Episode 2501

- [Voiceover] On this Volunteer Gardener, we get to peek inside the world of some hard working pollinators. Sheri Gramer visits Williams Honey Farm, where their passion and respect for the contribution of bees in the world's food supply runs deep. This and more, so stay tuned. First, their importance cannot be overstated.

- I'm out here in Williamson County with Jay Williams from Williams Honey Farm. He's going to show us, tell us and teach us as much as we can absorb in one day about bees. Jay, what are we standing in front of right here?

- So, what you're standing in front of is called a nucleus bee hive, a nuc, for short. So this is what we use and what we breed to start new beekeepers off in their beekeeping careers. So every single one of these boxes here has one queen in it. And the queen controls the entire hive she's in charge at all times and everybody knows she's there. Every queen has their own personality. Some are hard workers, some are relaxed, some are easygoing. This again is a nucleus beehive. It has probably about, I'd say just under 10,000 bees in it, maybe 10 to 15 thousand. They're just hanging out. They're growing. The queen is laying a whole lot of eggs, and we're gonna see if we can find her. So once we start with the first frame which is on the outside, right here is pollen that's all just come in. And you can guesstimate if you want what kind of pollen it is. Is it red maple, is it from tulip poplar, is it from anything? Right now basically the honey flow is on. And when we say that it means that there is nectar heavily coming in from locusts that just started blooming a few days ago. But by keeping bees and by watching these hives you get to know what's blooming in your environment pretty closely. And you get a really good idea for the temperature changes and the environmental changes. So this is just the outside of the hive. This is nectar that hasn't quite been cured yet. This is actually nectar that has been cured.

- [Sheri] So what do you mean, cured?

- [Jay] So what I mean by that is that you can't eat honey until it's about 19% moisture content. So the bees will take their wings and they'll dehydrate this nectar down and turn it into honey. It's a little too watery when it first comes in from the flowers. So they'll store it in here and then they will dehydrate it over time and then once it's perfectly 19% or less they'll cap it with a little wax capping. And you can actually just take your finger and stick right in there. And it tastes better than anything you'll ever taste in the grocery store, that's for sure. So we'll just line that right up there. And we'll come in here. So what's really cool is we do a whole lot of extractions, they're called, which means we remove a beehive from someone's house, or tree or whatever. And in nature, and as well as in managed bee hives on the outsides of the hives is where you're gonna find all the honey. And on the inside of the hive is where you're gonna find the babies. Or the brood, it's called. The reason being, what's expendable? The honey, they can make way more honey. The future of the hive is the babies, basically. So the babies are always gonna be in the center. So if you look at this frame right now, do you see anything that's sort of popping out at you, that looks different than the rest?

- [Sheri] Right here.

- [Jay] Boom, there you go. So she is the future of this hive.

- [Sheri] Is she always bigger and more elongated in the back, then?

- [Jay] Yeah, so these are all worker bees right here. So worker bees are females about 80% of the hive, and they're all fed royal jelly. Royal jelly is like the superfood, in a sense. Well, one of the eggs, the one that they decided this is gonna be the queen, was fed extra royal jelly, and that made her basically develop into a bigger bee.

- [Sheri] What is on this one, is that pollen?

- [Jay] That's pollen, exactly, yep. So that's pollen that's just come in. So one of the beekeeper tricks that we use that if someone, a new beekeeper, can't find the queen and they're looking all over and they don't know where to find her right here, you just look for where the bees are that have pollen on their sacs, pollen sacs and then you know that the queen is close by. Because they're feeding that pollen to the babies. So she'll lay about 1500 eggs a day for her entire life. Which is pretty, pretty impressive! She'll go out and she'll mate for about three or four days, and then she'll come back to a hive and then she'll never leave again, that'll be it. Bees are important for so many different reasons.

- [Sheri] Is it true one out of every three things we eat we would not have without a bee?

- [Jay] One out of every three bites we take is thanks to a honeybee. They are involved, you know what? I'm gonna have you hold something. They are involved in so much more than everybody realizes. You know, there's a certain crop, there's many crops, but one crop, almonds in particular--

- [Sheri] Almonds from California?

- [Jay] From California, yep. Here you go, just grab right like I was. There you go, perfect. You can't have almonds without bees. They are so dependent on pollination from honeybees. And it's also the reason that we're in such trouble, because of almonds. Because if you can imagine every year around you know, let's say the end of December or so, three-quarters of all the beehives in the United States are trucked to the almond pollination which is in central California.

- [Sheri] Really? That's a lot of bees!

- [Jay] It's a lot of bees. It's big business people don't wanna turn down. They're chasing the money right away. But think about the problem that that can cause. So let's say we get 100 people from all over the country and we put 'em all in the same room. Well they all got different colds and flus and they're sick or whatever. What happens? All we do is exchange all those colds and flus and then go psssshht, right back out, into the rest of the country. So if you want to talk about the best way to spread disease, that's it. The best way to raise bees, and to bring the pollinators back is to actually have multiple varieties of blooming plants and flowers and trees and all that stuff because variety is the spice of life. You can't have one thing and expect the bees to stay healthy. And unfortunately when you bring 'em to almonds that's all you're giving 'em. The other thing is that the bees are coming from all over the country, which means, bees from Tennessee are like, "Hey, where's the tulip poplar? "I'm looking for it, it's missing. "I'm waiting for the basswood to bloom in June, "what's going on?" And the same thing with the bees in Florida, and New York, and all that stuff. It messes up the bees. So stressed bees equal sick bees. And bees have a very strong stinger and a very weak immune system. So we have less forage, so there's pressure on the bees, to have less area for them to feed off of. There's a certain type of chemical that was used in a bigger variety called neonicitinoid, and that's in almost everything right now. And it's synthetic so it lasts a super long time. And it weakens the bees. So it doesn't kill 'em, it weakened 'em. Well when you weaken the bees and you get away with it for a certain amount of time you just get less and less strong bees. And then on top of that, we started importing tons and tons of bees, 'cause we were losing 'em. Well when you import 'em, you import the pests with 'em. So something called the Varroa mite. Which is basically like a tick on top of a bee. And the Varroa mite sucks at the bee larva and weakens it. Well again, you weaken the bee, you're having problems, and the Varroa mite is really hard to get rid of because how do you get rid of an insect that's living on top of another insect? And the answer was, well we just sterilize the whole hive or we just kill everything. Well it just again, weakens the bees even more to treat 'em. So we created these bees that needed coddling along. We needed bees that constantly needed interaction, some sort of treatment or control. And we sorta shot ourselves in the foot. So that's what happened is we have less forage, there was chemicals, there's less genetic diversity now, 'cause there's so few of us breeding bees in the area that it was sort of like a perfect storm. And it hasn't really gone away. It's still very much a problem in Tennessee, in the South, I mean everywhere. And I think until we raise bees or create bees that can fight the Varroa mite and are stronger, a better immune system, I think we're gonna be fighting this for a while. One other thing to point out is see this sticky stuff right here?

- [Sheri] Beeswax?

- [Jay] This is actually called propolis. And propolis is really fascinating. It comes from tree sap in the area. And bees collect it, and they'll put it all over this hive. Well, it's antifungal and antibacterial. So coincidentally a lot of people in Europe actually put this in a capsule and eat it. 'Cause it's really good for your stomach. Well bees use it to act as an external immune system in their hive. So you know how I was saying they have a weak immune system? Well they're like, "All right, well I'm gonna line "the entire inside of this hive "with this sticky, gummy stuff, "which is gonna help us be healthier." Ironically it makes for a slower process of trying to pry the frames out of the hive so it slows you down. So the commercial guys, the big guys, actually bred it out of their bees. Because it slowed 'em down. Because it was like, "Huh, it's taking me so long "during the day to get things done." And unfortunately again, that made their bees even weaker.

- [Sheri] Sometimes you can't make things better, can you, that nature has taken care of.

- [Jay] Yeah you have to sort of let nature do its thing.

- [Sheri] It's really not a simple hobby, is it?

- [Jay] It is in a sense, because it hasn't changed in a 100 years. You know this is the same system that literally was created in the 1800s. So more than a 100 years. It's just that you, you have to sort of treat them a little bit differently. You have to be an inventor. Which is actually what I love about beekeeping. 'Cause it's any man's game, or any gal's game. We are all trying to come up with, "All right, what do we need to do now, "to save the bees?" Because we haven't figured it out yet. So let's get creative, everybody, and let's do it. And it makes for really fun. It's always changing, just when you think you've figured out the bees they teach you that you don't know anything.

- [Sheri] This one seems a lot skinnier than what I've seen traditionally, is there a reason for that?

- [Jay] That's a good observation. So I raise nucleus beehives, because they build up faster. So this mimics a classic big trunk of a tree and this is a little bit smaller, so in a smaller environment, you'll raise bees faster. So I can turn 'em out quicker because our season is so short here in Tennessee, it's like six weeks basically, and then you're done for the main nectar flow. So when you put 'em in a small cavity like this you know, bees need a few things to raise their young. They need heat, they need water, and they need some sort of nectar or pollen source. So if you can provide those, which I can right now, and put it in a small environment, you actually turn 'em out quicker. And again this isn't about like, how many can we produce as fast as possible. It's just that our season is so short that I wanna empower as many people as I can.

- [Sheri] All right, let's look at some of these other ones.

- [Jay] The broods, or the babies, are about right here, and then from here on up is gonna be all honey.

- [Sheri] Whoa!

- [Jay] Yeah, so, it's a pretty good hive. There's a hive over there that's about 10 supers tall, and that's a pretty good size for us. And you know, remember, it's second, third week in April, that's pretty darn good for outlook.

- Now will this extreme 10 degrees over normal heat help or hin--

- [Jay] Actually help 'em.

- [Sheri] Will it? Okay, 'cause you said they like three things, so.

- [Jay] Exactly, yeah.

- [Sheri] Okay.

- [Jay] So just as a curiosity, I'm not gonna let go totally, see if you can pick that up. Tell me if you think it's heavy, or it's light.

- [Sheri] Oh my goodness! What is this about 20 pounds?

- [Jay] That's 30 pounds.

- [Sheri] 30 pounds, okay.

- [Jay] That's all honey.

- [Sheri] I was stronger than I thought!

- [Jay] So let's put this right on its side. Just like that. And let's check it out, see what it looks like right now.

- [Sheri] Well I have to say, it sure is pretty.

- [Jay] So, if you're feeling lucky, Sheri. You wanna take one glove off, I'll do it with you if you want, just so you have a friend. Take a glove off and just jam your finger right into that wax right there.

- [Sheri] Right here?

- {Jay] Yep, just jam it right in. Now taste it.

- [Sheri] Mmm. It's sweet. Sweeter than, sweeter than, but kind of a woodsy, musty undertone. No?

- [Jay] Yeah, absolutely. Honey is like wine. It's supposed to give you a front taste and then a back taste. One of the secrets that I believe of our honey is basswood.

- [Sheri] And that's what that is?

- [Jay] This actually isn't basswood, it will be, 'cause basswood doesn't bloom until about the last two weeks in June, somewhere around there. So what we do is we actually time it so that we have peak population right around the basswood. And the basswood gives it that great sweet aftertaste. When you look at honey, you want cloudy honey. You want honey that doesn't look crystal clear and always golden. The honey that you find in the big grocery stores doesn't really come from this area. Matter of fact a lot of times it comes from China and they pasteurize it so they kill all the enzymes so that it won't ever crystallize and then they filter it to get out all the pollen. Number one so you can't trace it where it came from and two because it's clear, and we all think that honey has to be clear or else it's not any good. You want the exact opposite of that. You want cloudy honey. You want honey that crystallizes, 'cause that means it's raw. So if it does crystallize, just put a little warm water it'll liquefy right up. Honey never spoils. There's honey from 2000 years ago from ancient Egypt you could still eat. And the reason is is because it's dehydrated, because it's very acidic. So the pH doesn't support there's no water and the pH doesn't support any sort of bacteria growing in it. See that right there, by the way? Those are swarm cells. So every year, right about this time, the bees wanna multiply. They wanna have as many hives as they can out there. So they put swarm cells down here to raise a new queen to take half the hive and go off to someone's house, or someone's yard and try and create a new colony. So if any of the viewers find that all of a sudden a hive has taken up residence in their house they should definitely call a beekeeper rather than kill that hive.

- [Sheri] Okay.

- [Jay] And have us come out and try and remove it. To try and save those bees.

- [Sheri] We're in a big patch of strawberries, it's gonna be a U-pick strawberries. And we're at the Mason Bee Project. And this is a trial, Jay?

- [Jay] Uh-huh, this is a pilot study.

- [Sheri] Tell me about that.

- So the pilot study is showing how much better or how much higher the yield on your crops is gonna be with mason bees pollinating it. What we're studying is our ratio, how much bees per acre do we need to put out. And on this property we're at about 2000 mason bees per acre. And if you'll look at this, it's very different from the bee hives we were just visiting. It's very quiet. There's nothing really going on, there's not huge swarms happening in front of the hive. That's because the mason bees are very quiet. They do their own thing. Most of 'em are out working right now and they're not in front of this hive. They live about six weeks. And they don't make any sort of honey. They just collect pollen.

- [Sheri] So this is great for people that want to pollinate their gardens but don't want to mess around with the honey.

- [Jay] This is the answer. If you wanna double or triple your yield from your garden you need to put out mason bees there. Like I mentioned before, there are 100 honeybees is equivalent to only one of these mason bees. Mason bees are extremely hairy, and so the pollen sticks to them because all bees are positively electrically charged, so when it lands on a flower, flowers are negatively electrically charged, and so it just snaps right to that bee.

- [Sheri] So is there a queen bee with these as well?

- All the ones that are laying right now are females. They're all queens. And each little queen has its own little hole. That one right there is going in its own hole. And if you'll notice, if we sat here all day long, that bee right there is gonna go back to its same hole. Every single time.

- [Sheri] Wow.

- [Jay] That's why the front of it looks a little different. It's like charred. It's so that they don't all look the same. And you can tell they're gonna come back every once in a while, but for the most part, they're out pollinating each flower. And so it's a really important point to make which is, the bee is going from one flower to the next flower to the next flower, to the next flower. It's not going from the flower back to the nest to the flower again. And that's very important to point out because it means they're amazing cross pollinators.

- [Sheri] It's moving that pollen around.

- [Jay] Exactly. So that's why this is so popular out west in the orchards, 'cause you have an apple tree that, you know, needs to pollinate with an apple tree five rows down or whatever, this bee will take care of that. This study is to demonstrate to Tennessee farmers specifically that we can greatly improve your yield from your crops with our mason bees.

- And so after the six week cycle of them pollinating is over, what happens then?

- What happens then is we take these big ol' blocks of holes and we'll take 'em back to our house. We will study them. We'll probably take the cocoons out of the trays and we will send them off to a lab and the lab is gonna test if there's any sort of chemicals or pesticides in their cocoons. It's gonna study the variety, what did best. You know there's many varieties of native bees and we wanna know is the blue orchard mason bee gonna be the one or is it a different one? We are not only creating a habitat for the bees that we brought in, we're also attracting the native bees in the area and we wanna study what bees are most prolific in this area.

- And you said the mason bee is not susceptible to the mites.

- No, which is really cool. That's why it's a great bee, or great alternative pollinator, which is it's not susceptible to Varroa mites. It's not moved around, so the disease process isn't spread easily. It needs mud and that's about it. And something to eat. So if you're interested in getting into solitary bees is what we'll call 'em. Bees that generally don't sting, are very quiet, are amazing pollinators. One solitary bee is the equivalent to a 100 honeybees. The best way to do it is to get a kit. And a kit kinda looks like this. It looks kind of just like a bird house. And it's lightweight, you can basically put it anywhere. We work with a company called Crown Bees. They're an amazing solitary bee producer. This is an all in one kit for every backyard gardener or pollinator enthusiast. Polleneer. So the kit is really cool, because it comes with everything you need. It comes with leafcutter trays which are a little bit smaller and it comes with mason bee trays. So mason bees is the spring bee. That's the bee that we're using right now behind us that's pollinating strawberries. Leafcutters are awesome for summer vegetables. So if you wanna double, triple your production out of your garden in your backyard, get leafcutter bees out there.

- [Sheri] Even for the local home person?

- Absolutely, and what's so cool about these is they don't sting. They don't bother your pets, they don't bother your kids. They're really, really comfortable in any environment you put 'em in. Really all they need is a little bit of sun about five feet off the ground, and a source of mud. And what's great about this kit is they even give you some mud. So you just mix it with a little bit of water put it out for them to basically build their nests off of and that's it.

- And we can get this kit where?

- On our website. Go to WilliamsHoneyFarm.com, and we'll ship it right to you in about two days, and you can get going.

- Now what about the Polleneers in this area?

- Okay, so the Polleneers is a movement that we started about a year or two ago and the Polleneers is basically a group of people that are empowering others. They're empowered and they're empowering others to make a difference in helping pollinators in any way possible. And that could be whether talking about it supporting local beekeepers, putting a solitary beehive in their backyard, getting a honeybee hive, purchasing seed bombs. Seed bombs are really cool. They are perennial flowers seeds encased in clay and compost. And all you gotta do is walk in your backyard, drop it into the ground and it self-germinates and grows the perennial flower seed, or perennial flower for years to come.

- And these flower seeds are for this area, is that correct?

- Exactly, so if you notice, it says Southeast Blend on there. So we've created a blend of flower seeds that are perfect for this region. You know if there's one thing you can do today starting right now at this moment it's stop using chemicals in your backyard. Don't plant green grass. Instead, have a whole bunch of variety of flowers that look really cool, that are fun for the family to plant, and take a stand to get rid of that artificial backyard that you're growing right now.

- Stepping in to a vision, a vision of beauty that a garden that has beautiful sights, and wonderful sounds. Speaking with Marsha Smith in Guthrie, Kentucky. A very small town. Tell us Marsha about what your vision was and your garden dream for this area, your home.

- Well, Annette when we moved here in 2000 this was all bare back here and I decided that if we put in the fountain, and the hardscape, then I would start from there. I wanted to do the whole back all the way around but I knew that was gonna be a lot of maintenance. So now I have it, and it isn't that much maintenance. It's easy to take care of because most of it's perennials, and it comes back every year.

- Well and I just know that you have lots of shade in here but you've used it very wisely with your choice of plants. Even from the liriope to your Japanese maple like this beautiful one that we're standing under. Right here is a picturesque example of just what plant material, simple can be. Your dogwood tree, that is just beautiful. It's white?

- [Marsha] Yes.

- [Annette] I can imagine that in the spring when there's just really nothing but the green of the pine needles.

- [Marsha] It is beautiful.

- And then your ivy.

- Yes, it started with one cup of ivy and I decided that I liked the way it looked and it was a lot less maintenance in the yard and so I just kind of trimmed around the back edges and I keep it. You've got to maintain it.

- [Annette] You gotta put it on the calendar, in that book, don't ya?

- [Marsha] Right.

- [Annette] Well it is beautiful, and it has its own look, doesn't it?

- [Marsha] It does, it's very comforting and it's cool in the hottest part of the summer.

- Right, and that just leads right in to how hydrangea is a highlight in a summer, late spring garden. Tell us about your hydrangea.

- Okay, my hydrangeas are, typically they bloom every year like this but the last couple of years, the winters have been hard on 'em, you know? And this year they've been spectacular, just spectacular.

- [Annette] Liriope, you've got monkey grass here, and have you just multiplied this along your path?

- [Marsha] I have because when we built the bathroom and the additional room onto this 100-year old house we had a lot of extra, and I just put it in little piece at a time.

- This is a really nice little area right here. The beauty that's created just with plant material and very few blooms. Do you know what kind of hostas that we have here?

- [Marsha] I don't know what kind they are but this one was a Master Garden gift from a Master Gardener, and he, Mr. John has passed on, but he says that one would get like three foot wide and three foot tall almost.

- Yeah and then you've got the miniature one in your little statuary right here. We have stepped into the sunlight. Marsha--

- Yes?

- This is a very impressive area that you started here. Give us the beginning of it and what you have accomplished with your hardscapes and what you have in here.

- Okay, well this garden started out, I thought maybe 12 x 12 would do it, but as my husband helped me with this I was like, I'm sorry, but it's going to have to be 24 x 24. Because it's gonna have to be in four quadrants and that's what it is, it's four quadrants with the statue in the middle and it has in each quadrant it has a nandina in the center, and then it has eight lilies, daylilies, there are daylilies in each quadrant and then I have the boxwoods on the outside. On each corner we have another green needle.

- [Annette] Yes, this is the dwarf Alberta spruce--

- [Marsha] Yes.

- [Annette] That you have put here on the corners. And what is, if we can imagine, on a day like this, but let's think about next December the 25th. And what you have here is still a beautiful garden because you have the corners anchored you have the beautiful domestic nandinas that will have the red berries. You have your statuary.

- [Marsha] It is and that's what I wanted, Annette, when I looked out my window that's in my den I wanted to be able to feel like I was still a gardener, even in December and January.

- [Annette] That surely is a beautiful hydrangea right there, Marsha, what is it?

- [Marsha] That is a Ruby Slippers, and it has done wonderful for us. This year it's been bloomed, I only planted it last year.

- [Annette] Now what's gonna happen to that bloom?

- [Marsha] I don't know, you tell me Annette! Because I have not had it but a year.

- [Annette] Did we say ruby?

- [Marsha] Oh, it'll turn red!

- [Annette] Do you think, and you know what I see? I see some little red stems down there on that leaf. And perhaps, it's like Lady in Red. You know, she's all about stem and leaf, and not really bloom. But this has got it going.

- [Marsha] And this will get five foot tall and five foot wide is what they're telling me when I bought it. Is that true?

- [Annette] You have it where it could do whatever you want it to do. If you don't want to cut it, just let it be happy, and just enjoy the shade of this tree.

- [Marsha] Okay.

- Tell me about what gardening is to you, Marsha.

- Well, Annette, I think gardening to me is a solace. And it makes your heart, it makes you feel good about life. My mother passed in 1999. And to be able to deal with that my garden was just my greatest comfort. It just helped me so much to get out in the garden and work in the soil and watch things grow. And watch life come back.

- [Annette] It is an example of life. And I know a perfect example of something that you have to live on as a memory are some hydrangeas that you have here in this garden.

- [Marsha] These hydrangeas were a gift to me when my mother passed away from my customers, friends, family, I got these three hydrangeas. And I planted these together for a reason. Because they remind me of my mother and she had two sisters that were really dear to her that she loved so much and they're all in heaven enjoying life and the gardens there. This is my, I call this one Mary Catherine. I call this one Nellie. And the third one I call Jenny. And they have just been a great gift to me because they just bloom, and the blooms are so vibrant.

- [Annette] Just to know that I'm standing here with the gardener, and to know that her hands have gone in to the rearranging and moving and everything, shall we say the blood, sweat and tears?

- [Marsha] Absolutely.

- [Annette] And you've done a wonderful job, and I'm glad to know that you've preserved the integrity of this older home by this type of a garden.

- [Marsha] Thank you! We've enjoyed it, it's been a joy. Been a joy.

- [Voiceover] For inspiring garden tours, growing tips and garden projects, visit our website at VolunteerGardener.org. Or on YouTube at the Volunteer Gardener channel. And like us on Facebook.