by Bengu Fetzer

Spring is approaching in the southern hemisphere.

If you are a gardener, you know that we are taught that, at the beginning of each season, one should make some preparations. This can range from starting a plant nursery to getting the compost ready and more.

For down-to-earth (or lazy) gardeners like myself, the compost has not been turned, the vegetable garden is not yet ready, you know…  There is so much to do.

Then, one day, I realized, I am not a lazy gardener at all. My mindset is more attuned to being a “Natural,”  gardener practicing, “Do-nothing farming”.

The  Japanese, far-sighted, radical, master gardener, Masanobu Fukuoka, tells us, “If you are working hard at your garden, you are doing it wrong”. It is easy! Just let nature be in control.

With Fukuoka Farming, there are four firmly practiced principles:

• No-Till
• No Fertilizer
• No Weeding
• No Pesticides

We humans think we grow the crops because we decide where we want them and how we want them to be. The truth is that the plants that we, “Grow,” have been around before us.

When the, “Do nothing,” agricultural method of Fukuoka is adhered to, the natural balance is restored to the ecosystem. A stable relationship is maintained between insect and plant communities. This includes the precious honeybee.

Humans have been setting up beehives for nearly 9,000 years. It takes one complete honeybee lifetime to produce one teaspoon of honey. We harvest this honey otherwise meant for their use.

Honey provides the bees with the energy they need for flight, colony maintenance, plus general daily activities. Pollen, often called, “Bee bread,” is the bees’ main source of protein. Pollen also provides the bees with fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins.

While we, as humans, benefit from this honey-producing activity designed by nature to sustain the bee, at the same time,  these little beings kindly pollinate our crops, trees, and bushes. They are heroes working nonstop until they leave their tiny bodies.

Amongst the pollinators, honeybees are the most important. This is a job at which they excel. Hence, bees are vital when it comes to human food security. They land from one flower to another collecting pollen, an activity which is impossible to copy as efficiently in any other way.

So, there it is. We move the soil from one place to our garden which is otherwise done effortlessly and naturally by earthworms and millions of micro beings. We get the seeds that are produced by many plants. We put these two together. Then, we add water, another ultimate element that has been there for us. When the seeds sprout, we hope that the honeybees and other pollinators are around to help us. We try to bribe them with colorful flowers. The bees come, do their thing, and we watch the crops and vegetables grow nicely.

I understand why Fukuoka said gardening is easy. He has never even pruned a fruit tree in his life. He said that because, in reality,  we do not need to do much! We just need to be part of the natural world.

Saturday, August 20 was World Honey Bee Day. I wish that we return the kindness of honeybees. Not only on one special day but every single day.

We can do this by planting bee-friendly flowers, bushes, and shrubs, or by making little bee homes in our gardens. Industrial agriculture’s widespread use of pesticides is one of the greatest threats to honeybees. So, of course, we should not use toxic sprays, ever!

I hope that we continue to co-exist with honeybees. Otherwise, we really will have to start gardening ourselves. Let us hope that day never comes.

May honeybees continue to thrive as happy campers!

May we all come to value having a close relationship with nature.

I certainly wish so!