’t have to mean a shelf full of toxic chemicals.

There are many options for even the smallest garden when trying to get rid of unwelcome visitors to your garden.

Other insects can increase productivity in your garden and increase the overall health of plants and soil. Here are some of a gardener’s best friends:

Ladybugs

These small orange insects are the single best defense against aphids, and each ladybug will eat over 4,000 aphids in its lifetime. Ladybugs can be ordered online or purchased in Read the rest of this entry »