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4/28/2020

Bee Stewardship

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Did you know that bees are responsible for one in three bites of food that we eat!  Bees give us honey but in the process of foraging for nectar and pollen they also help us pollinate important food crops such as apples, peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers and almonds. The honey industry is a direct contributor to the success of American agriculture. Today, the honey industry faces many challenges, such as hive loss, drought, colony collapse and shrinking forage areas.

What can you do to promote more bees in your area? Why not plant a bee-friendly garden!  Here are some tips from the Honeybee Conservancy and The Ohio State University Bee Lab to help you plan for your pollinator garden:
  • Rethink your lawn.
    • Replace parts of your lawn with bee-friendly plants or leave clover and dandelions in your lawn for the bees. If this is not for you, think about how you could incorporate plants in already existing landscape beds.
  • Select single flower tops for your bee garden.
    • Double headed flowers make a powerful statement but produce much less nectar and make it much more difficult for bees to access pollen.
  • Skip the highly hybridized plants.
    • Highly hybridized plants tend to have very little pollen for bees. It is best to choose native plants that are pollen and nectar sources.
  • Use a wide variety of plants that bloom from early spring into late fall.
    • Planting different types of flowering plants that bloom in different seasons ensures that bees have enough food throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall months. 
  • Build homes for native bees.
    • Unlike honeybees who live in colonies, our native bees, who are solitary, need places to build homes. Leave hollow reeds, spent plant debris and areas of bare soil to help native bees find nesting places and materials. Mason Bee houses are also available for purchase. While the honey bee gets most of the credit for providing pollination, there are actually about 500 bee species in Ohio!

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  • Eliminate pesticides whenever possible.
    • Using integrated pest management (IPM) techniques is important before reaching for a pesticide. IPM is an approach to pest management that focuses on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. Many times, there are management techniques that require a little bit of elbow grease and time on your part to help with the management weeds and/or pesky insects.
  • Build a bee bath.
    • Bees need water to survive. Fill a shallow container with fresh, clean water with rocks or twigs for bees to land on while drinking. Bird baths work well for this purpose. Make sure to check water cleanliness and level once a week.
For more information check out the following links:
The Honeybee Conservancy (http://thehoneybeeconservancy.org)
OSU Bee Lab - https://u.osu.edu/beelab/
Xerces Society - https://www.xerces.org/

To contact the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District with questions about pollinators or soil and water conservation, call 513-695-1337 or email, wcswcd@gmail.com.
 
Sources: The Honeybee Conservancy, The OSU Bee Lab and the Xerces Society

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4/8/2020

Ohio Native Plants

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Ohio’s native plants provide many wonderful benefits  to pollinators, Ohio’s economy, and the health of Ohio’s ecosystems.  We can see many of these common natives right here in Warren County!
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Black Gum Tree 
Black Gum Tree (Nyssa sylvatica), otherwise known as black gum, black tupelo or sour gum, is a native for most parts of Ohio. This tree has a wonderful glossy dark green foliage in the summer and turns to a bright orange-red in the autumn. At maturity, this tree has a oval shape and can reach heights of 60’ with a width of 25’. The black tupelo strongly prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils but adapts to average, alkaline soils. This tree need full sun to partial sun to grow well.  
Reference: http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/tupelo 
Photo credit: Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org

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Sassafras 
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is an aromatic, native tree found in wooded areas of Ohio. It is part of the Lauraceae family that includes such genera as spicebush (another great native) and avocado. This tree prefers moist, well-drained, soils and can reach a size of 30-50' in height and 25-40' in width. The leaves are uniquely shaped and can range from three lobed, mitten shaped to unlobed.  
Reference: https://bygl.osu.edu/node/739 
Photo credit: Ansel Oommen, Bugwood.org

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White Snakeroot 
White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) is a herbaceous perennial plant that is often considered a weed because of its toxicity to animals and humans. It is part of the sunflower family and is identified by the white disk flowers that appear in late summer and early fall.  It has an interesting history as it was known to cause “milk sickness”. Milk from cows who had ingested this plant would contain high levels of the toxin tremetol. Numerous early settlers, including Abraham Lincoln’s mother, became afflicted and/or died from milk sickness in the Midwest.  
Reference: 
https://u.osu.edu/dassler.1/2014/09/14/eupatorium-rugosum/
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/white-snakeroot 
Photo credit: David Stephens, Bugwood.org

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Canadian Wild Ginger 
Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is a perennial, low growing plant (4-8" high) that blooms in April, May and June and is typically found in shady areas. This is a colony forming (you will typically find more than one in the same location) plant that produces a pair of large, velvety, heart-shaped leaves. A ginger plant produces one flower at the base of the two leaves which can be dark red-brown to green-brown color.  This plant is becoming more popular with gardeners as a low maintenance groundcover for shade areas. This plant attracts butterflies and is a larval host to the pipeline swallowtail butterfly.  
Reference: 
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=asca 
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/wild-ginger/ 
Photo credit: Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

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Cardinal Flower 
Lobelia cardinalis or cardinal flower is a native wildflower that grows in marshes, streambanks and low wooded areas. Cardinal flower has extremely showy red blossoms that grow on a spike. This plant is a must if you want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds as the color is irresistible to these creatures! Cardinal flowers can be grown in full sun or very light shade. The plants require moisture for good growth and they can be planted on the edge of a pond or marsh area.  

Reference: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/lobelia_cardinalis.shtml 
Photo credit: David Stephens, Bugwood.org

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    Warren County SWCD Staff Blog

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  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • NRCS
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • EQUIPMENT NEEDS SURVEY
    • Urban Chat: Runoff Reduction Methods
    • Earth Day Tree Planting
    • Pond Clinic
    • Rain Barrel Workshop
    • Mental Health First Aid
  • Services
    • Agriculture >
      • Land Preservation
      • Cover Crops
    • GIS/Mapping
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Erosion & Pond Assistance
      • Soil Testing
      • Water Testing
      • Stormwater Basin Inspections
      • Backyard Conservation >
        • Ohio Native Plants
        • Rain Gardens
        • Rain Barrels
        • Composting
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
  • PERMITS
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County >
      • Earth Disturbing Permit Application
    • Floodplain Management >
      • Floodplain Determination Request Form
      • Flood Applications, Forms & Documents
  • Education
    • Education Ambassador
    • Programs >
      • Classroom Programs
      • Youth Programs
      • Community Outreach
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • HS Envirothon >
      • Envirothon Grant Program
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
    • Meet the Collaborative
    • Our Work
  • Blogs
    • Conservation Connection
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    • Development Digest
  • Camp Canopy Scholarship