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Bees declared to be fish in California
#1
Yes it is true, Bees were declared to be fish under the California endangered species act. I know it sounds like a case of California craziness, but there is a good reason.  The endangered species act in California does not protect insects. The act protects birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and plants. The California fish and game code includes mollusks, crustaceans, invertebrates and amphibians under the definition of fish.


It is easier the define bees as fish to protect them than to try and change the law.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation...022-06-01/

It seems a bit silly to do things this way until you remember that the bees need protection now and it takes forever to change laws.
It is actually quite creative to declare bees to be fish. It gives them immediate protection under the endangered species act. It has also brought the bees to the public's attention.
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Catherine

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#2
I'm for the fish bees! I just planted a bunch of wildflowers last week in the hope to attract them to my veggie garden! They just started sprouting yesterday!
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#3
I like the name fish bees. I am sure the fish bees will come and pollinate your garden. You may need to grow some watercress and water lilies of course.
If it takes creative use of conservation laws to save the bees, it will be totally worth it.
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Catherine

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#4
I'll look into it! I know I need to get some marigolds! I've been looking into companion gardening to help prevent pests and I'm able to use fewer sprays. I do have Bee safe sprays but it's nice to not have to be as aggressive with remembering to use them.
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#5
Marigolds repel insects. So would Rosemary. I am sure there are many natural ways of protecting your garden.
I never use any sprays. My local birds eat the aphids on my roses. You are so much further south, so I don't know what pests you have to deal with.
You should be able to grow just about anything. 

Right now Zinnias are popular and all the garden centers have them. The big bright flowers attract all the local pollinators. They would make you garden look pretty.

We never sprayed our garden when I was growing up and we had an acre of land. That is a lot of vegetables. We probably did plant things in a way that was companion gardening. I do remember planting zinnias, so maybe they help protect a garden. I suspect we were a bit pest tolerant too. I don't worry about slugs eating a bit of stuff. I can share a bit. My local birds eat the slugs too. If you work with nature, nature works with you.
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Catherine

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#6
I try not to use sprays but I get a lot of spider mites and stink bugs mostly. We have a lot of birds around. Hawks and owls too. I have a big multi-family birdhouse that always has birds in it. The dogs keep the squirrels and rabbits away. This will be the first year I have a successful crop IF I don't kill the plants! I have acorn squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, zucchini, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers. Stink bugs will be my downfall because they love all the squash!
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#7
I just looked up stink bugs and they are not native to North America so they have no natural predators.
You are right, they will eat your squash plants. Some sites suggested spraying them with soapy water.
That usually works for spider mites too. I did see a suggestion of using neem oil. There are commercial neem products. However you can get a small bottle of the oil and mix it yourself as needed. It takes care of a lot of pests, not just stink bugs. 

https://www.thespruce.com/using-neem-oil...de-2132579

I like the fact that it doesn't harm pollinators.

This could be a good gardening year for you, weather permitting.

Squash is pretty much my favorite vegetable. I grew up with Hubbard squash and I love the flavor and texture. I get buttercup squash here and it is really good.
I love pumpkins too. I use them for soup. Your garden sounds delicious.
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Catherine

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#8
Also, all the squash was free seeds. I still have a ton! I kept the big ones from the produce we ate while my mom gave me the zucchini. I'm also keeping seeds from the plants I grow this year for next year to keep the cycle going. I think I'm going to start them inside around April next year. I may even experiment with starting a couple in January and April.

I do have neem oil I use in a mixture but I recently heard neem oil is showing signs of being bad for bees. It takes a few generations to show up. I need to do more research because it was one of those passing videos on Instagram. They suggest spraying in the evening after the bees are gone so that's what I've been doing. Between the bee safe and the neem oil/soap mixture. It has been doing fairly well.
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#9
Quote:I do have neem oil I use in a mixture but I recently heard neem oil is showing signs of being bad for bees. It takes a few generations to show up. I need to do more research because it was one of those passing videos on Instagram. They suggest spraying in the evening after the bees are gone so that's what I've been doing. Between the bee safe and the neem oil/soap mixture. It has been doing fairly well.
I will see if I can find out anything about neem oil and bees. Anything we do should be done in the evening so pollinators are not effected. Even if neem doesn't actually harm bees, it probably isn't good for them.

Saving seeds is a good idea. Many of my flowers seed themselves from the year before. A lot of people save their tomato seeds. If you have a squash that is really good you want to have the same squash next year.

We built a little green house off of our garage. It was barely heated and we started seeds while there was still snow on the ground. I remember things growing very well and transplanting very well. If you think about seeds in nature, they are out there in the ground while it is still cold. They gradually start to grow as it warms up. If you start them too warm they can grow too fast and not be strong. Definitely experiment with planting dates. Start some seeds in January, some in February, some in March and so on. That should give you an idea of what works best.

I am excited to hear what your garden does this year.
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Catherine

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