AnnVilla Farm

BEES ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR GARDENS

It's December 6th, cooling down out there, and many states have gotten their first frosts. When you get your Heirloom Seeds this year, please Order a few Herb or Flower varieties to Help Attract, Feed and Save Our Bees. They are so important to us, and every plant helps their survival.

Many of your vegetables won't get pollinated, or grow fruit or produce Seed, without Honey Bees visiting your Garden. What is happening is we are losing a big percentage of our Bee population from pesticides commercial farms are using, and in some places the loss of habitat that they feed from.

Bees are equipped with very tiny hairs on their bodies and legs. When a bee lands on a flower, pollen will stick to these hairs, and then when the bee moves to another flower, the pollen gets transferred-- pollinating the bloom. This pollination is required for many Garden Vegetables, such as some okra, beans, squash, cucumbers and many more. With out this pollination most vegetables will never set fruit, and that would be bad news for your garden.

The best way to attract bees to your vegetable garden is to create an environment that bees will enjoy and visit. You can accomplish this by doing several things:

1) DON'T USE PESTICIDES-- Most pesticides are not selective. You are killing off the beneficial bugs along with the pests. Try to grow Organic as possible. Companion Plants are great for this.

2) USE MORE NATIVE PLANTS-- Research suggests native plants are four times more attractive to native bees. They are also usually well adapted to your growing conditions and can thrive with minimum attention. In gardens, heirloom varieties of herbs and perennials can also provide good foraging.

3) CHOOSE SEVERAL COLORS OF FLOWERS--Bees have good color vision to help them find flowers and the nectar and pollen. Flower colors that particularly attract bees are blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow.

4) TRY PLANTING FLOWERS IN CLUMPS-- Flowers clustered into clumps of one species will attract more pollinators than individual plants scattered throughout your Garden.

5) HAVE DIVERSITY OF PLANTS THAT FLOWER ALL YEAR--Most bee species feed on a range of plants through their life cycle. By having several plant species flowering at once, and a succession of plants flowering through spring, summer, and fall, you can support a range of bee species that fly at different times of the season.

6) PLANT WHERE BEES WILL VISIT--Bees favor sunny spots over shade and need some shelter from strong winds.

Also, when your Dandelions pop up in Spring all over the yard, please don't mow them right away, or spray them. They are the Bees first real food after a long Winter, and they need them for sustenance until all the other flowers start to bloom.

When you need some great Non GMO Heirloom Seeds for your Garden, please visit our THE SEED GUY website--) https://theseedguy.net/15-seed-packages ; We have 9 of our Heirloom Seed packages in Stock Now, they are fresh from the New Fall 2022 Harvest, and we still hand count and package our Seed varieties, like the old days, so you get the best germination. We have our Christmas Sale Pricing on now until Dec. 31st.

You can also CALL US 7 days a week, and up to 10:00 pm each night, at 918-352-8800 if you would like to Order By Phone.

If you LIKE US on our page, you will be on our list for more great Gardening Articles, new Heirloom Seed Offers, and healthy Juice Recipes. https://www.facebook.com/theseedguy/ Thank you, and God Bless You and Your Family. :)

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DID YOU PLANT YOUR GARLIC YET?

You usually plant Garlic during the second to last week of October, depending on where you live, and then cover in at least 6 inches of a good mulch of shredded leaves or grass clippings, and harvest the following July.

Getting the soil ready is an important and often neglected prerequisite for successful garlic growing. Although garlic evolved in poor soils (most likely in the desert regions of Siberia), application of organic matter to the soil prior to planting will definitely increase your yield. Summer is the best time to add compost or well-rotted manure to the site where you intend to plant.

To prevent w**d growth between when you are finished with preparations and when you plant, cover the bed with black plastic or heavy mulch. You can add a little more nitrogen to your garlic bed in the spring in the form of compost or rotted manure, but lay off after that; too much nitrogen may cause premature yellowing of the leaves.

When you’re ready to plant, it’s best to divide your garlic bulbs into cloves before starting. Plant the cloves 6-8 inches apart, in rows or double rows with room to w**d in between. You may have to remove some of the mulch in the spring if it is compacted and impedes your plants’ growth. Often, though, the mulch breaks down enough over the winter to allow the garlic to push through.

Planting garlic is a joy because the days are crisp and cool and there are few pests that bother garlic. In fact, it is often used in companion plantings to protect other plants from pests.

Selecting the type of garlic you want to plant is a matter of individual taste, but be aware that there are many species of garlic out there other than the California white you usually see at the supermarket. There are dozens of exotic varieties available with names like Russian Red, Purple Stripe Porcelain, Rosewood, Kabar and on and on.

So-called “hardneck” varieties develop a flowerhead on the stem called a “scape,” which curls and then extends upward, eventually becoming woody (hence the name “hardneck”).

Garlic scapes are considered a delicacy in their own right.

They are harvested soon after they appear, and are often sold in bunches at farmers’ markets. Cutting the flower heads off of garlic when they appear also allows more of the plant’s energy to go into producing larger bulbs. Many commercial operations “pop the tops” off of their garlic for this reason.

You will find the Garlic Seed Bulbs in many of the Garden Centers this time of year, or many people buy from good companies online. If you have issues getting them, you can always go to your Neighborhood Grocery store, but make sure only to buy the Organic Garlic Bulbs. Then just plant the cloves from the bulbs. Good Luck.

Please visit us here at THE SEED GUY, when you are ready for some great Small Farm Grown Non GMO Heirloom Seeds. We still hand count and package our Heirloom Seeds for best germination for you, and have Great Pricing on our 9 Heirloom Seed Packages. Fresh from the New Fall 2022 Harvest --) https://theseedguy.net/15-seed-packages

We are also available by phone 7 days a week, and up to 10:00 pm each night, at 918-352-8800.

If you Like Us on our page, you will be able to see more of our great Gardening Articles, New Seed Offerings, and healthy Juice Recipes .https://www.facebook.com/theseedguy Thank you, and God Bless You and Your Family:)