General Composting Tricks For The North Shore

I found that composting is very interesting and there is a lot that I didn't know about it. First, a household can compost over 500 kg of kitchen scraps, low-quality papers and yard trimmings per year, resulting in over 100 kg of fertilizer. Almost two-thirds North Shore homes compost their organics. And compost works by bacteria which need three things; carbon and nitrogen rich material, oxygen, and moisture. One thing I will look for next time I am in the garden is how the compost improves what you're growing. One question I have is what are the cons of composting? Does compost attract rodents and pests?

Current Event: Will The Canadian Wheat Board Be Dismantled?

Three interesting things about this article are that Pierre Lemieux wants to end the Canadian Wheat Board so that western farmers along with farmers all across Canada have more freedom and can choose who they sell their product to. Also the vote showed 62% of wheat farmers and 51% of barley farmers want to maintain their ability to market their grain through the Canadian Wheat Board. Disabaling the Canadian Wheat Board will be beneficial to farmers because it will give farmers the ability to choose who they sell to and what the price will be. A question I have is why are people opposed to the Canadian Wheat Board being dismantled? How will it affect farmers across Canada and will it be more difficult for farmers in isolated areas to make their profit?

Building Up and Protecting Soil

After reading this long but very informative article, I found a lot of really interesting things. The three things that really caught my eye where that without soil, our continents would be barren wastelands because soil traps and absorbs most of the rainfall and waters plants, replenishes aquifers, lakes, rivers, and streams. Another thing is that wind and water erosion are major threats to soil because it accomodates other types of soil degradation or environmental problems. Lastly, I  found it interesting that I learned about urban erosion which is erosion to soil due to housing and construction projects that gouge the soil and strip it of it's vegetation in order to make space for buildings. This leaves the soil exposed to the elements for a long period of time which causes higher erosion rates and for the soil to be unable to absorb the water from rooftops that would usually be trapped by plants. One thing I will look for next time I am in the garden is if the soil is healthy or not. One question I have is what can you do to make sure your soil remains healthy all year long?

Growing Garlic

I found many interesting things in this article but the three most interesting things I found were that two main types of garlic and one type that looks like garlic but has no garlic flavour which is called 'elephant garlic'. Another thing is that a deep, very fertile and well drained soil is ideal for growing garlic. Lastly, the cold of winter is needed for the side buds to grow that will eventually change and swell to become cloves. One thing I want to look for next time I am in the garden is to see how garlic looks when it's growing and what it looks like when it is ready to harvest. One question I have is how difficult if garlic to grow compared to other vegetables?

Planting Winter Crops

The three most interesting things I found about this article were that you could protect your crops from the winter by planting them in a raised bed because they provide extra drainage and will warm faster in brief sunny patches. Another thing I found interesting was that you could put straw around your raised beds for extra insulation and to protect them from frost. The last thing I found interesting was that when growing carrots and other root vegetables, their roots with become sweeter with the cold. Something that I will look for next time I'm in the garden is if there are any things used to protect the crops for the winter. One question I have is what fruits and/or vegetables actually like the cold and do not need protection from it?

Bee Foraging

Interesting things I found where that bees travel far distances, up to half a milfe away just to gather poolen. The bees that discover the pollen come back to the hive and perform a dance for the other bees to show where the pollen is located. Different "moves" indicate the distance. Another thing I found interesting is that bees see through a "blurred mosaic" and have to depend on their other senses for getting around. One thing I will look for next time I am in the garden/apiary is a bee dancing. I would like to see a bee performing the detailed dancing. One question I have is how much honey and how much pollen can a bee store at once?

Other Hive Designs

Things I found interesting about the top bar hive is that this hive produces more beeswax, is cheaper than the Langstroth and has no frames. But it's disadvantages include lower honey production, more fragile combs, and requires a higher level of knowledge. One thing I will look for when I am in the garden/apiary next is what the advantages of our hives our. One question I have is what are people's preferences when it comes to different hive types and designs?

Langstroth Bee Hives

The Langstroth bee hive design is very interesting. I was not aware that there were different styles and types of bee hives! Things I found interesting was that there is a brood chamber where the queen lays her eggs. Second is that bees organize there hives and store the honey above the eggs. Last I thought it was interesting how bee hives come in different sizes and depths. One thing I will look for next time I am out in the garden/apiary is to look for what size and depth our bee hives are. One question I have is what is a brood chamber?

Bee Lifecycle

The most interesting things I found about the bee lifecycle are that development for egg to an adult is on 21 days long. Something else I found interesting is that each adult bee has a task when it comes to caring for the larva like how the nurse bees feed the larva. Another thing I found interesting is how the life span of an adult worker bee varies with the time of the year. When the colony is active in spring and summer, worker bee may live as long as 5-6 weeks. During the inactive period in winter a worker bee lives five months or more. Next time I am in the garden/apiary I am going to try and identify which bees are newly hatched and I will do this by looking for bees that are light-grey. A question I have is how long is the life span of the queen bee?

Bee Yard Safety

When it comes to safety around bees, there isn't much I know. The most interesting things I found about bee safety is that bees can track CO2 so they often head for the face or ankles. Another thing I found interesting is that the smell of caffeine and sweat can offend bees, and that white calms bees while black does the opposite. Next time I am in the garden/apiary I will try to look for how bees act depending on the weather. I find it interesting how bees are more irritated when it is cloudy. A question I have is how does smoke calm the bees?