As we are all adjusting to our new normal its all go here preparing for our Open Day on the 16th of August.
A full season and cycle have passed since our original planned date of 29th March where we would have been full of hope for a successful season for all our inhabitants! Nature has been a winner due to Covid and she has responded so well to the quiet. It’s been heart-warming to see how involved people have become and all the wonderful supportive things being put into place like eliminating spraying of roadside verges and weeding and hoeing instead.
Our focus and attention at this time of year is on ensuring enough food for newly emerging Queens to get them ready for hibernation Although early emerging Bumblebees like our white tailed and buff tailed will start a second cycle now and more often than not these two no longer go into hibernation and forage all winter long which is why a full cycle of nectar rich food is becoming increasingly necessary.
[caption id="attachment_3070" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Bumblebee Flower Farm open day[/caption]
We love to tread lightly here on the farm, work by hand to cause as little disturbance to wildlife as we possibly can. This does make our work more labour intensive but biodiversity, safe habitats and soil health are our rewards.
We do hope we can show you how some of these ways can easily be implemented in your own gardens and how beautiful wildflowers aka ‘weeds’ look, feel and support a healthy ecosystem. These we allow to flourish purely to support our wildlife whereas the nectar and pollen rich flowers we grow as our cut and edible produce are a stunning example of how diverse and beautiful a pollinator friendly garden can look like. Our aim is to dispel some myths, give sound advice on what works for us in our local area and show you in real time how it all unites to create a rich tapestry teaming with life.
[caption id="attachment_1630" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mags harvesting[/caption]
We are booked out for the 16th of August but if you would like to know more and get a peek into our world then we would love to see you at the last of our Open days on the farm on the 27th of September where as usual we will have a talk, tour explaining different habitats, how to make a bug hotel that suits our native species. Including the most suitable situations. Our focus here will be on getting your garden ready for the winter, what we can do to help our struggling pollinators, create beautiful supporting habitats and bee corridors to support the wider environment.
As always, we will also provide you with some pollinator friendly seeds to take home to start your own bumblebee paradise.
[caption id="attachment_3152" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Eddie Attwell, head chef at the Eccles Glengarrif[/caption]
For our 16th August, Eddie Attwell from the Glengarriff Eccles will be on hand with incredible products using produce grown on the farm and foraged locally. Eddie’s knowledge, passion and creativity are unsurpassed in West Cork! Eva Milka from Gaelic Escargot will also be in joining us, sharing her incredible journey into snail farming. With some interesting insights about her protein rich product! We are still finalising our line up for the 27th of September so stay tuned!
[caption id="attachment_3156" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Eva Milka and Eoin Jenkinson of Gaelic Escargot[/caption]
Looking forward to meeting you all.
Bee Kind
Mags xx
