Following the Plan

Synergistic Effect

definition: An effect arising between two or more agents, entities, factors, or substances that produces an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Being organic gardeners for years, adding holistic beekeeping was simply the next phase of what Gayla and I intended to become a major commitment to lessen our environmental impact, while increasing the quality of the food we eat and the land we steward. After 7 seasons, I believe we have been partially successful. On our main 10-acre property in Westmoreland, we recently built a barn with a root cellar and a 12kWh solar array, continue to forgo the use of any chemical fertilizers or pesticides (10+ years) and have increased the size of our vegetable gardens and apiaries. Additionally, we added 40 acres of pasture and woodlands in Sullivan, NH. The pasture is now home to the majority of our bees and our squash gardens and is entering year 2 of it’s conversion into a certified organic hayfield. Still, there is much work to be done (and I do still drive a gas guzzling Ford F-150). Now comes the next phase of our plan.

Westmoreland

What does any of this have to do with bees? The plan for our Westmoreland home is built around the synergistic effect of taking chemical and pesticide free land, planting season-long honeybee and native pollinator friendly forage, including large areas of New England native wildflowers, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry gardens, adding a small, holistic, 16 – 20 tree fruit orchard, developing a no-till area as habitat for ground dwelling pollinators, plus adding an asparagus bed and expanded vegetable garden. The hope is the apiary will greatly benefit from these plantings just as we will benefit by creating a “pollinator paradise” that will result in healthier plants with increased yield.

Berries

This May, we will plant a variety of northern grown blueberry bushes that will provide blossoms and fruit over an extended season. We are currently planning on planting 45 bushes on the hillside between the barn and the yard that we currently have mulched with coniferous wood chips to acidify the soil. As blueberries want water, we will have drip irrigation throughout the garden area. These plants will help hold the soil, provide nectar for our bees and pollinators and hopefully produce a cash crop that will help us offset the development and maintenance costs. There is another area of the orchard that seems to remain wet. Most likely, that will become an area of high bush blueberries, as well. Raspberry, strawberry and possibly blackberry gardens will reside within the orchard area.

The Orchard

The area we cleared for the orchard is currently planted in winter rye. It is directly behind the veggie garden and is on a sloping, west-facing hillside that receives approximately 7 hours of sun daily. The orchard will consist of apple, peach, pear and plum trees. We will use dwarf trees when possible to ease the maintenance as I age.  The trees will all be northern grown, many purchased through Fedco Trees. We will follow the holistic techniques outlined in Michael Phillps‘ book, The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way. Native companion plantings will be used to maximize beneficial insects, retain soil nitrogen and mineral levels and to develop a healthy mycorrhizal layer in the soil (symbiotic relationship between beneficial fungi and a plant’s root or vascular system). We will use spray formulations that consist of organic materials and will not use any harmful sprays. The idea is to build a healthy ecosystem in the orchard that benefits the soil, pollinators, the trees and eventually us by providing us with untainted fruit. As we do not intend to sell produce unless asked, we are not concerned with growing the picture-perfect apple or pear. Instead, we want to grow the healthiest.

The orchard is going to be our biggest challenge. Just as when I started beekeeping using holistic techniques developed by a small group of other beekeepers, many folks are telling me I will not be able to grow organic fruit in our area. They may very well be right. Deer and pests are going to be a serious problem. But just as many of the same folks who told me I would have to treat my bees are now no treat, I hope to rely on the wisdom of Michael and others to succeed here, as well. Time will tell.

Partners and Resources

Which brings me to the fact that no one has to try to go this route alone. There are a number of incredibly knowledgeable people as well as organizations whose mission statements are based on developing and teaching techniques to benefit natural pollinators, produce healthier, more sustainable agricultural methods and to help fund like-minded projects and research.

Locally, I am working with the Cheshire County Conservation District (CCCD) to purchase many of my trees through Fedco and to use their valuable expertise in developing our plan. They, in turn, are working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) who helps develop and fund projects that provide a number of benefits to farmers and landowners alike. The NRCS works closely with the Xerces Society, a national organization that helps develop healthy habitat for invertebrates, including honeybees and native pollinators. By working locally with the CCCD, we are able to gain access to the resources of national and governmental organizations that would normally not be available to a small beekeeper.

The Synergistic Effect

I hope you agree our plan is actually very simple and based on common sense.  Every component of the plan should benefit and maximize the result of every other action. Adding the solar array reduces our carbon footprint and will eventually provide a return on our investment that provides us funds required to pursue our plan. The benefit of our relationship with the CCCD is magnified countless times through their national contacts. This is turn opens the gates to the knowledge and resources I need to properly develop our property in a way the enhances our personal lives, provides our family with sustainable local food, provides good stewardship of the land we manage, provides new, healthy habitat for native pollinators and helps provide season-long, sustainable forage for bees under our care. It is the way many people are starting to think–indeed, need to think!

As this plan moves forward, I will let you know what issues we find and how our bees are affected. Due to the length of this post, I have purposely not discussed the plan for our land in Sullivan, part of which involves a grant-funded study through the CCCD for developing habitat for native pollinators.  That discussion will have to wait for another snowy day in New Hampshire…

I hope your hearth is warm and your bees are quietly buzzing.