Garden Companions

GARDEN COMPANIONS

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

The Warre bee hive was developed by Abbé Émile Warré of France, yet another product of the Steiner/Schauberger era. Put simply, the Warre hive is bee friendly. The bees are allowed to draw out their own comb, while new hive boxes are added to the bottom. Conventional methods use top-down hive building, which require opening the hive and disrupting the propolis seal with an increased susceptibility to disease.

The Warre hive mimics the natural beehive progression downward, as they would normally proceed within the trunk of a tree. This ensures a healthier bee microcosm, while letting them tend to their own business. We regularly release swarms into the larger ecosystem, so these essential pollinators bless the larger community as well. Honey harvest occurs once per year, with all parties in mutual benefit.

Bees are a symbiotic component in a complex ecosystem that includes a diversity of botanical species, and abundant beneficial soil microorganisms that dissolve rock particles, decayed vegetation, and other microorganisms to release nutrients for robust plant growth. Decayed vegetation, or humus, releases essential nitrogen, and mechanically loosens the soil for improved hydration. We continuously increase bacterial colonization with Vortex-brewed fertilizer teas.

“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.”  ~ Henry David Thoreau