Honeybees—The Key to Successful Food Production
When people ask me why I keep bees in Cleveland, I tell them that I can’t help it. The bees found me. It’s something I have to do.
My adventure with beekeeping started a few years ago when I realized that time was slipping by and I might not get to do everything on my list of interests to pursue before it’s too late. I first became interested in beekeeping years ago when I started researching my ethnicity and found that beekeeping and honey were part of my culture. The more I read, the more interested I got. After years of thinking I would keep bees some day, I finally acted on it. I got my first package of bees in 2006. During that first season, I experienced the demands and the rewards of keeping bees. I learned to respect bees. I find that taking care of bees teaches me to slow down and pay attention to nature. I notice what’s blooming and what’s happening to weather. I wonder how all of it will affect my bees.
I’m a part-time urban beekeeper. Sometimes we don’t think of bees in the city. However, they actually exist in most environments. Honeybees belong everywhere. In urban settings, they benefit the many community and private gardens around the city. They help pollinate crops which people are growing for farmers’ markets and for their own consumption. With an increased interest in local foods, honeybees are critical to the success of food production. When I hear community gardeners complain that certain crops didn’t do well last year, I say it’s probably because they didn’t have a sufficient number of pollinators nearby. Sometimes we just don’t make the connection between food and pollination. We shouldn’t think of bees as just being beneficial to crops. They also pollinate food sources for songbirds and other animals. Without the honeybee, our world would become a less interesting place.
Last year, I had the idea of keeping bees in the city. I thought about possible rooftops for hive placement. I thought about community gardens. I drove around the city and looked at potential sites. Then I discovered the Blue Pike Farm on E. 72nd Street—an oasis in the city. The farmer, Carl Skalak, welcomed me and the new “guest workers” to the farm. Now, the crops grown at the farm have plenty of pollinators and the bees have a wide variety of nectar sources. The honey the bees produced took a third place in the Lorain County Fair and two first places in the Ohio State Beekeepers Association Honey Show.
The bees have become a point of interest to volunteers and visitors at the farm. They are fascinating to watch. I often pull up a chair and sit with them. They are predictors of upcoming storms. They let me know what is in bloom by the types of pollen they are bringing in. Many people have expressed an interest in learning more about bees and stopping by when I am scheduled to open the hives. This summer, I will start apiaries in other parts of the city as well. I believe they help to restore a balance in the city.
An advantage to having bees in the city is that they are not exposed to the variety of pesticides that are sometimes used in rural areas. The old neighborhoods of the city provide a wide range of nutrients. Bees are healthier when they consume pollen and nectar from varied sources. I was curious to see how urban honey would differ from rural or suburban honey and whether my bees would be more resistant to disease. I see the difference in honey when I participate in competitions. There is a wide range of color and flavor in honey from different locations and floral sources.
Thanks to the recent attention to bees, people often ask me how my bees are before they ask how I’m doing. I actually find that comforting. People are becoming more aware of the importance this small insect has in our lives and the tremendous impact its disappearance would have. We should all be paying attention to what is happening to honeybees. They reflect what is happening to nature in general.
We don’t know what the future holds for honeybees. We are their biggest enemy. We overwork them and expose them to numerous chemicals in the form of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides. We move them from place to place and stress them. It’s a wonder they adapt and survive as well as they do.
My advice to anyone who wants to help out bees is to first of all, stop using chemicals whenever possible. Secondly, consider keeping bees. They will change your life in ways you never imagined.
For more information, contact Karin Wishner at 440-454-1101; beeznthehood@gmail.com. Wishner’s honey products are available at Blue Pike Farm Farmers’ Market at 900 E. 72 St. (north of St. Clair) on Thursday’s from 4-7 p.m. or the Downtown Farmer’s Market at 1278 W. 9 Street at Constantino’s Market on Monday’s from 4:30-7:30 p.m. (starting June 9).