Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Our toll free number eight hundred eight two three eight
(00:40):
two five five. Good morning. I am Ron Wilson, your
personal yard boy, talking about the yarding on this post
Arbor Day, celebrating ourbor Day today, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We're gonna you know, it's the Rodney dangerfield of all
these holidays and awareness days, and so we're just gonna
keep celebrating right on through the weekend to try to
get more and more people get out there and plan
(01:00):
and grow a tree or two or three. Keep planting
those trees. Now, as I promised, two weeks in a row,
she is with us. It's time for ore you erbally
experience with our CCPCM major award winning syndicated journalist, Appalachian
herbal scholar remember the Herbal Society of America. She is
(01:20):
an author, a cooking teacher, a media personality, motivational speaker.
I'm always motivated by the time she's done here today.
You hear on Sacred Heart Radio as well as iHeartRadio,
founding editor of About Eating dot Com, Ladies and gentlemen,
the one the only Rida Nator Hike and felled big fans,
(01:45):
all of them everywhere. Danny said, he has to these
people want water and food and been waiting for you
all night.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well that's good, that's good, sort of like I wouldn't
give an analogy to the pope, but that's a compliment. Yeah,
I'm alive and he's not. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
No, I didn't get to see that this morning with
the I guess that was this morning, right, the burial?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, but there's been information on it
all week and I have been talked about his favorite
foods on Sacred Heart Radio Thursday. And it's interesting because
jumping to another topic about Arbor Day. Now, when we
were kids, we didn't celebrate Earth Day, but we at
school we always got a tree for Arbor Day, like
(02:37):
a new just like a bear root, and ours was
usually red buds and my dad used to plant those
in our yard. And I still remember Arbor Day. So
I'm glad that you brought it up and gave it
a little respect.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
As you said, did they actually have Eirth Day when.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
You were a kid, No, we didn't call it that. No, No,
we just you know, they didn't have anything special like that.
But Arbor Day was a big day at all the
you know, the primary schools, and as I said, we
all got a bear root tree and it was special
and to see it grow in the yard cheese. I
think it's still growing in my dad and mom's yard
(03:15):
where you know they lived, and it's self seated, and
so yeah, something special, I was. It made me smile
when you talked about that this morning.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah, you know, you always do go back and take
a look at the you know, wow, I look at
that thing when you know, I remember that was just
a baby when we planted that there. So talking with
Rita Nader Hikenfelder websites about eating dot com. First of all,
I went to the I actually went to the Earth
Society of America last week about that mitch Ham Mint mint. Yeah,
it kind of got my interest because it's like, where,
(03:45):
so where did this name come from? And they she
wasn't aware of. The education manager not aware of either,
but then she started kind of digging into it and
learn more about the mitch Hams, but can't seem to
figure out where the name switched over to Robert Mitcham
rather than Roberts mitch Ham Miant. So we're still can't
figure that one how that got switched, But we're pretty
(04:07):
sure now that it was Robert's mitch Ham peppermint or
black mint that first started out and then somehow get
switched over to Robert Mitcham. So I thought it was
kind of fun trying to figure that one out. We're
still going to kind of keep looking into it.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, it is interesting how people sort of skew up
the names and then what the most popular person or
thing is what we wind up with. So I think
that's that's what I figured happened. But yeah, interesting. Thanks
for sending that info.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah, and thanks for Karen Kennedy for getting back to
me on that too from the Herb Society, so really
appreciate it. Also, I send you some info this week.
I figured you'd be traveling this morning, headed up to
South Cleveland because they're having the Old Peninsula Ramp Up
Ramp Up Peninsula Festival today celebrating the rams, which I
(05:00):
absolutely love to eat, and of course you know that.
And then have you seen any around your area?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
No, no, no, no. Hopefully we're gonna go morel hunting
and ramp hunting tomorrow with my friends Charlene and Butch.
But this is the season, I mean right now, and
we usually find lots of ramps maybe not so many morels,
but there's a whole hillside and I can't tell you where. No,
no blind pull you and take you into the woods.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
No I would, I would know, I would. I'm sorry,
I don't think so anyway, if you're not familiar with rams,
it tastes like a onion and garlic, kind of a
cross between the two. I think it's an absolutely wonderful flavor.
I noticed somebody says something about it, says something that's considerable.
Clean out your body. If it comes out of your pores,
(05:50):
you don't smell so good for a couple of days.
I never noticed that.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
After I ate it, well, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
It's a member of the Leak family, sort of singing
and garlic free. And I haven't noticed it either, but
we have grilled it. It's really delicious. But you know
when you go dick those up, Yes, that route, mister Wilson,
is not easily obtained because it's the ball that's like
the bulb of an onion, right, and then the top
(06:15):
the green the growth. The green growth is what's on top.
So you got to really dig and respect mother nature,
and don't you know, dig up too many and leave
some there Nine yeah, oh, there's they're abundant. They're just abundant.
So yeah, you've got me all excited about that. So
that'll be something fun to do tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well, I know West Virginia and Pennsylvania has always had
their ramp Festival. So this one's today. If you're in Ohio,
it's just south. It's in Summit County, south of Cleveland.
It's called Ramp Up Peninsula, Peninsula, Ohio from eleven to
four along their main street. Big thing Perogi's and Sausage
there too. Can't beat that and a few ramps as well.
Talking with Rito Hikenfeld are herbalist and her website again
(06:55):
about eating dot com. So this week I thought was
fairly interesting. You know, there's there's no rest this week,
but the recipe is for actually, I guess it would
be a recipe feeding your chickens because a lot of
folks now and it's not just now because of the
price of eggs, although a lot of people have started
doing it because of the price of eggs, but backyard
(07:16):
raising chickens in the backyard has become so popular over
the last would you say, ten years, twelve years something
like that.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Oh, at least fifteen or so.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, yeah, and just getting more and more popular all
the time. Two hands, four hands, six hands, whatever. How
many do you guys have?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
We have eleven? We just lost well I call her Granny.
We've had so many granny's and yard boys. We just
lost one. But she was you know, she was gosh
about ten years old, so she had an honorable life.
So yeah, we just lost one. But yeah, we have eleven.
We had thirteen and now I think there's eleven. But
(07:55):
we need babies. Yard boy has to do his job.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Oh you still have yard boy. This is yard what number?
Yardboard number nine?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Probably, but they're all named after you because they're very mischievous. Yeah,
very sweet, very sweet. He's a good he's a good rooster,
but he's been falling down on the task a little
bit lately. So hopefully we'll get some babes.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So you and your your chickens, are you have a sortman?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Right?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You don't just stick with one particular selection of chickens,
like you know, you have a little bit of everything, right.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, we have some silky, some bantam Rhode Island red. Yeah,
we have I don't know, Yeah, it's a variety.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Got any dominickers even disy, do.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
You have any dominickers?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Bard rocks?
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
No, you know we did, but oh those are beautiful.
I know, I didn't know that's what they were called,
any of those.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
That was my grandmother, Grandma Wilson, she loved dominickers.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Yeah, they're good egg layers too, and they're good birds bars.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I'm good lookers too. I like those. That's what I
asks about most of that in the Rhode Island reds.
Oh yeah, I think we're the two that most of
the ones that we have we back with raising chickens anyway,
So a lot of folks doing that. So Rita said,
let's kind of do a little twist on this and
talk about recipes of herbs that are good for your
(09:20):
chickens that she happens to harvest as well. So we're
gonna take a break. When we come back, we'll find
out what herbs should you be growing to benefit your chickens.
Here in the Garden with Ron Wilson.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Not gardening questions. Ron has the answers at one eight
hundred eighty two three talk You're in the garden with
Rod Wilson.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
If your trees and shrubs are hungry. Feed them. Furnilom
tree and shrub food Ron Wilson here. Fertile Loan Tree
and shrub food is especially formulated tree food that contains
penetrating action, which actually moves the food directly to the
feeder roots once you've applied it to around your trees
and shrubs dripline and that helps to eliminate the needs
to drill holes now. Furlan Tree and Shrub food is
(10:17):
a nineteen eighty ten formula that's nineteen eight ten with
trace elements and it's great for all types of trees, evergreens,
flowering trees, tropicals, even citrus and palm trees. So pick
up a twenty pound bag of fertlan Tree and shrub
food today. Feed your trees and shrubs twice a year
and they're going to be really happy plants. Furn Loan
Tree and shrub food, along with other fert loan products,
(10:39):
can be found only at your favorite independent nursery or
garden centers. That's Fertilan tree and shrub food. Feed your
plants today for healthier trees and shrubs Tomorrow. Fern Loan
tree and shrub food only at your favorite independent nursery
and garden centers. Pick some up today.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
I've had my easy Breed ventilation system for over fifteen
years in love it. Easy Breathe is small, standalone you
at that mounts on basement walls, plugs in and vents
air out, creating air exchanges, getting rid of musty odors,
staying in air, and making homes healthy again. There's no maintenance,
just set it and forget it. I encourage you to
visit letter E letter z breed dot com see for yourself.
(11:15):
Give them a call at eight sixty six eight two
two seventy three. Twenty eight Easy Breath units are now
twenty percent off plus a free humidity monitoring kit. Give
them a call today. It's Easybreed dot com, Gary Salvent
here for the Zalar pump company. Zalor leads the way
in some pumps and battery backup systems with continuous innovation.
Now you can see the light with their led plug
(11:37):
illuminating Zalor green when the power is present. You no
longer have to wonder if your some pump pass power.
The plug is always illuminated when power is present. Check
it out today on the popular Zlor model sixty three
and m fifty three. Go to zalarpumps dot com the
located factory certified installer in your area zalorpumps dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Welcome back here in the Garden with Ron Wilson special
guests this morning. She's not a special guest, she's a
regular read a Nator hiking founder website About eating dot com.
It's part two of our your chickens herbally experienced herbs
you should be growing to feed to your chickens.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Have at It sounds like a winner to me. And
it's funny because a lot of the culinary herbs that
we use every day in cooking are good for your
feathered friends as well.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Wow, And I'm assuming as we And then you've got
a list of twelve and we have these posted on
our website at Ryan Wilson online dot com, so because
we might not get through all of them, but you
can go and check it out. And I'm assuming read
I kind of joked earlier, but I could take all
of these and put them in a little bundle, and
when I'm grilling that chicken, I could also put that
in the in the grills.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Just about the only earth that I would suggest not
using in this list is Comforty Comfrey. Yeah, and we'll
talk about that in a minute. But I wanted you
to choose which herbs you want to talk about, and
then which might be your favorite.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Let's let's start with I like what you said you
were talking about turn the page here. You were talking
about time as far as they eat the time, but
you're also putting it in their nests, their box nests.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, and you know time. It's mainly known
as a perennial and I grow, gosh, all kinds of
time and it likes full some but it'll do well
and partial shade also. But the thing is it repels insects.
We know that, so it's anti bacterial and got lots
of antioxidants. So it's really good for the chickens to
(14:30):
like peck at it. When when you're pruning your herbs,
it's a perfect time to throw them in their feed.
And usually I think the proportion is like ninety percent
regular feed and then ten percent what we call the
irbal treats. So as you're pruning, I sometimes just throw
it in there and they'll just pick the stems clean.
But they they love the time, and they also it's
(14:52):
nice to put in their nesting boxes. As you just said,
it helps them breathe, you know when you think of
time and even time and sage t for us and
it sort of clears out the sinuses. So it's a
greaterb for their respiratory health as well.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You know what if for folks who live in the
Cincinnati area, you on some saturdays during the spring season
hang out at Natorpe's nurseryality in Mason, Ohio in the
herb section and can answer questions and you're always going
through there with dead heading and picking and harvesting. Now
I know where all.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Those go, well, you know where some of them go.
I put them in the break room because not only
do they just a scent just alerts people and just
makes them happy. But they'll take some home and use
them too. But I do. I use a lot of
my cutting just the chicken coops close enough to the garden.
So my girls love it and yur boy likes it too,
(15:46):
So you know, just a way of waste not want not,
don't you think?
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Absolutely? Lavender kind of surprised me.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Oh yeah, lavender. Well, we think of lavender as such
a calming herb, and you can put it like in
bunches in the coop, and sometimes I'll just like I
have one bush planted just outside the coop because it
really does repel insects, and you know, chickens get like
lice and other little creatures on them. But it's also,
(16:16):
as I said, such a calming herb, a stress reliever
even for chickens. And then if you've got dust bats
for your chickens, throw some lavender leaves in there too,
and it'll keep the insects off and keep them nice
and calm.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
And then basil actually can get make the egg yolks
much more orange deeper in colors.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Oh yeah, yeah, basil. Well it's it's got high in
prochein too, so that's good for your eggs and it
does it it helps their respiratory help and it gives
the yolk a really nice orange coloring. And one herb
I didn't put in there, but it's also good, and
you can even buy the petals dried in the in
(16:55):
the like nurseries is colegula, you know, the merrigold that
is really good for chickens and gives their yolks a
beautiful color as well. And humans can eat a colendula too,
so double duty.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Then we obviously were talking about mint earlier than mints.
Good for the chickens.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Oh yeah, mint, I mean, and you know if you
can grow mint anywhere. You heard me say, it'll grow
out of a sidiewalk crack. And you know the thing
about mintough, mister Wilson, not only do they enjoy pecking
at it, but it helps lower their body temperatures. It's
a very cooling herb, so when we get this really
hot weather, it's a wonderful herb to give them, along
(17:36):
with some cool not ice water, but cool water. So
and they're also ant repellents too, so great for chickens too.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
And it sounds like dial kind of falls into the
same category.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Oh yeah, del and deal helps with their feather growth too.
People didn't don't realize that. And that's got tons of
plant protein in it for them too, And a lot
of times you'll find that like teas to combat again
respiratory problems. But it also is a very calming nerve.
So you can throw some dial leaves in the nesting
(18:09):
boxes too, and it helps stimulate feather growth. As I said,
And when I just prune my mammoth still and I'll
just throw the whole stalks in there. Within a couple hours,
all I see are stalks. They've eaten every flour and
leaf off of it.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
And those girls aren't laying very well. Throw a little
finol at them.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Oh yeah, that's for sure. And I grow the bronze,
so I don't mind. Doesn't develop the bulb so much.
But it's really good for their reproductive health. And it's
got like an annus flavor, and so they can eat
both the leaves and if you shave some of those bulbs,
those are really really good for layers.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Now, you did mention comfrey, as far as that's one
we would not throw obviously on the grill. And you
can do nerves like that, throw them on the grill
for seasoning as you're cooking. But comfrey you can't feed
to the chickens, but you cannot use it obviously in
the cooking process.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, you know, comfory reminds me of sassafras. You know,
the old country folk around here still drink comfory tea
and sassafras tea, but it's recommended not not to do
that now. And comfrey because of the alkaloids in it.
It's used mainly in say, you know, for sore mussels
and such, but you can feed at the chickens, and
(19:27):
I would not overdo. But it's good for their digestive
and even their heart health. So a lot of protein
in there too, so it helps increase egg production. But
as I said, don't overdo on the comfory even for
your birds.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Got about fifty seconds and sage. If they eat the sage,
I guess it will taste like dressing when I go
to cook them.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Oh oh my god, Well I don't even know where
to go with that real quick. Yeah, just their general
health and it's a just healthy nibble if you give
them some. You know, when you're prude in your stage again,
you're gonna find them nibbling at that the leaves. And
it's a wonderful herb for chickens, just generally, just like
(20:10):
a sort of all over good health.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
If you're looking to naturally keep your chickens in good health,
you're raising those hens in that backyard. Rita has a
list of twelve different herbs that you probably are growing
in your herb garden that you can share with the
with those hens as well to help them be more productive,
healthier and all natural because you're using all those natural
herbs from your garden. Rita Hikenfeld always a pleasure her
(20:34):
website about eating dot com. Tell mister Hikenfeld, we said, allow,
it's you going to be at naturps.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Today, right, Yes I am. I'm gonna be there around
eleven o'clock. So are you going to be there later?
Speaker 1 (20:45):
I'll try to stop it as well.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
We'll see you there, Okay, see you later.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
All right? Take care. Coming up next, Barbie Bletcher Here
in the garden with Ron Wilson. How is your garden growing?
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Cal Roden now at one eight hundred three. Talk you're
listening to in the Garden with Ron Wilson.
Speaker 6 (21:20):
Mosquitoes can transmit deadly diseases, including West noow virus, but
some mosquito dunks kill mosquitoes before they're old enough to bite.
Just float an organic mosquito dunk and ponds, bird bass
rain barrels in any standing water to kill mosquito larvae
for thirty days or longer. Don't worry. Mosquito dunks won't
harm people, pets, fish, birds, or wildlife. Mosquito dunks are
(21:43):
available at garden centers, hardware stores, and online visit some
Responsible Solutions dot com.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
For over forty years, DeMont has made powerful paint and
coating removers that are tough on layers but save for
you in the environment. Tried demand Smart Strip Advanced. It
works on over ninety percent the coatings, no harmful fumes,
no dangerous chemicals. Not sure what you're removing well, Demon's
easy test kit tells you exactly what you need. Find
Smart Strip at you're participating do it Best retailer Sherwin
(22:12):
Williams or visit Dumont Global dot com. At Dumont Global
dot com. Dumont Smart, safe and proven, so do it
yourself with Demon.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Good morning, Welcome back here in the garden with Ron
Wilson again that toll free number eight hundred eight two
three eight two five five. Don't forget our website at
Ron Wilson online dot com. And of course we have
Rita's recipe there as well for the twelve herbs that
you can grow to keep those chickens happy and healthy
as well up through your herb garden. Now, as I promised,
(23:25):
we've got her back this morning to give us a
big update because we've got to find out what's going
on out there. She is our queen bee. You know
who I'm talking about. Late you heard her, ladies and gentlemen,
the one, the only, mister missus, Barbie Lecher. Those were
(23:49):
just bees that were doing that too.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
Yeah. Just we'ger bees too, just z.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yeah, No, there was all kinds of They're all out
there lined up on our windows so kind of crazy.
So how are you this morning?
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Oh? I'm okay. I woke up with the horse throat,
so I took some honey. We'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
What do you mean, you'll see how it goes. That's
what you always tell me to do.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
Yeah, it's true. Yep, it should work, it should help.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
All right, we'll take we'll hope. So anyway, talking with
Barb Blatch here, she's our queen bee. Of course, bar
has been working with us on our show for many,
many years now, trying to keep everybody updated on on
our bees, our native bees, our honey bees, uh, how
to be friendly and pollinator polite and old nine yards.
And unfortunately this past winter, all of a sudden everybody
(24:38):
realized that we wound up with a major, major honeybee loss.
And of course that's all uh, those records all come from,
of course, the folks who raise honeybees, that they're able
to calculate that. But uh, you know, I guess it's been.
It wound up being as bad as they thought, right, yeah,
(24:59):
or worse or worse.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Yeah, they're recording a sixty two percent loss overall for
commercial beekeepers and one point six million colonies from let's see,
from spring last year until March of this year, twenty
twenty five, So one point six billions so high in
the world, or one point six millions. So how are
(25:23):
you going to get your apples and your pumpkins pollinated?
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Thank goodness for some of those native bees out there.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Huh yeah, unfortunately, if you just can't box them up
and move them all around the country like we do
with honey bees. But yeah, that would certainly help.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Yeah. I mean again, they're they're a part of the
of the pollinating process. But here what we're talking about
where the concern is is, like Barber saying, is the
fact that these are commercial beekeepers that take their hives
and transport them to orchards, the almond orchards places like
that for the pollination as needed, and unfortunately the numbers
(26:06):
are so low, they're not available to do that. Now,
that means the populations are the pollination is going to
go down, and they do. They the general consensus what
they pollinated about a third of the crops that we
use every year.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Yeah, right, a throe of the crops. Every a third
of everything we take a bite of has been pollinated
by a honeybee.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
So and I think you you gave me the about
fifteen billion dollars worth of crops every year is what
that's equivalent to. So if there are no honey bees,
obviously you're looking at the shortage. So that's where this
is coming up with some of these figures. And not
only is it for the pollinators and the orchards out there,
but you know, you got the honey production loss as well,
(26:49):
and I think that was predicted, what about six hundred
million dollars.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Six hundred million dollars. Yeah, And that plus the fact
that some of these are you know, three and generation
beekeepers and they've they play well been wiped out. And
it was interesting with the reports because it's not just
colonies in California, it's colonies all the United States. These
big commercial beekeepers, they were shipping them out to California.
(27:17):
For a pollination and they were okay when they were
you know, put in the truck, and by the time
they arrived, there was hardly any bees left in the colonies.
And then they do this cold storage, some of the
beekeepers do, so they put them into like a storage
unit which is cooler temperatures to control the auroramites. They
(27:39):
look great going into the storage unit. When they brought
them back out, they're all gone. All the bees are,
the hives are empty, so you know, multiple generation beekeepers
are they're just wiped out. So we may lose some
of our big beekeepers in addition to losing colonies and pollination.
I mean, it is really serious.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
And again, when you're talking just give me give me
a rough example. You know, we're talking somebody major that
does this for a business. How many hives are they
producing on their bee farms or whatever whatever they would
that ever it's called. I mean, we're talking like a
thousand hives.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
So our largest beekeeper, not not his size, but the
largest one I think is five million colonies. Well not
five million, I can't count. There's five hundred thousand colonies a.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Half a million colonies at one bee farm.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Right, Well, so each each beekeeper. We can only keep
like twenty to thirty colonies in a yard depending on
what's flowering around it. Some of these big places out
in North Dakota they can have, you know, one hundred
colonies you know here and there. But over here at
least in Ohio or Michigan or wherever, we're so urbanized,
(29:03):
we can't have more than twenty twenty eight to thirty
something colonies because there's not enough food. But you go
out to North Dakota where it's acres and acres of flowers,
they can have, you know, several hundred colonies in the yard.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
So now they're just sitting there in their wooden high
boxes and nothing in them.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
Right, And then you get pasts. We have pets that
will actually eat stored honeycomb that's not being used, so
we have that in addition.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Wow, so is somebody like Nina Bagley, who was just
one of many, many, many across the United States bee
queen bee breeders, I would guess, are just probably going
crazy right now.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Oh yeah, the queen breeders are super busy, and so
you know, beekeepers buy packages in the spring. Speed keeping
clubs will start out with packages for new beekeepers. So
those bees come from colonies that were in pollination or
somewhere down south. Instead up paying to haul them all
(30:13):
up north, some of these beekeepers will you know, sell
them to a local package company so to speak. You know,
they'll take those colonies and shake them into a package
and sell packages. So the package package industry is going
crazy too because they need bees like now, and it
(30:34):
takes you know, all seasons for a colony to build
back up. So they're depending on all those colonies left
over from pollination to make packages, and there aren't any.
So you know, Queen readers, Nina is like busier than ever.
And all these package companies down Florida and Georgia, they're
(30:54):
looking everywhere trying to find bees just to make packages
for beekeepers.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Interesting, now, what about beekeepers in other countries? You know,
if you look over to Europe or whatever, were they doing,
did they experience any of this as well? Or were
they all in pretty good shape?
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Not as badly as not as badly as us. In
the past, they've suffered largest, large losses. But I have
not heard the reports this year anything close to what
we had.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, all I've heard so far nothing from Europe, you know,
but just the United States really suffering the big hit
on this. So let's take a break, we come back,
we'll see what Barb says they're finding out or are
they finding out anything? At this stage. Swarms are coming
up a swarm season. What can you do for that?
And what should we be doing in our backyards and
(31:42):
our gardens and our containers to help be friendly and
help to increase of populations as well? More coming up
after the break with Barbie Bletcher here in the garden
with Ron.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Wilson, Landscaping ladiesier with your personal yard boy. He's in
the garden and he's run.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
If you look around your landscape and you realize it's
getting overrun with unwanted woody plants, vines, poison ivy, even
broad leaf weeds, well, the folks at Ferdlom suggest you
get out and grab some furloan, brush killer, stump killer.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
This is Ron Wilson. Fertlan brush killer, stump killer concentrate
controls unwanted vines, poison ivy, broad leaf weeds, and woody
shrubs that just seem to pop up out of nowhere
around your home, the cabin out buildings, trails, fences, walkways,
and other non crop areas. And you heard me say
stump killer. Yep. Just apply undiluted Furloan brush killer stump
(32:49):
killer on freshly cut unwanted tree, shrub and vine stumps
and those stumps will grow no more ridge a property
of those unsightly unwanted woody plants, vines, poison, ivy and more.
And stop those stumps from regrowing with Fernlan brush killer
stump killer. Ask for Fernlan brush killer stump killer today
at your favorite garden center. And remember you'll find this
(33:10):
and other fertilan products only at independent garden centers and nurseries.
That's Ferdlan brush killer stump killer. Welcome back here in
(34:02):
the Garden with Ron Wilson, our special guests this morning.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Barbie.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
But let you are Queen Bee talking about yeah, major
major bee loss this year, and of course, uh, major
impacts all across. I mean, it's it's gonna hit us,
there's no doubt about it. Six one hundred million dollar
loss in honey production alone. Plus you got the cost
of red getting these all redone and started all over again. Uh,
(34:29):
it's just it's it's crazy. Uh. So as we look
at this barb. And by the way, do people think
of you as a nuisance? Probably, Well, well don't they
look at bees and say that they're they're a nuisance?
Oh yes, but she, but she actually she actually plays
(34:50):
a vital role in the food that you eat every day.
So don't consider Barbie Bletcher a nuisance. So anyway, So
on a serious note, I mean, so obviously they're trying
to figure out if anything, one thing at all that's
going on. And I know that, I know they're looking
at the cocktail of all the stuff, right, the parasites
and the disease and pesticides, climate, how's climate change affecting this?
(35:14):
I mean, we got more you know, warmer temperatures and
the heat exposure and the storms that are happening out there.
That's kind of play a role in this too.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
Yeah, And climate change does play role. They have found
that the climate change has reduced the available pollen in
the flowers. They did a study with golden rod and
with soybeans, and there's actually reduced pollen quality due to
climate change. You know, and look at our springs. Our
(35:44):
springs are cool and rainy. Bees won't fly when it's
cold or rainy, and just in my short lifetime, I
seem to remember we had really nice springs and now
it's cool and rainy all the way through spring, and
then it gets hot and the rain stops, and there's
no pollen or in nectar and flowers that are full
(36:06):
of drought, you know, drought stricken plants.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah, so what do you get. You get through the
spring season and you look at some of your your
orchard crop out there and your apples and pears or whatever, cherries, whatever,
and you don't have quite the production that you've had
in the past. First thing you got to look at
is look at the weather. And you know, if it's
been cool and it's been rainy, Uh, they can't get
out there and fly to do the whether it's the
native bees or the honey bees to do the pollinating.
(36:33):
And again it affects that that as well. So and
then the heat. And I think you you brought that
up on Joe Boggs and I were talking about golden
Rod last fall that you know, with the weather, the
pollen wasn't is it not as the quality or is
just not there.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
It's a little bit of both. These. The plants are
going to expend the energy to produce that palm because
they're just trying to stay alive. To the quantity and
the quality are both reduced and nectar as well because
they don't have the extra moisture required to produce nectar.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
So as we look at that, I mean that nothing
obviously has come wrong so far as far as being
a one time a major issue. It's just they haven't
really had any answers yet, right.
Speaker 4 (37:23):
Yeah, I mean I think they're coming up with sufficient
and problems that USDA is not allowed to talk to
the public yet just because there's you know, that whole issue. So, yeah,
they looked at the pesticides that beekeepers use and my
decides that we use in our colonies. They sampled both
live and dead colonies to compare the difference, and they're
(37:47):
still going through them. I was just reading the number
of coneies that they looked at. Oh gosh, where I
find out.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
And I know I can't.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Find it, But yeah, they looked at a lot of
the colonies, not only in California but other states as well,
trying to find out what nora of is going on,
and they just haven't been able to find find it.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
And that's kind of you know, you think about this,
that that the vera might which has been a major issue, uh,
and trying to keep that under control there has been
a major issue over many many years. You have to
have a mitoside slash pesticide, and you've got to come
up with something that takes care of the might but
doesn't affect they be And that's that's that's gonna be
(38:38):
a tough thing.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
Yeah, and then you can't use the spotkr and you
have honeysupers on, So then you have to take all
the honey off and treat the bees. And that's you see,
you know, several weeks to a month before you can
put the honeysupers back on, So then you lease your
honey crop and their sisters. We don't have good products.
I mean we have a lot of we have a
(39:01):
lot of choices, but there's not really a good product
that we can use safely that will effectively kill the
mites without hurting the bees.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
So what about you know, I thought way back when
we were reading a lot about bee breeding, and again
we talked about the queen bee breeding like Nina Bagley,
but actual breeding of different from different countries. I think
there was a Russian bee, that honey bee that picked
them off or ate them or something. I don't know
where does that I mean, is that still and I'm
(39:30):
sure they're still doing that type of a bee breeding,
trying to come up with more resistant selections.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
Yeah. So the Russian bees, they're very good at taking
the mites off of each other and just detecting mites
not only in the brood, but on their brothers and sisters.
We have a lot of what we call hygienic bees
that can detect a mite, you know, in a developing bee,
and they'll so remove that mite and you know, plaster
(40:00):
or their sister back up again, so she's going to
remove so she can continue developing. So there's a lot
of different things like that. But the thing is, if
that queen swarms, you know, if your colony swarms, you've
lost that queen. How you're starting oliver again? Oh yeah,
So you know I have so many colonies, you know,
we have feral colonies, We have colonies of hobby bee
(40:22):
keepers around. You know, you don't know where they got
their bees. So it's hard to maintain that that dominant gene.
And that's that's the tricky part is to have a
dominant gene for hygienics, and we don't have that yet,
got it.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
So Nina Bagley gets needs to get to work harder.
Speaker 4 (40:41):
She she's lucky. She finds bees out in the woods
that are far away from any other colonies and she
uses those to breed her bees.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Interesting talking with Barbie Blecher. She is our queen bee
and has been the one that stuck with us through
all these years keeping us informed about the honey bees
and native bees and what we can do do to
be more bee friendly in our gardens. So swarming seasons
coming up, and got a couple of minutes here, real quick.
If somebody goes out and there's a swarm on a
(41:11):
tree in their house or on the side of their
house or whatever, don't panic, right, what should they do?
Speaker 4 (41:16):
Yes, don't panic, please, we need those bees. You can
go to Centralhigo Beekeepers dot org, Ohio Statebeekeepers dot org.
You can initially call a library or the police department.
There's a lot of sources to find swarms and just
leave them alone because most of the time they'll be
gone within twenty four hours, So you know, don't bat
(41:39):
at them, don't fight, you know, blast your pose on them.
Just leave them alone and find a local beekeeper and
they all come and they'll collect those bees.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yeah, they're not coming after you. They're not going to
swarm after you. And I've told you this many times.
I do not suggest anybody to do this, but I
have walked up to these swarms on the side of
a tree and put your hands right up next to them.
They could care less about you because they're protecting that
queen and moving and they'll they'll move right They're just
right in front of you and never do anything at all.
Just be But I'm not telling you to do that.
(42:09):
But point being is that's not you know, they're focused
on getting that queen somewhere, relocating. So if they stick
around for a couple three days, okay, call somebody and
they'll collect a swarm. But yeah, don't do anything. And again,
no matter what state you're in, there are beekeepers, good
lore out there that would love to come to your
house and collect those up.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
We have about thirty two thirty two hundred beekeepers right
here in Ohio, so there's plenty of beekeepers out there
who are more happy to get them. Three two thousand
beekeepers in Ohio, so funny out there.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Yeah, and even if they even if they wind up
getting in the wall of a house or whatever, there
are a lot of beekeepers that will come and help
to take that apart, pull them out of there, collect
the bees, and then work with you as far as
getting it back together as well. So you know, against
work with them, don't work against them, try to save them.
And of course you know, Barbie and I've been talking
for years now about how to be more friendly in
(43:08):
your garden planning for the pollinators. You know what our
cultural practices, what we use in the garden. You know,
Lookie reading these figures about this major b loss this
year now, it's become even more and more important to
be e e friendly in your gardening endeavors that you
do this year and forever, but this year especially, Barbie Bletcher,
(43:30):
our queen Bee. Always a pleasure of great information. We'll
get you back on as we learn more. Thank you
so much for getting up. And Sharon and I hope
you're a voice gets better.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Well some honey, it'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
We can always tell us better. It's just that short
period of time. Another thing right there. Drink your honey,
take care of the Queen Bee. It'll take care of
you as well. Thanks Barbie, thank you. All right, quick
break we come back. Phone lines are open for you know,
Gary Sullivan. Today's on vacation, So next half hour it's
you and me. Eight hundred A two three eight two
(44:01):
five five Here in the Garden with Ron Wilson, Green,
Tom or not.
Speaker 5 (44:21):
Ron can help at one eight hundred eighty two three talk.
This is in the Garden with Ron Wilson.
Our toll free number eight hundred eight two three eight
(00:40):
two five five. Good morning. I am Ron Wilson, your
personal yard boy, talking about the yarding on this post
Arbor Day, celebrating ourbor Day today, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We're gonna you know, it's the Rodney dangerfield of all
these holidays and awareness days, and so we're just gonna
keep celebrating right on through the weekend to try to
get more and more people get out there and plan
(01:00):
and grow a tree or two or three. Keep planting
those trees. Now, as I promised, two weeks in a row,
she is with us. It's time for ore you erbally
experience with our CCPCM major award winning syndicated journalist, Appalachian
herbal scholar remember the Herbal Society of America. She is
(01:20):
an author, a cooking teacher, a media personality, motivational speaker.
I'm always motivated by the time she's done here today.
You hear on Sacred Heart Radio as well as iHeartRadio,
founding editor of About Eating dot Com, Ladies and gentlemen,
the one the only Rida Nator Hike and felled big fans,
(01:45):
all of them everywhere. Danny said, he has to these
people want water and food and been waiting for you
all night.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well that's good, that's good, sort of like I wouldn't
give an analogy to the pope, but that's a compliment. Yeah,
I'm alive and he's not. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
No, I didn't get to see that this morning with
the I guess that was this morning, right, the burial?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, but there's been information on it
all week and I have been talked about his favorite
foods on Sacred Heart Radio Thursday. And it's interesting because
jumping to another topic about Arbor Day. Now, when we
were kids, we didn't celebrate Earth Day, but we at
school we always got a tree for Arbor Day, like
(02:37):
a new just like a bear root, and ours was
usually red buds and my dad used to plant those
in our yard. And I still remember Arbor Day. So
I'm glad that you brought it up and gave it
a little respect.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
As you said, did they actually have Eirth Day when.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
You were a kid, No, we didn't call it that. No, No,
we just you know, they didn't have anything special like that.
But Arbor Day was a big day at all the
you know, the primary schools, and as I said, we
all got a bear root tree and it was special
and to see it grow in the yard cheese. I
think it's still growing in my dad and mom's yard
(03:15):
where you know they lived, and it's self seated, and
so yeah, something special, I was. It made me smile
when you talked about that this morning.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah, you know, you always do go back and take
a look at the you know, wow, I look at
that thing when you know, I remember that was just
a baby when we planted that there. So talking with
Rita Nader Hikenfelder websites about eating dot com. First of all,
I went to the I actually went to the Earth
Society of America last week about that mitch Ham Mint mint. Yeah,
it kind of got my interest because it's like, where,
(03:45):
so where did this name come from? And they she
wasn't aware of. The education manager not aware of either,
but then she started kind of digging into it and
learn more about the mitch Hams, but can't seem to
figure out where the name switched over to Robert Mitcham
rather than Roberts mitch Ham Miant. So we're still can't
figure that one how that got switched, But we're pretty
(04:07):
sure now that it was Robert's mitch Ham peppermint or
black mint that first started out and then somehow get
switched over to Robert Mitcham. So I thought it was
kind of fun trying to figure that one out. We're
still going to kind of keep looking into it.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, it is interesting how people sort of skew up
the names and then what the most popular person or
thing is what we wind up with. So I think
that's that's what I figured happened. But yeah, interesting. Thanks
for sending that info.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah, and thanks for Karen Kennedy for getting back to
me on that too from the Herb Society, so really
appreciate it. Also, I send you some info this week.
I figured you'd be traveling this morning, headed up to
South Cleveland because they're having the Old Peninsula Ramp Up
Ramp Up Peninsula Festival today celebrating the rams, which I
(05:00):
absolutely love to eat, and of course you know that.
And then have you seen any around your area?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
No, no, no, no. Hopefully we're gonna go morel hunting
and ramp hunting tomorrow with my friends Charlene and Butch.
But this is the season, I mean right now, and
we usually find lots of ramps maybe not so many morels,
but there's a whole hillside and I can't tell you where. No,
no blind pull you and take you into the woods.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
No I would, I would know, I would. I'm sorry,
I don't think so anyway, if you're not familiar with rams,
it tastes like a onion and garlic, kind of a
cross between the two. I think it's an absolutely wonderful flavor.
I noticed somebody says something about it, says something that's considerable.
Clean out your body. If it comes out of your pores,
(05:50):
you don't smell so good for a couple of days.
I never noticed that.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
After I ate it, well, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
It's a member of the Leak family, sort of singing
and garlic free. And I haven't noticed it either, but
we have grilled it. It's really delicious. But you know
when you go dick those up, Yes, that route, mister Wilson,
is not easily obtained because it's the ball that's like
the bulb of an onion, right, and then the top
(06:15):
the green the growth. The green growth is what's on top.
So you got to really dig and respect mother nature,
and don't you know, dig up too many and leave
some there Nine yeah, oh, there's they're abundant. They're just abundant.
So yeah, you've got me all excited about that. So
that'll be something fun to do tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well, I know West Virginia and Pennsylvania has always had
their ramp Festival. So this one's today. If you're in Ohio,
it's just south. It's in Summit County, south of Cleveland.
It's called Ramp Up Peninsula, Peninsula, Ohio from eleven to
four along their main street. Big thing Perogi's and Sausage
there too. Can't beat that and a few ramps as well.
Talking with Rito Hikenfeld are herbalist and her website again
(06:55):
about eating dot com. So this week I thought was
fairly interesting. You know, there's there's no rest this week,
but the recipe is for actually, I guess it would
be a recipe feeding your chickens because a lot of
folks now and it's not just now because of the
price of eggs, although a lot of people have started
doing it because of the price of eggs, but backyard
(07:16):
raising chickens in the backyard has become so popular over
the last would you say, ten years, twelve years something
like that.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Oh, at least fifteen or so.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, yeah, and just getting more and more popular all
the time. Two hands, four hands, six hands, whatever. How
many do you guys have?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
We have eleven? We just lost well I call her Granny.
We've had so many granny's and yard boys. We just
lost one. But she was you know, she was gosh
about ten years old, so she had an honorable life.
So yeah, we just lost one. But yeah, we have eleven.
We had thirteen and now I think there's eleven. But
(07:55):
we need babies. Yard boy has to do his job.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Oh you still have yard boy. This is yard what number?
Yardboard number nine?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Probably, but they're all named after you because they're very mischievous. Yeah,
very sweet, very sweet. He's a good he's a good rooster,
but he's been falling down on the task a little
bit lately. So hopefully we'll get some babes.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So you and your your chickens, are you have a sortman?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Right?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You don't just stick with one particular selection of chickens,
like you know, you have a little bit of everything, right.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, we have some silky, some bantam Rhode Island red. Yeah,
we have I don't know, Yeah, it's a variety.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Got any dominickers even disy, do.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
You have any dominickers?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Bard rocks?
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
No, you know we did, but oh those are beautiful.
I know, I didn't know that's what they were called,
any of those.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
That was my grandmother, Grandma Wilson, she loved dominickers.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Yeah, they're good egg layers too, and they're good birds bars.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I'm good lookers too. I like those. That's what I
asks about most of that in the Rhode Island reds.
Oh yeah, I think we're the two that most of
the ones that we have we back with raising chickens anyway,
So a lot of folks doing that. So Rita said,
let's kind of do a little twist on this and
talk about recipes of herbs that are good for your
(09:20):
chickens that she happens to harvest as well. So we're
gonna take a break. When we come back, we'll find
out what herbs should you be growing to benefit your chickens.
Here in the Garden with Ron Wilson.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Not gardening questions. Ron has the answers at one eight
hundred eighty two three talk You're in the garden with
Rod Wilson.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
If your trees and shrubs are hungry. Feed them. Furnilom
tree and shrub food Ron Wilson here. Fertile Loan Tree
and shrub food is especially formulated tree food that contains
penetrating action, which actually moves the food directly to the
feeder roots once you've applied it to around your trees
and shrubs dripline and that helps to eliminate the needs
to drill holes now. Furlan Tree and Shrub food is
(10:17):
a nineteen eighty ten formula that's nineteen eight ten with
trace elements and it's great for all types of trees, evergreens,
flowering trees, tropicals, even citrus and palm trees. So pick
up a twenty pound bag of fertlan Tree and shrub
food today. Feed your trees and shrubs twice a year
and they're going to be really happy plants. Furn Loan
Tree and shrub food, along with other fert loan products,
(10:39):
can be found only at your favorite independent nursery or
garden centers. That's Fertilan tree and shrub food. Feed your
plants today for healthier trees and shrubs Tomorrow. Fern Loan
tree and shrub food only at your favorite independent nursery
and garden centers. Pick some up today.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
I've had my easy Breed ventilation system for over fifteen
years in love it. Easy Breathe is small, standalone you
at that mounts on basement walls, plugs in and vents
air out, creating air exchanges, getting rid of musty odors,
staying in air, and making homes healthy again. There's no maintenance,
just set it and forget it. I encourage you to
visit letter E letter z breed dot com see for yourself.
(11:15):
Give them a call at eight sixty six eight two
two seventy three. Twenty eight Easy Breath units are now
twenty percent off plus a free humidity monitoring kit. Give
them a call today. It's Easybreed dot com, Gary Salvent
here for the Zalar pump company. Zalor leads the way
in some pumps and battery backup systems with continuous innovation.
Now you can see the light with their led plug
(11:37):
illuminating Zalor green when the power is present. You no
longer have to wonder if your some pump pass power.
The plug is always illuminated when power is present. Check
it out today on the popular Zlor model sixty three
and m fifty three. Go to zalarpumps dot com the
located factory certified installer in your area zalorpumps dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Welcome back here in the Garden with Ron Wilson special
guests this morning. She's not a special guest, she's a
regular read a Nator hiking founder website About eating dot com.
It's part two of our your chickens herbally experienced herbs
you should be growing to feed to your chickens.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Have at It sounds like a winner to me. And
it's funny because a lot of the culinary herbs that
we use every day in cooking are good for your
feathered friends as well.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Wow, And I'm assuming as we And then you've got
a list of twelve and we have these posted on
our website at Ryan Wilson online dot com, so because
we might not get through all of them, but you
can go and check it out. And I'm assuming read
I kind of joked earlier, but I could take all
of these and put them in a little bundle, and
when I'm grilling that chicken, I could also put that
in the in the grills.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Just about the only earth that I would suggest not
using in this list is Comforty Comfrey. Yeah, and we'll
talk about that in a minute. But I wanted you
to choose which herbs you want to talk about, and
then which might be your favorite.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Let's let's start with I like what you said you
were talking about turn the page here. You were talking
about time as far as they eat the time, but
you're also putting it in their nests, their box nests.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, and you know time. It's mainly known
as a perennial and I grow, gosh, all kinds of
time and it likes full some but it'll do well
and partial shade also. But the thing is it repels insects.
We know that, so it's anti bacterial and got lots
of antioxidants. So it's really good for the chickens to
(14:30):
like peck at it. When when you're pruning your herbs,
it's a perfect time to throw them in their feed.
And usually I think the proportion is like ninety percent
regular feed and then ten percent what we call the
irbal treats. So as you're pruning, I sometimes just throw
it in there and they'll just pick the stems clean.
But they they love the time, and they also it's
(14:52):
nice to put in their nesting boxes. As you just said,
it helps them breathe, you know when you think of
time and even time and sage t for us and
it sort of clears out the sinuses. So it's a
greaterb for their respiratory health as well.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You know what if for folks who live in the
Cincinnati area, you on some saturdays during the spring season
hang out at Natorpe's nurseryality in Mason, Ohio in the
herb section and can answer questions and you're always going
through there with dead heading and picking and harvesting. Now
I know where all.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Those go, well, you know where some of them go.
I put them in the break room because not only
do they just a scent just alerts people and just
makes them happy. But they'll take some home and use
them too. But I do. I use a lot of
my cutting just the chicken coops close enough to the garden.
So my girls love it and yur boy likes it too,
(15:46):
So you know, just a way of waste not want not,
don't you think?
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Absolutely? Lavender kind of surprised me.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Oh yeah, lavender. Well, we think of lavender as such
a calming herb, and you can put it like in
bunches in the coop, and sometimes I'll just like I
have one bush planted just outside the coop because it
really does repel insects, and you know, chickens get like
lice and other little creatures on them. But it's also,
(16:16):
as I said, such a calming herb, a stress reliever
even for chickens. And then if you've got dust bats
for your chickens, throw some lavender leaves in there too,
and it'll keep the insects off and keep them nice
and calm.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
And then basil actually can get make the egg yolks
much more orange deeper in colors.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Oh yeah, yeah, basil. Well it's it's got high in
prochein too, so that's good for your eggs and it
does it it helps their respiratory help and it gives
the yolk a really nice orange coloring. And one herb
I didn't put in there, but it's also good, and
you can even buy the petals dried in the in
(16:55):
the like nurseries is colegula, you know, the merrigold that
is really good for chickens and gives their yolks a
beautiful color as well. And humans can eat a colendula too,
so double duty.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Then we obviously were talking about mint earlier than mints.
Good for the chickens.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Oh yeah, mint, I mean, and you know if you
can grow mint anywhere. You heard me say, it'll grow
out of a sidiewalk crack. And you know the thing
about mintough, mister Wilson, not only do they enjoy pecking
at it, but it helps lower their body temperatures. It's
a very cooling herb, so when we get this really
hot weather, it's a wonderful herb to give them, along
(17:36):
with some cool not ice water, but cool water. So
and they're also ant repellents too, so great for chickens too.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
And it sounds like dial kind of falls into the
same category.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Oh yeah, del and deal helps with their feather growth too.
People didn't don't realize that. And that's got tons of
plant protein in it for them too, And a lot
of times you'll find that like teas to combat again
respiratory problems. But it also is a very calming nerve.
So you can throw some dial leaves in the nesting
(18:09):
boxes too, and it helps stimulate feather growth. As I said,
And when I just prune my mammoth still and I'll
just throw the whole stalks in there. Within a couple hours,
all I see are stalks. They've eaten every flour and
leaf off of it.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
And those girls aren't laying very well. Throw a little
finol at them.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Oh yeah, that's for sure. And I grow the bronze,
so I don't mind. Doesn't develop the bulb so much.
But it's really good for their reproductive health. And it's
got like an annus flavor, and so they can eat
both the leaves and if you shave some of those bulbs,
those are really really good for layers.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Now, you did mention comfrey, as far as that's one
we would not throw obviously on the grill. And you
can do nerves like that, throw them on the grill
for seasoning as you're cooking. But comfrey you can't feed
to the chickens, but you cannot use it obviously in
the cooking process.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, you know, comfory reminds me of sassafras. You know,
the old country folk around here still drink comfory tea
and sassafras tea, but it's recommended not not to do
that now. And comfrey because of the alkaloids in it.
It's used mainly in say, you know, for sore mussels
and such, but you can feed at the chickens, and
(19:27):
I would not overdo. But it's good for their digestive
and even their heart health. So a lot of protein
in there too, so it helps increase egg production. But
as I said, don't overdo on the comfory even for
your birds.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Got about fifty seconds and sage. If they eat the sage,
I guess it will taste like dressing when I go
to cook them.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Oh oh my god, Well I don't even know where
to go with that real quick. Yeah, just their general
health and it's a just healthy nibble if you give
them some. You know, when you're prude in your stage again,
you're gonna find them nibbling at that the leaves. And
it's a wonderful herb for chickens, just generally, just like
(20:10):
a sort of all over good health.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
If you're looking to naturally keep your chickens in good health,
you're raising those hens in that backyard. Rita has a
list of twelve different herbs that you probably are growing
in your herb garden that you can share with the
with those hens as well to help them be more productive,
healthier and all natural because you're using all those natural
herbs from your garden. Rita Hikenfeld always a pleasure her
(20:34):
website about eating dot com. Tell mister Hikenfeld, we said, allow,
it's you going to be at naturps.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Today, right, Yes I am. I'm gonna be there around
eleven o'clock. So are you going to be there later?
Speaker 1 (20:45):
I'll try to stop it as well.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
We'll see you there, Okay, see you later.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
All right? Take care. Coming up next, Barbie Bletcher Here
in the garden with Ron Wilson. How is your garden growing?
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Cal Roden now at one eight hundred three. Talk you're
listening to in the Garden with Ron Wilson.
Speaker 6 (21:20):
Mosquitoes can transmit deadly diseases, including West noow virus, but
some mosquito dunks kill mosquitoes before they're old enough to bite.
Just float an organic mosquito dunk and ponds, bird bass
rain barrels in any standing water to kill mosquito larvae
for thirty days or longer. Don't worry. Mosquito dunks won't
harm people, pets, fish, birds, or wildlife. Mosquito dunks are
(21:43):
available at garden centers, hardware stores, and online visit some
Responsible Solutions dot com.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
For over forty years, DeMont has made powerful paint and
coating removers that are tough on layers but save for
you in the environment. Tried demand Smart Strip Advanced. It
works on over ninety percent the coatings, no harmful fumes,
no dangerous chemicals. Not sure what you're removing well, Demon's
easy test kit tells you exactly what you need. Find
Smart Strip at you're participating do it Best retailer Sherwin
(22:12):
Williams or visit Dumont Global dot com. At Dumont Global
dot com. Dumont Smart, safe and proven, so do it
yourself with Demon.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Good morning, Welcome back here in the garden with Ron
Wilson again that toll free number eight hundred eight two
three eight two five five. Don't forget our website at
Ron Wilson online dot com. And of course we have
Rita's recipe there as well for the twelve herbs that
you can grow to keep those chickens happy and healthy
as well up through your herb garden. Now, as I promised,
(23:25):
we've got her back this morning to give us a
big update because we've got to find out what's going
on out there. She is our queen bee. You know
who I'm talking about. Late you heard her, ladies and gentlemen,
the one, the only, mister missus, Barbie Lecher. Those were
(23:49):
just bees that were doing that too.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
Yeah. Just we'ger bees too, just z.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yeah, No, there was all kinds of They're all out
there lined up on our windows so kind of crazy.
So how are you this morning?
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Oh? I'm okay. I woke up with the horse throat,
so I took some honey. We'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
What do you mean, you'll see how it goes. That's
what you always tell me to do.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
Yeah, it's true. Yep, it should work, it should help.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
All right, we'll take we'll hope. So anyway, talking with
Barb Blatch here, she's our queen bee. Of course, bar
has been working with us on our show for many,
many years now, trying to keep everybody updated on on
our bees, our native bees, our honey bees, uh, how
to be friendly and pollinator polite and old nine yards.
And unfortunately this past winter, all of a sudden everybody
(24:38):
realized that we wound up with a major, major honeybee loss.
And of course that's all uh, those records all come from,
of course, the folks who raise honeybees, that they're able
to calculate that. But uh, you know, I guess it's been.
It wound up being as bad as they thought, right, yeah,
(24:59):
or worse or worse.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Yeah, they're recording a sixty two percent loss overall for
commercial beekeepers and one point six million colonies from let's see,
from spring last year until March of this year, twenty
twenty five, So one point six billions so high in
the world, or one point six millions. So how are
(25:23):
you going to get your apples and your pumpkins pollinated?
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Thank goodness for some of those native bees out there.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Huh yeah, unfortunately, if you just can't box them up
and move them all around the country like we do
with honey bees. But yeah, that would certainly help.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Yeah. I mean again, they're they're a part of the
of the pollinating process. But here what we're talking about
where the concern is is, like Barber saying, is the
fact that these are commercial beekeepers that take their hives
and transport them to orchards, the almond orchards places like
that for the pollination as needed, and unfortunately the numbers
(26:06):
are so low, they're not available to do that. Now,
that means the populations are the pollination is going to
go down, and they do. They the general consensus what
they pollinated about a third of the crops that we
use every year.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Yeah, right, a throe of the crops. Every a third
of everything we take a bite of has been pollinated
by a honeybee.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
So and I think you you gave me the about
fifteen billion dollars worth of crops every year is what
that's equivalent to. So if there are no honey bees,
obviously you're looking at the shortage. So that's where this
is coming up with some of these figures. And not
only is it for the pollinators and the orchards out there,
but you know, you got the honey production loss as well,
(26:49):
and I think that was predicted, what about six hundred
million dollars.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Six hundred million dollars. Yeah, And that plus the fact
that some of these are you know, three and generation
beekeepers and they've they play well been wiped out. And
it was interesting with the reports because it's not just
colonies in California, it's colonies all the United States. These
big commercial beekeepers, they were shipping them out to California.
(27:17):
For a pollination and they were okay when they were
you know, put in the truck, and by the time
they arrived, there was hardly any bees left in the colonies.
And then they do this cold storage, some of the
beekeepers do, so they put them into like a storage
unit which is cooler temperatures to control the auroramites. They
(27:39):
look great going into the storage unit. When they brought
them back out, they're all gone. All the bees are,
the hives are empty, so you know, multiple generation beekeepers
are they're just wiped out. So we may lose some
of our big beekeepers in addition to losing colonies and pollination.
I mean, it is really serious.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
And again, when you're talking just give me give me
a rough example. You know, we're talking somebody major that
does this for a business. How many hives are they
producing on their bee farms or whatever whatever they would
that ever it's called. I mean, we're talking like a
thousand hives.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
So our largest beekeeper, not not his size, but the
largest one I think is five million colonies. Well not
five million, I can't count. There's five hundred thousand colonies a.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Half a million colonies at one bee farm.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Right, Well, so each each beekeeper. We can only keep
like twenty to thirty colonies in a yard depending on
what's flowering around it. Some of these big places out
in North Dakota they can have, you know, one hundred
colonies you know here and there. But over here at
least in Ohio or Michigan or wherever, we're so urbanized,
(29:03):
we can't have more than twenty twenty eight to thirty
something colonies because there's not enough food. But you go
out to North Dakota where it's acres and acres of flowers,
they can have, you know, several hundred colonies in the yard.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
So now they're just sitting there in their wooden high
boxes and nothing in them.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
Right, And then you get pasts. We have pets that
will actually eat stored honeycomb that's not being used, so
we have that in addition.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Wow, so is somebody like Nina Bagley, who was just
one of many, many, many across the United States bee
queen bee breeders, I would guess, are just probably going
crazy right now.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Oh yeah, the queen breeders are super busy, and so
you know, beekeepers buy packages in the spring. Speed keeping
clubs will start out with packages for new beekeepers. So
those bees come from colonies that were in pollination or
somewhere down south. Instead up paying to haul them all
(30:13):
up north, some of these beekeepers will you know, sell
them to a local package company so to speak. You know,
they'll take those colonies and shake them into a package
and sell packages. So the package package industry is going
crazy too because they need bees like now, and it
(30:34):
takes you know, all seasons for a colony to build
back up. So they're depending on all those colonies left
over from pollination to make packages, and there aren't any.
So you know, Queen readers, Nina is like busier than ever.
And all these package companies down Florida and Georgia, they're
(30:54):
looking everywhere trying to find bees just to make packages
for beekeepers.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Interesting, now, what about beekeepers in other countries? You know,
if you look over to Europe or whatever, were they doing,
did they experience any of this as well? Or were
they all in pretty good shape?
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Not as badly as not as badly as us. In
the past, they've suffered largest, large losses. But I have
not heard the reports this year anything close to what
we had.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, all I've heard so far nothing from Europe, you know,
but just the United States really suffering the big hit
on this. So let's take a break, we come back,
we'll see what Barb says they're finding out or are
they finding out anything? At this stage. Swarms are coming
up a swarm season. What can you do for that?
And what should we be doing in our backyards and
(31:42):
our gardens and our containers to help be friendly and
help to increase of populations as well? More coming up
after the break with Barbie Bletcher here in the garden
with Ron.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Wilson, Landscaping ladiesier with your personal yard boy. He's in
the garden and he's run.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
If you look around your landscape and you realize it's
getting overrun with unwanted woody plants, vines, poison ivy, even
broad leaf weeds, well, the folks at Ferdlom suggest you
get out and grab some furloan, brush killer, stump killer.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
This is Ron Wilson. Fertlan brush killer, stump killer concentrate
controls unwanted vines, poison ivy, broad leaf weeds, and woody
shrubs that just seem to pop up out of nowhere
around your home, the cabin out buildings, trails, fences, walkways,
and other non crop areas. And you heard me say
stump killer. Yep. Just apply undiluted Furloan brush killer stump
(32:49):
killer on freshly cut unwanted tree, shrub and vine stumps
and those stumps will grow no more ridge a property
of those unsightly unwanted woody plants, vines, poison, ivy and more.
And stop those stumps from regrowing with Fernlan brush killer
stump killer. Ask for Fernlan brush killer stump killer today
at your favorite garden center. And remember you'll find this
(33:10):
and other fertilan products only at independent garden centers and nurseries.
That's Ferdlan brush killer stump killer. Welcome back here in
(34:02):
the Garden with Ron Wilson, our special guests this morning.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Barbie.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
But let you are Queen Bee talking about yeah, major
major bee loss this year, and of course, uh, major
impacts all across. I mean, it's it's gonna hit us,
there's no doubt about it. Six one hundred million dollar
loss in honey production alone. Plus you got the cost
of red getting these all redone and started all over again. Uh,
(34:29):
it's just it's it's crazy. Uh. So as we look
at this barb. And by the way, do people think
of you as a nuisance? Probably, Well, well don't they
look at bees and say that they're they're a nuisance?
Oh yes, but she, but she actually she actually plays
(34:50):
a vital role in the food that you eat every day.
So don't consider Barbie Bletcher a nuisance. So anyway, So
on a serious note, I mean, so obviously they're trying
to figure out if anything, one thing at all that's
going on. And I know that, I know they're looking
at the cocktail of all the stuff, right, the parasites
and the disease and pesticides, climate, how's climate change affecting this?
(35:14):
I mean, we got more you know, warmer temperatures and
the heat exposure and the storms that are happening out there.
That's kind of play a role in this too.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
Yeah, And climate change does play role. They have found
that the climate change has reduced the available pollen in
the flowers. They did a study with golden rod and
with soybeans, and there's actually reduced pollen quality due to
climate change. You know, and look at our springs. Our
(35:44):
springs are cool and rainy. Bees won't fly when it's
cold or rainy, and just in my short lifetime, I
seem to remember we had really nice springs and now
it's cool and rainy all the way through spring, and
then it gets hot and the rain stops, and there's
no pollen or in nectar and flowers that are full
(36:06):
of drought, you know, drought stricken plants.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah, so what do you get. You get through the
spring season and you look at some of your your
orchard crop out there and your apples and pears or whatever, cherries, whatever,
and you don't have quite the production that you've had
in the past. First thing you got to look at
is look at the weather. And you know, if it's
been cool and it's been rainy, Uh, they can't get
out there and fly to do the whether it's the
native bees or the honey bees to do the pollinating.
(36:33):
And again it affects that that as well. So and
then the heat. And I think you you brought that
up on Joe Boggs and I were talking about golden
Rod last fall that you know, with the weather, the
pollen wasn't is it not as the quality or is
just not there.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
It's a little bit of both. These. The plants are
going to expend the energy to produce that palm because
they're just trying to stay alive. To the quantity and
the quality are both reduced and nectar as well because
they don't have the extra moisture required to produce nectar.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
So as we look at that, I mean that nothing
obviously has come wrong so far as far as being
a one time a major issue. It's just they haven't
really had any answers yet, right.
Speaker 4 (37:23):
Yeah, I mean I think they're coming up with sufficient
and problems that USDA is not allowed to talk to
the public yet just because there's you know, that whole issue. So, yeah,
they looked at the pesticides that beekeepers use and my
decides that we use in our colonies. They sampled both
live and dead colonies to compare the difference, and they're
(37:47):
still going through them. I was just reading the number
of coneies that they looked at. Oh gosh, where I
find out.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
And I know I can't.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Find it, But yeah, they looked at a lot of
the colonies, not only in California but other states as well,
trying to find out what nora of is going on,
and they just haven't been able to find find it.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
And that's kind of you know, you think about this,
that that the vera might which has been a major issue, uh,
and trying to keep that under control there has been
a major issue over many many years. You have to
have a mitoside slash pesticide, and you've got to come
up with something that takes care of the might but
doesn't affect they be And that's that's that's gonna be
(38:38):
a tough thing.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
Yeah, and then you can't use the spotkr and you
have honeysupers on, So then you have to take all
the honey off and treat the bees. And that's you see,
you know, several weeks to a month before you can
put the honeysupers back on, So then you lease your
honey crop and their sisters. We don't have good products.
I mean we have a lot of we have a
(39:01):
lot of choices, but there's not really a good product
that we can use safely that will effectively kill the
mites without hurting the bees.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
So what about you know, I thought way back when
we were reading a lot about bee breeding, and again
we talked about the queen bee breeding like Nina Bagley,
but actual breeding of different from different countries. I think
there was a Russian bee, that honey bee that picked
them off or ate them or something. I don't know
where does that I mean, is that still and I'm
(39:30):
sure they're still doing that type of a bee breeding,
trying to come up with more resistant selections.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
Yeah. So the Russian bees, they're very good at taking
the mites off of each other and just detecting mites
not only in the brood, but on their brothers and sisters.
We have a lot of what we call hygienic bees
that can detect a mite, you know, in a developing bee,
and they'll so remove that mite and you know, plaster
(40:00):
or their sister back up again, so she's going to
remove so she can continue developing. So there's a lot
of different things like that. But the thing is, if
that queen swarms, you know, if your colony swarms, you've
lost that queen. How you're starting oliver again? Oh yeah,
So you know I have so many colonies, you know,
we have feral colonies, We have colonies of hobby bee
(40:22):
keepers around. You know, you don't know where they got
their bees. So it's hard to maintain that that dominant gene.
And that's that's the tricky part is to have a
dominant gene for hygienics, and we don't have that yet,
got it.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
So Nina Bagley gets needs to get to work harder.
Speaker 4 (40:41):
She she's lucky. She finds bees out in the woods
that are far away from any other colonies and she
uses those to breed her bees.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Interesting talking with Barbie Blecher. She is our queen bee
and has been the one that stuck with us through
all these years keeping us informed about the honey bees
and native bees and what we can do do to
be more bee friendly in our gardens. So swarming seasons
coming up, and got a couple of minutes here, real quick.
If somebody goes out and there's a swarm on a
(41:11):
tree in their house or on the side of their
house or whatever, don't panic, right, what should they do?
Speaker 4 (41:16):
Yes, don't panic, please, we need those bees. You can
go to Centralhigo Beekeepers dot org, Ohio Statebeekeepers dot org.
You can initially call a library or the police department.
There's a lot of sources to find swarms and just
leave them alone because most of the time they'll be
gone within twenty four hours, So you know, don't bat
(41:39):
at them, don't fight, you know, blast your pose on them.
Just leave them alone and find a local beekeeper and
they all come and they'll collect those bees.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yeah, they're not coming after you. They're not going to
swarm after you. And I've told you this many times.
I do not suggest anybody to do this, but I
have walked up to these swarms on the side of
a tree and put your hands right up next to them.
They could care less about you because they're protecting that
queen and moving and they'll they'll move right They're just
right in front of you and never do anything at all.
Just be But I'm not telling you to do that.
(42:09):
But point being is that's not you know, they're focused
on getting that queen somewhere, relocating. So if they stick
around for a couple three days, okay, call somebody and
they'll collect a swarm. But yeah, don't do anything. And again,
no matter what state you're in, there are beekeepers, good
lore out there that would love to come to your
house and collect those up.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
We have about thirty two thirty two hundred beekeepers right
here in Ohio, so there's plenty of beekeepers out there
who are more happy to get them. Three two thousand
beekeepers in Ohio, so funny out there.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Yeah, and even if they even if they wind up
getting in the wall of a house or whatever, there
are a lot of beekeepers that will come and help
to take that apart, pull them out of there, collect
the bees, and then work with you as far as
getting it back together as well. So you know, against
work with them, don't work against them, try to save them.
And of course you know, Barbie and I've been talking
for years now about how to be more friendly in
(43:08):
your garden planning for the pollinators. You know what our
cultural practices, what we use in the garden. You know,
Lookie reading these figures about this major b loss this
year now, it's become even more and more important to
be e e friendly in your gardening endeavors that you
do this year and forever, but this year especially, Barbie Bletcher,
(43:30):
our queen Bee. Always a pleasure of great information. We'll
get you back on as we learn more. Thank you
so much for getting up. And Sharon and I hope
you're a voice gets better.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Well some honey, it'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
We can always tell us better. It's just that short
period of time. Another thing right there. Drink your honey,
take care of the Queen Bee. It'll take care of
you as well. Thanks Barbie, thank you. All right, quick
break we come back. Phone lines are open for you know,
Gary Sullivan. Today's on vacation, So next half hour it's
you and me. Eight hundred A two three eight two
(44:01):
five five Here in the Garden with Ron Wilson, Green,
Tom or not.
Speaker 5 (44:21):
Ron can help at one eight hundred eighty two three talk.
This is in the Garden with Ron Wilson.
In The Garden with Ron Wilson News
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!