Sounds like good advice on both counts. Will plant some bee balm too.
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I would love to try some mason bees.
We used to have swarms of some type of ground nesting solitary bees here but I have not seen them in a few years. We had so many in the Asparaguis field one year they scared me. We try to attract all kinds of bees by brodcasting buckwheat in safe areas away from the orchard.
Also very careful to eliminate any weeds or clovers that may be blooming before the orchard gets sprayed too.
We have been successful attracting an abundance of Carpenter Bees, but nothing else.
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Saw the first few bumbles here yesterday, in addition to the honey bees. I guess sunny weather and temps in the 70s finally coaxed them out.
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I wish i knew what it was that really drawed the mason bees in. I did create a mud area and a stick area and tons of flowers that bloom through the dearth period for them and we have a very small creek nearby. I was told bee balm would draw bumblebees and other longer tongued bees in and i had seen bumbles around but once i planted a lot of them that summer the bumbles showed up en masse and gentrified a bumble nest over near my compost and they have stuck around since then. From listening to some joel salatin videos at most all of his farms by year 5 or 6 they have almost all the native pollinators arrive back just from natural farming methods. I think the bees found your asparagus delicious also
I have had bumblers nest in my compost pile and behind a shed that backed up to a fence. I have a lot of them each year and I think having varied food supply really helps. I try to have flowers blooming all year long for them. I enjoy seeing them so I try to feed them. I don’t spray anything so that may help too. Hope yours stay around and help for years to come.
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