Apr 4, 2007OregonLive.com: Everything Oregon
You've been reading about the shortage of honeybees. Now, the dwarf fruit trees you bought last winter are in full bloom. It's too late for the urban gardener to worry about bees this year, but you can lay the groundwork now for your own mason bee hive next spring.
The mason bee is a less aggressive bee, emerges the same time as most fruit trees blossom. Born fertile, there is no need for a queen bee, and they stay close to their home. The trick is that in December or January - during NFL playoffs and ski trips - is when you have to order dormant bees.
Meantime, purchase kits of nesting tubes and create a bee condo in anticipation (supplies are seasonal, even for empty-til-spring nesting pipes and tubes) Territorial Seed Company has a kit for newbies. The Home Orchard Society sells them too.
Oregonian outdoor writer Bill Monroe had an excellent column in February on his own mason bee efforts.
Stay on top of all spring gardening with Homes & Gardens of the Northwest and garden expert Kym Pokorny.
Oct 28, 2007
Many people have heard of paw-paws, especially from a children's song. It is considered an exotic fruit, but I don't think it should be. It is in fact the largest native North American fruit. They grow easily without diseases, bugs, or heavy predation from local animals. The fruit is extremely...
Apr 20, 2007
The results are in; Nylon Footies are 100% effective against apple maggots & 96-98% effective against coddling moths. The environmentally effective way to protect your fruit without spraying is easy to apply. The key to the effective barrier is time of application. Nylon Footies must be...
Jul 5, 2006
Mystery surrounds this apple, for no one knew or remembered when it originated but "Coxe" reported in 1817 "The original tree at Burlington, N. J. was large and old." There is no doubt that it was an old colonial fruit. The ?Yellow Bellflower' was always called ?Belle Fleur' by the French...
Dec 28, 2005
This is my "short list" of American varieties which do well in most parts of the Pacific Northwest. There are many others not covered here that are worth growing, so don't stop with these if you have room for more. In cooler parts of the NW, it's best to confine your selections to early ripening...
Nov 28, 2005
Is a Persimmon or Medlar in your future? Or have you thought them too exotic for your yard or possibly too difficult to grow? Well, neither situation is true and the HOS spring event holds the opportunity for this wonderful fruit adventure Some of you may have seen persimmons in the grocery...
from the Home Orchard Society feed...