During autumn, honey production naturally slows down and bees need extra stores for winter. Without sufficient stores, your bees can starve to death – especially during the coldest nights.
To help keep your bees strong through the winter, you can feed them with a sugar syrup. This can be made yourself with a ratio of two parts sugar to one part water.
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Lemon Meyes
During the fall season, bees love to forage for citrus flowers. If you grow lemon meyes, which bear fruit year-round, you can use them as an autumn feed for your bees.
Meyer lemons are an excellent choice for autumn feeding because they produce a high yield and are relatively easy to grow. They are native to China and were first brought to the United States by agriculture explorer Frank Meyer in the early 1900s.
They are self-pollinating and only need one tree to produce fruit. But it’s important to do some hand pollination when the flowers bloom if you want to harvest the fruit.
You can do this by gently brushing from flower to flower with a paintbrush or Q-tip, collecting yellow pollen and then moving it to the bulbous stigma in the center of each flower.
Once the flower ripens, bees will collect the pollen and deposit it onto the fruit. Then the fruit will develop into lemons, ready to be sliced, diced, and added to recipes for fancy tarts or sorbets!
Chives
Chives are part of the allium family (onions, leeks, and scallions), and the edible stems of this plant look kind of like a green straw.
The most common type you’ll see at farmers’ markets is the French chive, which has long, thin, hollow stems and small purple flowers that are edible. Other varieties are Chinese chives, or garlic chives.
They’re delicious fresh chopped on soups, omelettes, baked potatoes, and seafood dishes as a flavorful garnish. They also blend well into a herby butter.
They’re also easy to grow and can be planted in a pot or a garden. Give them a spot that’s sunny to partially shady, water regularly, and they’ll grow back every spring.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a perennial herb native to the Mediterranean area, and grows well in a wide range of climates. Its Latin name is rosmarinus officinalis, which means “dew of the sea.”
A hardy and drought-tolerant shrub, rosemary has long been prized for its culinary and medicinal uses. Its needle-like leaves are aromatic and are used to flavor meat, poultry and fish, as well as savory sauces, stews, and teas.
It can also be dried and roasted for additional flavour. Its aromatic oil is used in perfumes and soaps.
In spring, it flowers with blue, white or pink flower heads that provide nectar for bees and other pollinators. Its early blooming is useful for attracting bumble bees and mason bees that are looking for food sources as they begin to establish colonies in the spring.
Rosemary plants can be grown in gardens, along a path, or in pots. It grows well in a sunny, sheltered spot with good drainage.
Wildflowers
Wildflowers are the perfect autumn feed for bees. Many are easy to plant from seed, making them ideal for beginners.
However, when starting a wildflower garden, be sure to choose flowers that are native to your area. Many non-native varieties are not hardy and may become invasive.
Once you’ve selected the right plants, prepare your planting area. Remove weeds from the area and amend the soil with compost.
Bees thrive in rich, moist soil that drains well. Avoid using nitrogen-rich fertilizers.
In areas where fall nectar is scarce, make sugar syrup to feed the bees in early autumn and give it a chance to ferment before it becomes thicker. It can be made with a light or heavy recipe of one kilo sugar to 1.25 litres water, depending on how long the syrup needs to last.
Then, once winter is upon us, feed the bees fondant instead of syrup. It’s not as sweet and won’t ferment as quickly, but it will provide the bees with a good source of energy until spring.
