Spotted in the Garden
One morning last week, Mr Chiots yelled through the office window, "hey you’ve got to see this HUGE slug". I looked out and saw it and decided I must take a photo, but I needed something for scale, otherwise it would look just like a regular slug. Since I happened to be working at my computer I grabbed the first portable thing I saw, my magic mouse. Mr Chiots said, "The highest life form and the lowest life form side by side."
This guy was the biggest slug I’ve seen in the garden so far. We mostly have small black slugs, I see them often around the gardens. They live under leaves and munch on plants. When I saw this big guy I thought, “Some toad is going to be so lucky to find him!”
Slugs are big garden pests for many people. People go through all kinds of trouble trying to get rid of them. I simply let them be and allow the toads that live in the garden to take care of them. This means I have slugs munching on my plants at times and I lose some foliage and a few seedlings. When we first moved in we had tons of slugs, they were eating everything. Then the toads came and now they keep the population at a decent level. So I’ve made peace with the slugs and let them be just like every other garden pest. Every year I spot big toads and little baby toads at different time of the year. I know that because I don’t kill slugs they will stick around and multiply!
I have a few boards in shady spots around the garden because toads love to live under them. Toads also love it if you leave a few piles of leaves around for them to hide under. place a few plant saucers in the garden filled with water and rocks (make sure to change water regularly to keep mosquitoes from breeding), this is beneficial for toads, salamanders and insects.
What do you do when you spot slugs in the garden?
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The First Bloom of the Season
When we first moved in here I planted 300 crocus bulbs (and some tulips, daffodils etc). The following year I ended up with only 1 crocus bloom thanks to the chipmunks around here. I never planted any more, so I usually only have 1 crocus that blooms.
My mom has tons of them that bloom in her gardens, they’re so lovely. She sent me a few photos of hers, they were blooming last week.
This year I spotted one blooming in the front flowerbed and I’m not sure where it came from. It’s right by a hydrangea I planted 2 years ago, so maybe it came in the pot with that. I was out taking photos and was there at the right time because I got to see one of our bees gathering some pollen. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
I would love to plant more crocuses in my garden, I’m trying to figure out how to do with while keeping them safe from chipmunks. I’ve read you can plant the bulbs in baskets. I’ve had good luck sprinkling tulip bulbs with garlic to keep them from digging them up right away, but I’m thinking they’ll still eat them later, when the garlic washes away.
What’s the first thing to bloom in your garden? Anyone have any great tips on keeping chipmunks, moles & squirrels away from bulbs?
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Checking our Beehives after a Long Winter
Every couple weeks throughout the winter, we put our ears up the side of our beehives and listening for that humming sounds that bees make keeping warm. There are a few steps you can take to help them survive the winter; you make sure you don’t take too much honey from the hive so they have enough to eat throughout the winter and you try to keep them dry. We didn’t take any honey from our hives last fall, trying to give them the best chance for survival.
If you were reading the blog last summer, you’ll remember that we split our hive. We were worried that the new hive, which was the smaller of the two, might not make it through the winter because of their lower population and less honey stored. Oddly enough all winter long they were the strongest hive, buzzing away quite loudly. When the weather warmed up they were the first bees to leave the hive.
Last week on a warm day (it was almost 70) we decided to check on the old hive, which we were worried hadn’t survived. We found a small cluster of bees and spotted the queen so they seem to have survived the winter, although they appear to be weak (although since this is the first time we’ve overwintered bees, we’re not sure). They still have a ton of honey left, so we’re hoping they make it through any more cold spells we have.
It’s good to see activity at the hives again and see bees flying around the garden on warm days. We noticed that they’re already bringing in pollen, most likely from the crocuses that are blooming and the pussywillows. We’re considering moving our hives to a different location where they’ll get more winter sun. That’s something we’ll be doing soon before they get too big this spring. We also found a great new resource with tips on overwintering bees and beekeeping in general, for those of you interested here’s the link. We’ll be ventilating our hives better this year and wrapping them in tar paper next winter.
Hopefully we’ll have a nice harvest of honey this summer from our hives. We may end up splitting one of our hives again if they’re both strong by early summer. It wasn’t much later than this last year that we got our first package of bees. If you’re interested in getting a hive now is the time to buy. Make sure you ask around to find a good reputable source.
Have you ever thought about getting bees for your gardens?
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Bamboo for Beneficials
I like to use bamboo stakes in the garden because they’re sturdy and they look nice. I also like to use them because the small solitary bees use them for their nests. I was noticing when taking down all of my plant stakes that almost all of them were filled with all sizes of beneficial solitary bees (probably some of those I saw on the last queen anne’s lace the other day).
I think it’s interesting how many different kinds of solitary bees there are. Some of these stakes are plugged with mud, others are filled with bits of leaves. They also like all different sizes of stakes, I assume for all the different sizes of bees. There’s no need to buy those expensive little solitary bee houses when you use bamboo stakes
This jewel wasp is one the beneficials that’s using the bamboo, I’ve seen them coming and going from the stakes.
I think this might be a sand wasp, but I’m not positive. It might be using the bamboo stakes as well.
It’s quite fascinating really, the way nature works. The more I garden organically, the greater the variety of insects I see flitting about the garden and these little solitary bees are no exception. With the number of bamboo stake I use (over 100) I’ll have plenty of pollinators in the spring! This is a great way to attract solitary bees and wasps to your garden and they’ll pollinate your crops beautifully.
Do you do anything special to attract solitary bees or other pollinators?
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Fleeting Moments
I’ve been out working the garden just about every afternoon this week. We’ve been having wonderful weather. I still have one Queen Anne’s Lace plant that’s blooming long after the others have gone to seed. I’m not sure why this one lasted so long, but the insects sure are enjoying it. It’s like an oasis in the desert for them, it’s buzzing with activity!
I spent some time watching all the different insects that came and went and was amazed at how many there were. Perhaps since most of the honeybees and larger solitary bees are not coming out any more with the cold weather I’m noticing the smaller insects more. Most of these insects are very small, some of them barely noticeable. I’m glad I saw these, what a wonderful fleeting moment.
They won’t be around much longer. I’m hoping they all have eggs around the garden ready to burst forth next spring with new generation of pollinators ready to enjoy the gardens.
Have you noticed anything new lately?
