5 Reasons To Raise Bees
By Linda Rountree Grove and Carol Davis
Your gardens and orchard will yield much more if you have your own army of pollinators to fertilize plants and fruit trees.
See if these five reasons don’t get you thinking about having a hive or two of your own:
- Beekeeping is not labor intensive
Bees do not require daily care like animals. Plan to spend an hour
or two per week for honeybees and about a couple of hours per year for solitary bees, says Jay Williams, owner of Williams Honey Farm in Franklin, Tenn. - Bees are not picky about where they live
Bees are equally at home in the city or the country. If you live in an area that produces flowering plants, shrubs, and trees, you can keep bees.
- Beekeeping supports the bee’s community as well as our own
Mentoring and educational opportunities are abundant for beekeepers at local schools, community centers, or with 4-H programs.
- Your garden will thrive
Pollinators, and in particular solitary bees, can triple your garden or orchard’s harvest because of the way they cross-pollinate.
- Beekeeping puts you in touch with nature and yourself
Beekeeping can greatly enhance your enjoyment of the outdoors and will give you a heightened awareness of when various plants come into bloom.
Behavior of the bees will give you greater insight into temperature and seasonal changes as you observe their habits.