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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The Perfect Breakfast
The chickens are on strike at the farm, which means we haven’t had eggs for a while. I finally located another source for local pastured eggs and we were super excited to finally enjoy the perfect breakfast again. What makes up the perfect breakfast in my book: bacon (all-natural of course), homemade sourdough toast, eggs fried in bacon grease (MMMM, is there any other way to cook them?), and sauteed organic (semi-local) mushrooms (which can really go with any meal in my book). 
We can’t forget the raw milk latte made with Colombian coffee (it counts as local if my dad brings it back from Colombia for us doesn’t it?). What breakfast would be complete without coffee?
Eggs are really the perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner. They’re super healthy (especially if you buy local pastured ones) and you just can’t get much tastier! We frequently enjoy them for quick meals and are happy to have them in our diets once again!
What do you consider to be the perfect breakfast?
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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?
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Fall Chores: Cleaning out the Gutters
When you live in the woods you have a lot of chores in the fall; raking, planting, mulching, cleaning out gardens, mowing and cleaning out the gutters!
We usually wait until they’re all off the trees and then we get out the ladders and clean them out for those icy winter rains. It’s really not a bad chore since you end up with some brown matter for your compost pile. Mr Chiots usually gets up and does it, but I have on occasion. I took these photos last Thurs, and as you can see there are still a few leaves on the trees. We had a big wind storm on Friday night and now all the leaves are down (and the gutters are very very full of leaves).
I have most of my fall chores checked off the list so it looks like we’ll be out cleaning out the gutters on the next nice day. We’ll also be raking all the leaves in the front lawn. I’m planning on using the leaves to fill the crates I’ll be putting up around my hydrangeas (to keep those munching deer out).
What fall chores do you have yet to check off your list?
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Making Hard Cider
I decided to try my hand at making some hard cider this year. I’ve been making my own apple cider vinegar for a few years and I’ve heard it’s better if you start with hard cider. Generally to make my vinegar I simply pour cider into a big glass jar, cover with cheesecloth and let it sit for a few months until it’s vinegar, easy as that. I do buy unpasteurized cider from a small local press, so it contains the natural yeasts in it that ferment it and then turn it into vinegar.
I read up on how to do it, and the best article I found was over at Mother Earth News. I ran to my local brewing supply store (which happens to be Leener’s) and I bought some valves and one one gallon jugs and some of the yeast mentioned in the article (Red Star Cote des Blancs).
I decided to make a few different kinds of cider, one with only natural yeast, one with the natural yeast and the purchased yeast, and 2 gallons with only the purchased yeast. If you buy unpasteurized cider and you want to make your hard cider with purchased yeast you’ll have to pasteurize the cider to kill all the natural yeast. I decided to try a batch with and without this step to see how it would affect the final product.
In a few weeks I should be able to taste my cider and see the difference between the 3 methods. I’m very interested to see if the apple cider vinegar I make from this cider tastes different than the stuff I make without this specific fermenting step.
Anything interesting brewing at your house?
