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Essential Gardening Tips for Spring (vol. 1)

Essential Gardening Tips for Spring

I have been looking forward to being able to say “Spring is here!” and the moment has finally arrived. Although us New Englanders are still facing some lousy, bitter cold (and even a March blizzard, what gives!), March 20th brought with it the first official day of Spring. My backyard in particular needs a lot of help, so I look forward to documenting its progress as we go! In the meantime, keep these essential gardening tips for Spring in mind:

On a nice sunny day, consider taking these steps to get your yard ready for the peak of the season!

Clean Up the Garden

This is probably one of the least fun parts about Spring- the cleanup! The Fall and the Winter wreak havoc on your precious gardens in the sense that there are leaves and weeds everywhere. Be sure to pull out all of the roots so they don’t grow back.

Revitalize your soil

You want to make sure your soil is moist and packed with nutrients before planting anything this Spring. The best way to do this is by adding an organic manure or compost. To be sure you have the proper treatment you may consider having your soil tested so you can add a customized component. People add fertilizer to guarantee healthy soil and longer life for your plants. We will get more into your options with healthy soil in the coming weeks.

Prune Old Plants

The best way to get plants that survived the winter is to give them a good ol’ trim! It’s essentially jump-starting the plants system so it will thrive in the warm sunny days to come. However, do not do this until Mid-April or early May. As you know, March and early April can still bring some cold spells. Trimming back plants too early will leave them vulnerable and will be more likely to die if exposed to freezing temperatures.

Mulch

We’ve seen a few debates over which kind of mulch you should use on your garden, but we’ll get to that. Adding mulch to your garden will help prevent weeds, it will lock in the moisture and will help regulate temperature. Be sure to keep the mulch a few inches away from the stem of the plants so they do not rot!

Get Planting!

Once everything is cleared, revitalized and ready to go- you can start your planting of new shrubs and flowers! We would suggest picking up perennials so you do not need to buy new plants next year (annuals). There are many great Spring plants to choose from such as Pansies, Lilacs and Tulips just to name a few. We will be discussing the importance of paying attention to where you purchase your plants from and how they were treated prior to sale- as many corporate home centers sell plants that have damaging effects on surrounding wildlife. Stay tuned!

Now that Spring has Spring your hands are about to get pretty dirty! Give our Gardener’s Friend Hand Scrub Soap a try and enjoy having soft clean hands after a hard days work!

Bee Thoughtful: Why you should not plant the free Wildflower seeds Cheerios wants to give you

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Why you should not plant the free wildflower seeds Cheerios wants to give you

Have you heard about the latest effort put forth by Cheerios? Their intentions are honestly fantastic and we applaud their decision to help raise awareness regarding our very concerning bee situation… but their method of trying to help may have the exact opposite affect.

Cheerios has an active campaign stating they will send packets of various wildflower seeds to people all over the country. Sounds great right? It did until you start to examine what they’re sending and where it could end up.

Free Wildflower Seeds Cheerios

Damaging Reality

Perhaps I don’t have all the facts, but my understanding is once you’ve sent in for a free sample you are likely to receive any of the following:

Forget-Me-Not, Wallflower, Poppy, Coneflower, Aster, Flax, Baby Blue, Gilia, Indian Blanket, Tidy-tips, and several others. Here’s the problem, if you’re not paying attention you could end up planting something in your region that may not belong there, and may not be welcome.

Forget-Me-Nots, for example, are a banned noxious weed in MA and CT. The California Poppy may be awesome for CA, but move to the southeastern states and you you’ve got an invasive exotic pest plant. The fact that most of these wildflowers aren’t even native to the United States- poses a question of- will it actually have a positive impact on bees in the first place? Who were the people who put this list of flowers together? Did they consider the fact that it could have the exact opposite effect?!

Not all out-of-region plants are ‘Bad’ but…

When a plant is introduced to an area that is outside of its native range, it doesn’t make them a ‘bad plant’ – but it can use up resources the native plants rely on in that region. Disease can spread, and cause physical changes to the areas – creating big problems.

Don’t get me wrong, the effort put forth by Cheerios is a good idea and is conceptually sound but it’s half-assed. Unless there is a team behind the curtain that will be sending certain seeds to certain areas- we need to be careful. We are in this bee dilemma because us humans have been extremely careless with the way we do things. If this endeavor isn’t performed with the utmost care, we could find that we’re doing much more harm than good. My understanding is you’ll receive one packet with seeds of all these flowers. Ahhhhh!

Cheerios is relying on the individual to do their own research- which isn’t impossible but it is highly unlikely. They hear the word free, and the phrase “save the bees” and they think they’re doing something good. It’s half true. Let’s hope we can all pay a little more attention before planting something that may not be long here. While you’re at it, DO look up wildflowers that are native to your home and plant some. Take the spirit of Cheerios idea into your own hands and help create a better world for our bees 🙂

What determines eggshell color?

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What determines eggshell color?

If you’re one of our fresh egg customers, you have come to expect at least one green (or blue) egg in your weekly dozen. Or maybe you’ve just opened up one carton at the store and saw they were white, compared to the other brand with the brown eggs. Concerned? Don’t worry about what determines eggshell color, because in the end it has absolutely no affect on the quality of the egg inside.

95% of an Eggshell is composed of calcium carbonate, something you’ve seen elsewhere..like in chalk, for example. It is a white substance, so it makes sense that the average egg in stores maintains that color.

Genetics

Much like how people have brown eyes, or freckles, the color of a chicken egg comes from good ol’ fashioned genetics. The breed of chicken will determine the color of their eggs. A brown egg has protoporphyrin, the result of a hemoglobin breakdown in blood. It’s just a pigment that is deposited on the surface of an egg as it’s forming. It is said you can remove the color with vinegar or sandpaper- but it’s not really necessary (or recommended, by us anyway!). Buy Provigil online http://www.wolfesimonmedicalassociates.com/modafinil/

Oocyanin is the pigment found in the blue and green eggs you see out there, and here on our farm! We have several Araucana chickens on our farm and they lay beautiful blue/green eggs. They’re particularly popular around Easter, as they are a pre-colored egg ready for decorating and hiding! Here on the farm we try to include one blue/green egg per dozen, as a signature if you will!

Which is best?

You’ll hear all kinds of rumors about why eggs are different colors, as well as claims that some egg colors are more healthy than others. From what our research shows, nothing backs up those claims. We don’t see how the Aracauna egg would have less cholesterol than any other, for example. Adipex 37.5 mg diet pills http://www.024pharma.com/phentermine.html

As long as the chickens are well cared for, fed well and healthy overall- there’s no reason to believe one egg is more nutritious than any other.

If you’re local, be sure to ask us if we have any open slots for regular pickup! Sometimes our girls are more active than others, so we don’t always have enough:)

Why you should be drinking water

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Why You Should Be Drinking Water

Are you drinking enough water? There has been much discussion over the years regarding exactly how much water you should be drinking vs. how much you need to drink. While you may not need a full 8 glasses of water a day as you may have heard, you should still aspire to consuming as much where possible. Here’s why you should be drinking water, in short.

Maintains the balance

Digestion, circulation, saliva, absorption, transportation of nutrients, and body temperature regulation are all affected by the amount of water you consume. Our bodies are made of 60% water- which are responsible for making those functions happen. Without consistent water consumption, your body will not perform to its optimal ability. Your brain will essentially tell you when your supply is low, so be sure to listen and act on that feeling of thirst!
You’ll also enjoy more energy- as the right amount will help pump blood more effectively. Speedy transport of nutrients to your cells will do your body good!
When it comes to balance, we don’t just mean the fluid levels – we also mean your digestion. Healthy amounts of water daily will keep you working regularly. If you’re dehydrated it will be harder (and likely somewhat painful) to pass waste.

Control Calories

There’s a reason why people drink a lot of water when they’re trying to lose weight. Sadly, water is not the cure to obesity, and drinking a lot of water doesn’t guarantee weight loss. What it will do, however, is fill you up and cut the desire to eat and drink higher calorie foods / beverages.
Also, food with high water content will often require more chewing, and will take more time to be fully absorbed by the body. You will feel more full and less likely to snack on rich food. Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, oatmeal, beans and broth-based soup!
Water will also help boost the metabolism, which is key to maintaining a steady body weight. Throw some ice in it and your body will work a little harder to process it, burning a few extra calories!

Good Muscle Health

Believe it or not, fluids are an integral part of having a healthy muscle mass within your body. Without proper fluids, your muscles can shrivel- resulting in poor performance and in some cases, painful atrophy.
It is recommended, especially for athletes, to drink at least 17 ounces of water 2 hours prior to a workout. It is important to keep a steady flow of water entering your system before, during and after highly strenuous workouts as to replace what is lost from sweat.
Water helps prevent muscle cramping and works as a natural lubricant to help make toning happen faster.

Better Skin

We’ve mentioned this before, but one way to ensure you have healthy skin is by having a consistent intake of water. If you are too dehydrated, your skin gets really dry and any existing wrinkles appear deeper. Water helps plump up your skin cells, helping you keep a younger appearance. Not only that, but water will help flush out impurities and help blood flow/circulation.

The exact amount of water you need depends on a variety of factors. Your height, size, level of activity, how hot or cold it is outside all come into consideration- as well as how much you exercise and at what amount you sweat. Speak with your doctor if you’re concerned about how much is enough.

Tea counts!

Don’t like plain water? Grab yourself some herbal tea! Tea is a great way to give your body the water it needs. Be easy on the sugar though 😉

Water Conservation Tips for Kids: Get them involved!

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Water Conservation Tips for Kids

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, small actions can carry a big impact- especially over time. Here at Dalby Farm, we aspire to help children think about the environment with every step they take. You can help enforce our lessons at home by involving your kids in simple practices. Remember, water conservation tips for kids can easily be applied to adults too!

Make it A Game

Before we get into specific ways to help your kids conserve water, consider your approach. Experience has taught us that children are more likely to participate in chore-like activities when it is presented in a fun way.

Design some kind of score card or poster with their names, and spaces for each day of the week (to check off or put a sticker when completed). On the side column, make a list of different simple ways to conserve water. Come up with a small reward system- whether it be ice cream for dessert at the end of the week, or getting to stay up an extra half hour- for each week of completed activity.

This is a great way to instill environmentally friendly life practices with a touch of fun and personal reward!

Look for Leaks

Once a month, send your little one in and around the house to look at all of the faucets and shower heads. You can save a lot of water over time if you catch every leak as quick as possible. Sometimes it’s a simple explanation, other times a plumber may be needed.

Not to mention it serves as early education as to what homeownership is like!

Dishes

If your children alternate on dish duty- make sure they know to avoid letting the faucet run! Younger kids may enjoy seeing their favorite rubber ducky float with them in the full sink. Getting creative and including unique symbols of green habits can mold the mind in great ways as they grow older.

Brown Grass and Pet Baths

Assuming you have children who you put in charge of washing the dog- take a look at your lawn first! If you see a patch of the yard that could use some nourishment, set them up for the bath there. Drag the hose and the dog to that spot and get a 2 for 1! A clean dog and a watered lawn!

On a hot day, set up the sprinkler before or after to help your kids cool down, water the lawn and get the dog ready for soaping!

Designated Drinking Glass or Bottle

Have your little one pick out a cute drinking glass or bottle, and assign it to them as the only thing they can drink water out of! Doing so will teach them to avoid wanting bottled water, and/or wasting multiple glasses throughout the day. They’ll learn to cut down unnecessary waste! Not only will they save landfills from more damaging plastic, but they’ll conserve the water it’d take to wash all the glasses they’d have otherwise dirtied.

Check back for more ways to help your kids learn to conserve at home!

Animal Trivia! Fun Facts About Dogs

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Fun Facts About Dogs

Many of you spend countless hours with your dog(s) every week- but how much do you know about dogs otherwise? We found some fun facts perfect for trivia night you can enjoy below 🙂

–Puppies have 28 teeth, adult dogs have 42.
–Does your dog chase their tail? Some dogs do that when they are nervous, or stressed. Not to worry, often times it’s just instinct, curiosity and the desire for exercise.
–Next time you play the Beatles song, “Day In the Life” – have your dog around to see if he reacts to the song. Supposedly Paul McCartney recorded high pitches only dogs can hear using an ultrasonic whistle with his own dog in mind.
–Yes, your dog really does dream! Just like humans, dogs have the same type of slow wave sleep as well as rapid eye movement. Twitchy paws and tails are the best indicator that it’s occurring.
–Dogs can see in the dark. Their eyes have a special membrane, tapetum lucidum, which allows them to see at night.
–According to this poll, 72% of dogs are able to sense when a storm is coming.
–Dogs regular temperature is higher than a humans. While we temp around 98.6F, Dogs should be between 101 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above or below and they should be seen by a vet ASAP.
–Dogs only sweat through the pads of their feet!
–Dogs only have 1,700 tastebuds compared to a humans 9000.
–Humans hear best around 2000hz (hertz) whereas dogs hear best at 8000hz.
–Ever wonder why dogs like to kick after they go to the bathroom? They’re leaving their scent behind with their paws to mark their territory…again.
–72.9 million homes, or 62% of all Americans have a pet in their home.
–Dogs noses are wet because the thin layer of mucus helps them smell better. It catches scent, which they then lick to taste.

Stay tuned for more fun facts about different animals you may have in your home.

In the meantime, why not treat your furry friend to something special?

Frosted Chick Dog Treat

Check out our variety of pet treats in Paws and Beaks!

Health benefits of Blueberries

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Health Benefits of Blueberries

Every year my family and I go out to Tree Berry Farm to go blueberry picking. The four of us will usually get somewhere between 25-30lbs worth, split them up into bags and then freeze them. It works out so we never have to snack on or bake with store bought berries! It’s a good thing there are so many health benefits of blueberries because we definitely eat a lot of them!

If you’re anything like me, you’ll always go for a pastry or treat if blueberry is involved. Whether it’s pie, yogurt or a smoothie, we’ll take it. They’re so delicious on their own, but the fact that they are good for you is the berry on top!

Rich in Nutrients

Blueberries pack a heavy punch of nutrients considering how small they are! They have a wide range of antioxidants, in fact they’re one of the highest antioxidant foods available. Not to mention, healthy levels of Resveratrol, Gallic acid, Lutein, Vitamin K, C and 17% of your daily value of fiber- are all yours in just one cup of berries!

Brain Booster

The gallic acid and other phenols in blueberries literally help protect your brain from neurotoxicity, degeneration and stress. Studies have also showed that regular consumption of blueberries decreases the rate of cognitive decline alongside improved function in regards to motor function and memory.

Better Digestion

As with any regular consumption of fiber, blueberries can help keep you on track digestively. Short and sweet- and very true!

Healthy Skin!

Apparently there has been an influx of blueberry based skincare. Blueberry extract has been included in many new product lines around the globe because it is rich in vitamins which help restore hormone balance (fights acne). The presence of resveratrol is said to help protect the skin from sun damage with regular consumption.

These are just a couple of benefits from including blueberries in your regular diet. Stay tuned for delicious healthy recipes incorporating this magical fruit!

In the meantime, consider trying our decadent Blueberry preserves!

Screens are bad for your health: Read this and then log off!

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Screens are bad for your health

The internet is a wonderful thing, and we can all enjoy some time on it with moderation. But let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. We’re not using technology in moderation, not even close. We have come to rely on social media, Google, our smart phones and iPads- but the truth is screens are bad for your health, and they’re even worse for your children.

Internet Addiction

Any kind of dependence is generally discouraged, whether it be drugs, coffee or exercise, it doesn’t matter. Too much of one thing is never good, it is all about healthy balance. Many people will justify or mask addiction with convenience when it comes to technology rather than address the dependence. An addiction to the internet has the power to change the way you are wired, literally and should be taken seriously.
“Taken together, [studies show] internet addiction is associated with structural and functional changes in brain regions involving emotional processing, executive attention, decision making, and cognitivecontrol.” –research authors summarizing neuro-imaging findings in internet and gaming addiction (Lin & Zhou et al, 2012)

In other words, you are compromising the quality of your brain function by too much time on your computer. Too much screen time will restructure your brain in ways that will not do you any favors. Studies have shown that regular exposure to screens literally shrinks the “processing” area of your brain, or gray matter- particularly in the frontal lobe. This is only the beginning and it is scary stuff.

Physical Health

Unless you’re one of those cool people with the stand-up desk featuring a treadmill beneath your feet, you’re probably sitting down right now. That’s exactly the problem. Not to say lounging here and there isn’t okay or even healthy- but if you’re spending hours a day with your computer sitting or laying down, perhaps you need to re-evaluate your habits.

If your lifestyle is generally sedentary your body will suffer. It is not designed to sit still for long periods of time. Those who eat a less balanced diet on top of that are more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes and/or various heart diseases. You’re already rewiring your brain with too much screen time, and your body will be more vulnerable as a result.

Weight gain isn’t the only toll on your body to worry about, your eyes are at risk too. Consistent screen time puts undue stress on your eyes. Blue light has the potential to damage your retinas, keep you up at night, and cause headaches. Over long periods of time, the affects will only get worse.

What you can do

It’s one thing to say, “this is bad for you!” and another to do something about it. If you’re like me, your income relies on you being in front of a screen for one reason or another. Everyone is online, everything is digital- it’s literally beyond your control.

Don’t go out and quit your job- but consider ways you can improve your daily work habits. If permitted, take 5 minute breaks every hour. Or break up your work responsibilities in such a way that allow you to stop looking at the screen every 20 minutes, for 20 minutes.

If you are able to purchase a standing desk, even better. I recently saw a new clever invention that you can stick to the bottom of your desk, and allow your feet to swing beneath you. Little tweaks to your lifestyle and sedentary habits will make a difference in the long run if you commit to it. We’ll discuss ways to keep active in the work place in a coming piece.

Garden Herbal Tea

We hope this information didn’t stress you out. If so, relax- grab some tea– head outside and shut off your computer and brain for a while! Enjoy life, it’s too short!

Bee Thoughtful: Not all Honey is created Equal

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Not All Honey is created Equal

In 2016, Food Safety News revealed a study that claimed over 76% of honey sold in your average store is “fake”, full of toxic syrups and sugars. They are also supposedly rotten with antibiotics and heavy metals.

It starts with the diet

Without a strong nutritional foundation, bee colonies will suffer greatly. They greatly rely on carbohydrates, as they are a key source of energy needed for foraging and hive activities. Honeybees naturally find their carbohydrates when collecting honeydew and nectar.

Unfortunately, many commercial honey manufacturers supplement their colonies with sucrose solution, inverted sugar syrup, or syrups like starch syrup and high fructose corn syrup. As you can imagine, the kind of honey produced is not anywhere near what you’re led to believe and it has no nutritional value.

Antibiotics

While the intentions may be good, the high doses of antibiotics given to honey bees for disease prevention are a huge disadvantage in many ways. These veterinary antibiotics, such as chloramphenicol, streptomycin and sulfonamides can do great harm to humans in large amounts. For example, chloramphenoicol could cause cancer and aplastic anemia. It is simply “unnatural” to be treating honey bees in this way and it directly negatively affects not only bee colonies, but their honey product as well.

Pesticides

Anyone in tune with the state of our environment knows pesticides are to blame for a lot of our problems. That’s why it drives me nuts to read that the European Food Safety Authority labeled clothianidin as too dangerous to be used on crops, yet the U.S. remains deaf and blind to the risks.

Quite frankly, America isn’t paying attention, as that very chemical is still used on nearly 143 million acres of our crops. This and other pesticides like imidacloprid and thiamethoxam are not only linked to death but are still widely used in the U.S. – failing to follow other countries lead in banning them. This is no joke.

It’s just… fake

Honey should have bee pollen. That’s how this whole thing works in the natural world. However, in the land of greed- commercial honey manufacturers use special equipment to extract the pollen. They then mix in honey from other countries (which, is illegal!) – leaving people with absolutely no idea where it came from. Very shady stuff.

How do you know it’s fake?

-Artificial honey will stay in tact if you put a drop on your thumb, whereas fake honey will spill and spread quickly,

-Pour a glass of water- and drop a teaspoon of honey into it. If it quickly dissolves, you have fake honey on your hands. Real honey will stay solid and will fall to the bottom of the glass in tact.

-If you’ve had your honey on the shelf for a long period of time, you should see that it has crystallized if it is real. Fake honey will look like plain old syrup forever and ever.

-Be careful if you try this one- it is said if you dip the tip of a matchstick in honey and then go to light it- the flame will burn off of the honey. If it’s fake, it won’t light because of its “moisture”.

While we do not yet make our own honey (we’re learning!), we only source ours from the best. All natural, delicious, and rich with REAL nutrients!

5 Health Benefits of Yoga

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Health Benefits of Yoga

If you have integrated exercise into your daily life, you’re already miles ahead of many fellow Americans. As long as you keep active, your quality of life will be substantially better than those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. That being said, some exercises are more beneficial to your overall health than others.

Below we discuss just 5 of the many health benefits of yoga. We hope this inspires you to try something new- perhaps with us on the farm! Be on the lookout for our upcoming Yoga on the Farm program, opening this Spring!

Flexibility

The first time you try yoga, you probably won’t be able to bend over and touch your toes, or do advanced positions like a backbend. With enough practice, however, you will eventually notice a steady loosening- opening the possibilities of all kinds of positions. Why is this good? Your aches and pains will soon go away. Your tight hips have the potential to cause alignment issues. Tight hamstrings can lead to back pain due to the flattening of the lumbar spine. Start stretching and feel your flexibility change your life!

Posture

Do you have horrible posture? Steady yoga practice will help fix that! Poor posture can lead to a wide array of health issues. Back, neck, muscle and joint problems are just the beginning. Yoga helps you concentrate on body form, not just for yoga-related positions but overall daily life. Stop slumping your body and avoid flattening the normal inward curves in your neck and lower back!

Prevent Cartilage and Joint Breakdown

Yoga takes your muscles and joints though a range of motion that they may not otherwise get if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Joint cartilage works very much like a sponge in that it’s fluid needs to be squeezed out in order for it to absorb fresh nutrients. Inactive cartilage will wear out, no longer acting as a cushion for your joints- causing pain and leaving you very susceptible to injury. You’ll help prevent degenerative arthritis or mitigate disability with frequent yoga practice.

Increases Blood flow

The relaxation exercises you learn in yoga do wonders for your circulation. Yoga not only gets oxygen to your cells, improving function- but the variety of poses have powerful affects on allowing oxygenated blood move through your internal organs and limbs. If you have swelling in your legs from kidney or heart problems, this would help.
The levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells will also benefit from yoga- which helps carry oxygen to your tissues. Platelets become less sticky and therefore help you prevent blood clotting, as the promoting proteins are cut as a result of the activity.

Makes you happy and relaxed

Studies have shown that your levels of serotonin rise dramatically with frequent yoga practice. It encourages you to take long, deep breaths, focus on the present, let go of anxieties and every day stressors. Your sympathetic nervous system gets a break and balances out with your parasympathetic nervous system- which promotes relaxation and a lower heart rate. Additional benefits include, physical balance, deeper sleep and tension release.

Quite frankly there are too many benefits to count, but we’ll keep discussing more of them as time passes 🙂

Health Benefits of Yoga

Stay tuned: We are excited to introduce you to Andrea Lynne- yoga instructor and phenomenal photographer! She’s coming to teach Yoga at Dalby Farm this coming year 🙂

Bee Thoughtful: How to turn your land into a bee friendly habitat

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Turn your land into a bee friendly habitat

As we’ve already mentioned in our introduction, the bees are in serious trouble. Recently, seven species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees were added to the endangered list. While some headlines out there would have you believe the entire class is on the list (it’s not)- this is still great cause for concern. We’re starting you off with a few tips that will help you turn your land into a bee friendly habitat so we can all help keep them around. Keep checking back for more over the coming weeks.

Choose bee-friendly plants

You will make the bee population very happy if you make the effort to plant native wildflowers, flowering herbs, berries and varying flowering fruits & vegetables. Here in Massachusetts, honeybees favor:

Mint, basil, sage, thyme, oregano, lavender, chives, buck wheat.
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, winter squash, pumpkins, watermelon, flowering broccoli
Crocus, black-eyed susans, lilacs, wisteria, tulips, sunflowers, clovers, snowdrops, bee balm, honeysuckle, peony & more.
Maple, Willow, Black Locust and Sumac are great trees to plant if you have the space.

All of these plants make for excellent food sources for bees. Remember not to get rid of your dandelions, as those are the early Spring “go to” food source for bees before everything else has bloomed. When it comes to bees, dandelions are NOT weeds. Ideally you will pick the plants that have the longest blooming cycles, and/or the ones who have successive blooms. You want to encourage the bees to keep coming back over and over again.

Be sure to keep the same plants together, ideally one square yard of the same kind. It will do a better job at attracting the bees, and they’ll have plenty to work with when they find them.

Let your plants flower

Let the flowers on your plants remain as to allow the bees to get the pollen and nectar from them when they need it. When you grow herbs or veggies like Broccoli, leave the plant intact after you’ve harvested. Letting the plants go to flower give the bees an extra food source, especially toward the end of the year when everything else is dying. You should leave these plants in the gardens until the flowers are gone.

One mans weed is a meal for the Bees

Society would have you believe that weeds serve no purpose and only exist to frustrate the passionate gardener, this is unfortunate! While the aesthetic of certain weeds may not match your taste, consider the benefits dandelions, clovers, loosestrife, milkweed, goldenrod and other flowering weeds can give to our struggling bee population. The reality is, these weeds are crucial to a bees ability to survival.
If you have a nice lawn, leave the weeds alone. Find the beauty in them and appreciate their role in providing an extra, much needed food source for the bees. Sometimes looks aren’t the only thing that matter when you’re trying to serve nature over yourself. It certainly doesn’t mean you can’t take good care of your landscaping, but bee thoughtful 🙂

In the coming weeks we will be sharing information on the importance of quitting the chemicals (pesticides, herbicides etc). Please stay tuned and plan to implement these pieces of advice for the upcoming Spring season and beyond. Thanks for beeing thoughtful. Share your tips with us in the comments!

Your purchases from our store help us continue our educational efforts, if you’re a honey-lover consider trying our delicious varieties of honey!

Intro: What is Environmental Awareness?

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Environmental Awareness

“Living Green”, “Eco-Friendly”, “Environmental Awareness” – all of these terms are frequently used to often describe the exact same thing, but are they all the same? Environmental Awareness is work toward and advocacy for protecting the natural environment from pollution and destruction.

Over the last decade or so, more people are waking up to the needs of our planet. The environmentalism movement has played a large part in helping society understand our role as humans. Environmentalists are of the mentality that it is our responsibility to protect, respect and preserve the natural world from destructive forces. They are right.

Several high profile man-made natural disasters, like the BP oil spill, have contributed to the growth of the environmentalist movement. Unfortunately, most people don’t concern themselves with these problems because they aren’t directly affected.

Another component is the fact that it is easy to feel discouraged. We are doing so much damage to our planet that it often feels as though one person or one group of people could never make a difference. While it is true that it would be much harder to make any significant changes on a large scale with a small number of people, the harder we work to educate and spread awareness- the better odds we’ll have and doing our job.

Living Green is being Environmentally Aware

When you hear people say “Go Green!”, “I only buy organic” or even, “we are very eco-friendly”… those are people that acknowledge the small but powerful impact their choices have on our environment.

We often do (and will continue to) discuss simple ways to live green. There is so much hype around simple lifestyle changes, that I believe people think it is harder than it is. Remember that there large corporate powers that be who want you to feel like you could never make a difference.

Big companies have a lot at stake, after all. The more environmentally conscious we are the harder their jobs become. They don’t want to see large eco-friendly regulations to get in the way of their cheap and irresponsible manufacturing practices. Propaganda, misleading advertising, and denial are key tools to their world spinning round.

Those of us who are passionate about the environment are more than willing to offset their message and do so in a number of ways.

Raise Environmental Awareness With Us

You don’t need to be a large facility with tons of money to help spread the word of the environmentalist movement. We sure aren’t! You just need your beating heart and access to people you do and don’t know.

Whether you chose to write pieces online about the importance of conservation, preservation and environmental protection- or encourage your friends, family and coworkers to pay more attention to their use of electricity, water and creation of trash… Every little bit helps.

At Dalby Farm we have many programs designed to educate the youth of our community to respect nature. We give them sincere, positive experiences with nature at a young age so they will grow up wanting to take care of their environment. Just as we’ve carved out a specific target to focus our environmental efforts toward, you can do the same. Think about what is easiest to implement in the context of your life and go for it. The only way you could hurt the environmentalist movement is by not participating. Everybody can do something- just pick your place!

We are more than happy to help you get started, just reach out or sound off in the comments below. Stay tuned, we have a lot of educational material coming your way!

Winter Bird Feeding – A Few Tips

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Winter Bird Feeding Tips

If you’re in New England like we are (or anywhere that gets cold in the winter) you may consider feeding the wild birds if you aren’t already. Ice and layers of snow over the course of one large (or many small) storm has the potential to cut off many of the natural resources birds rely on for survival. The last thing we want is to see hundreds or even thousands of birds starve to death, right?

To ensure a healthy, successful winter bird feeding season check out our tips below.

Use big capacity feeders

If you don’t have any large bird feeders consider putting out multiple medium sized ones. This is important during major storms so there is plenty of food to go around to all the birds in your immediate surroundings. Visit your local hardware stores or wild bird stores- they are bound to have excellent options for feeders.

Offer nutritious seed & plenty of fat

This is a very important winter bird feeding tip! Ideal seed mixes consist of black oil sunflower seed, hulled peanuts, white millet seed and niger seed. Be careful of “filler” seed mixes, where there is more mixed grains with little nutrition than anything else. It pays to read the bags before you buy them.
Also keep in mind that birds burn more calories in the winter as to stay warm. Providing suet is a good way to ensure you’re providing them access to quick energy. Woodpeckers and insect-eating birds will give you special thanks for thinking of them!

Be consistent & feed all Winter

Believe it or not, the birds who find your feeders will likely stick around. Don’t let them down! If you begin feeding on November 1st, keep your feeders full until mid-March or early April. As long as there’s snow and ice, there will be birds relying on your kindness & feeders. Try to pay attention to the food supply and aim to avoid any length of time where they are empty. It only takes one huge storm to negatively affect the bird population if they can’t find enough food to survive.

Don’t forget water

It may seem counterintuitive, but birds can still become dehydrated in the winter even when surrounded by ice/snow. Filling your bird bath or simply leaving a pan of water on the warmer winter days could make all the difference!

Remember the ground feeders!

Do your ground-feeding birds a favor by stamping down the snow underneath your feeders so they can have easy access to the seed that falls. Too much snow will deter the doves, and other birds from hanging around trying to eat the droppings.

Keep your feeders clean

Every so often head on out with some warm water and clean the feeders. Chances are they’ll get a little grimy as the season goes on. Give them a good clean, let them dry- and fill ’em right back up again.

Stock up on seed

I didn’t know this until recently- but go seed shopping over the Fall this year. Places will often discount the bigger bags because they’re making room for their winter merchandise. Buy several bags and never run out, especially in the dead of winter!