Bees, bees everywhere!

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

It was an early morning in May, and I found myself traveling through the mountains of western North Carolina.  I drove further and further northwest in Madison County, passing through Mars Hill and beyond.  Finally, I arrived.  And there they were: Bees.  Lots and lots of bees.  Behind the electric fence, their hives stretched across a cool, green mountain field, and their low, resonant droning could be heard over the bubbling of the creek and the twittering birdsong.

Jon Christie and assistant, of Wild Mountain Bees, with their bees.

You may be asking yourself, is this the picturesque beginning to the new fictional novel I am writing?  Nope.  Just another day at Toxic Free NC, helping protect pollinators and supporting community gardens!

Back in October 2013, we held our annual Beehive Giveaway, and the winner was Briggs Avenue Community Garden!  But, the bees they won weren't going to be ready until the spring.  The nucleus colony of bees came from the fantastic people at Wild Mountain Bees, whose shop is in Asheville and whose apiary is in northwest North Carolina.

But wait, you may be saying, Toxic Free NC is in Raleigh and Briggs Avenue Community Garden is in Durham.  How did the bees get from one end of the state to the other?

*Enter brave and intrepid Toxic Free staff member*

I was already going to be in western NC, and after many coordinating phone calls and emails by my coworker Ileana, everything was set for the Great Bee Transport of 2014!

Everyone buckled in?  The bees in their transport box.

This involved driving into far northwestern North Carolina to get the bees; running the AC on full blast the entire drive to Durham so the bees wouldn't overheat, get angry, and die; wearing a hoodie sweatshirt as I drove; wearing the hood of the hoodie sweatshirt up on my head as I drove; getting weird looks from the other drivers for wearing my hood up; saying nice and soothing things to the bees during the trip; and turning off the raging AC every now and then to listen for angry buzzing.  Which, luckily, I never heard once.

You know, just buzzing out by the ventilation opening.

And you may be wondering, why would Toxic Free NC embark on this wild road trip adventure?  The answer is: because we care.

We care about protecting our pollinators.  We care about supporting local community gardens.  We care about helping ensure that everyone has access to healthy, pesticide-free food.  And, most of all, we care about keeping all North Carolinians safe from exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides!

And sometimes that means you drive 4 hours down the highway with 25,000 buzzing passengers in your backseat.

The Bees at their new home!

See what the buzz about Toxic Free NC is all about!

Toxic Free NC's "Save a Bee Campaign" is made possible with support from The Burt's Bees Greater Good Foundation.  Want to bee a supporter, too?  Find out how you can help us keep the buzz going for protecting pollinators and organic gardening: http://bit.ly/tfncbuzz

Join us for a Twitter chat on Organic Gardening

by Fawn Pattison, Senior Advocate

I hope you can join us for our first-ever Twitter chat - it's all about Organic Gardening!

We are so excited to be teaming up with our friends at MomsRising for an evening chat all about our favorite activity. Best of all, the featured guest will be Tom Philpott, writer, farmer and food & ag correspondent at Mother Jones magazine. Tom is the cofounder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina.

When: Tuesday April 29
Time: 9 PM EST
Where: On Twitter! Use the hashtag #EcoTipTue to follow the conversation

Whether you're just getting started with gardening, or you're a master gardener, please join us! We'll be talking about:

• tips for getting started with an organic garden
• how to fight pests naturally
• how to make sure your soil and beds are safe
• how to make and use compost in the garden
• ways to get kids involved in your garden

And of course we'll be taking your questions and ogling each other's garden pictures. I hope you can join us. Leave a comment to let us know you're coming!

Let’s make Seed Bombs: A fun-filled flower planting activity for all ages

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

Spring has officially arrived!  And there is no better time than now to get outside with your friends and family to do some gardening and planting.  A simple and easy activity you can do together is to make and plant seed bombs!  This is also a great take-home activity for kids ages 3 and up--ready-made for classrooms, birthday parties, and festivals.

Photo by NCDOT via flckr

Seed bombs are made of clay, organic compost, and flower seeds.  They were inspired by guerrilla gardeners, who plant beautiful things in less-then-beautiful places.  Seed bombs are designed to be easy to plant and to automatically fertilize the beautiful flowers that grow from them, attracting pollinators like butterflies, honeybees, and even hummingbirds.

How Do We Do This
First, you will need to gather your supplies:

• Clay (you can use potters clay or clay dug right from your backyard)
• Organic compost (worm castings are a great choice)
• Flower seeds (a wildflower mix with native flowers from the Southeast will work well)
• Medium-sized waterproof container (for mixing)
• Big wooden or plastic spoon
• Water (in a watering can or water bottle)
• Flat tray or cookie sheet
• Sandwich bags
• Paper towels
• Hand wipes
• Tablecloth that can get dirty or some newspaper

Once you have all your supplies, head out into the beautiful spring weather to make your seed bombs.  Set up the supplies on a table covered by the tablecloth or newspaper:

• Mix together the clay, organic compost, and flower seeds in the medium-sized waterproof container:
• 5 parts clay
• 1 part organic compost
• 1 part flower seeds

• Add enough water to the mix so that is gets muddy, but not soupy
• Make seed bomb mud balls (about 2 inches in diameter)
• Put the seed bombs on the tray to dry for a few minutes
• Put the seed bombs in the sandwich bags and place them in a cool, dry place for 24 - 48 hours
• Once you're ready to use your seed bombs, simply take them out of the bag and throw them where you want to plant them.
• You can also crush them up by hand and plant them this way, too.
• Give them a little water and watch them grow!

Volunteer Shannon making seed bombs at a Toxic Free NC event

Have other questions about organic gardening?  Check out Toxic Free NC for more information, helpful hints, and workshops.