On Sat, 7 Feb 2009 05:47:53 -0800 (PST), beecrofter
wrote:

On Feb 4, 1:53*pm, MajorOz wrote:
The ice has melted and the quarter million folks down the road almost
have all the power back on. *The sun is out and temps should go up to
50's and 60's in a day or so. *So, I am planning to get some clean-up
and prep work started.

What can I do to help out in bringing back some bees? *As I am inside
a national forest, there is no widespread spraying here'bouts, and my
neighbors and I don't use harsh stuff except as a last resort in very
small areas. *I don't want to KEEP bees, anymore than I keep bats,
even though I have mounted bat houses here and there.
I just want do do what might help.

Things I have considered is:
1. *After I have burned and disked some meadows, putting in some
clover, along with the other native grasses.
2. Leaning toward bee-friendly flowers when selecting annuals this
year.

Any other ideas?

cheers

oz, feverish from the cabin

Burning the meadows will likely decrease the numbers and types of bees
on your land as a diversity of plants ( weeds to some) that flower at
different times will promote the greatest numbers of bees. Leaving
some wild patches will protect your pollinators.


I planted borage, the "bee plant" last year. Not sure how much it
made a difference, but it did draw bees into my yard. I had a bumper
blueberry crop last summer.