The bee farm in which the eco-school was held by inviting children in summer has now become quite still. The broadleaf trees of the surrounding forests are beginning to turn red. The leaves of the wax trees in particular are a deep red. With the acorns hanging from the Konara (Quercus serrata) and Kunugi (Quercus acutissima), I feel that we are now deep in the autumn season.
Hiruzen Bee Farm of Yamada Bee Farm |
We have made preparations for moving the beehives that have been under the trees in Hiruzen or at the foot of mountains to the southern warm bee farm. Now the number of flower types that can serve as the source of nectar has diminished appreciably and bees are busy flying to and from the remaining bushclover and cosmos flowers, and the goldenrod flowers now in full bloom. The nectar and pollen of autumn flowers are very important in preparing for winter because the bees use it to endure the winter cold in the beehives, which enables them to survive until the arrival of the spring.
Moving the beehives is one of the important tasks in the bee farm. We move the beehives several times in a year to accommodate the seasons when flowers bloom and temperature fluctuations. Because bees are outside the beehives in the daytime, we must move them after the sun has set. It's already pitch-dark when we arrive at the destination bee farm, but we cannot relax until we have positioned the beehives in their new locations and opened the beehive entrances. Only after opening the entrance of all of the beehives by pulling the nails with a flashlight, we can at last take a deep collective sigh of relief while patting our lower backs.
This is an important task at this time of the year. It is something we must do to ensure that the honeybees can survive the cold winter safely and work to their full potential in the coming year.
We have distributed the seeds of milk vetch to farmers in Kagamino Town. The best time to sow the seeds of milk vetch is the second half of September, when cluster amaryllis is in full bloom. Decades ago when we harvested rice by hand, we sowed the seeds of milk vetch from above the ears of the rice crop that was not yet harvested. This is because the milk vetch seeds sprout thanks to humidity levels that are optimal before the rice is harvested. These plants grow to a certain height before it begins to snow and the milk vetch can grow better when spring comes.
Buckwheat blooming from
middle of September to October.
In October to November,
bushclovers and cosmoses
are in full bloom. |
Nowadays, however, rice is harvested with combines before the equinoctial week and the seeds are sowed over the rice straw. Though not to be compared with the time when the region around Kagamino was said to be a large milk vetch growing district, we are still trying our best to increase the number of milk vetch fields little by little.
In recent years, the plants that can serve as the source of nectar including the milk vetch are decreasing. I think that we need to give more consideration to a new development in this field called "cultivation beekeeping" in which a comfortable environment for the bees is created by actively growing plants. |
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