From The Meadow

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October 2026

Hello Bee Ranchers,
Lots of info this go around - we are looking forward to this month’s Harvest Parties (intrepid reporter Deborah Wetzel from the North Fork Sun plans to attend!), cocoon reservations are now being accepted for Spring 2027, the jams continue to “jam”, and our work with wild pollinators is taking some promising new turns. Blossom Meadow Farm mason bee stock is widely known for its high quality and we sell out every year so please get your reservations in. Go Pollinators!

1. Mason Bee Cocoon Harvest Party
Please RSVP!  It is almost time and Deborah Wetzel from the North Fork Sun is excited to interview bee ranchers and document the whole harvest process. Bring your tubes and harvest your mason bee cocoons. Bee Buy Back is only available to those that attend and harvest their mason bees with us. 
Dates:
Friday Oct 16th, Saturday Oct 17th, and Sunday Oct 18th;
Friday Oct 23rd, Saturday Oct 24th, and Sunday Oct 25th;
Time: 9am to noon
Address: Blossom Meadow Farm/Coffee Pot Cellars at the picnic tables, 31855 Main Road, Cutchogue

Harvest is outside so please dress accordingly. Please bring your filled tubes and your cocoon storage container (I have them available for sale at the store if you lost yours). Come harvest your cocoons, share notes and enjoy good conversation : ) We will harvest the cocoons by squeezing the tippy top of the nesting tubes (not the entire tube), splitting open the reed with our fingers and then plucking out the cocoons. Then we will wash the cocoons in a dilute bleach solution, rinse them in fresh water, and gently dry them. Harvesting and cleaning the cocoons helps protect the health of your mason bees, making them more active and prolific when they emerge from their cocoons in Spring 2027. If you are not able to make the party, there are good harvesting and cleaning instructions in Oregon State's Guide for Mason Bees.

Bee Buy Back Program: On the day of harvesting, Blossom Meadow Farm will buy back any of your viable cocoons at 40 cents a cocoon. Buy back is limited to 1,000 cocoons per household and the buy back program is extended only to folks that harvest their cocoons in person at the harvest party. This way we can ensure that all cocoons were uniformly treated.  Bee ranching has turned quite lucrative for some, resulting in many great dinners and cocktails! Here's hoping for another great harvest :) You are a bee rancher and the mason bees are your livestock - sell just one mason bee cocoon back and you have successfully brought your grist to market.

2. Now taking reservations for Spring 2027 Mason Bees 
It is best to get your mason bee cocoon reservations in early (#of females and # males requested) to ensure we can accommodate. As outlined at https://blossommeadow.com/pages/cocoons, cocoons are $1.50 each and the USDA recommended stocking rate is 2 females for every 3 males (to make sure your females are well mated). If you have 50 hollow plant stems (standard with the blue mason bee cottages we sell), then your maximum mason bee stocking rate is 25 females and 37 males. Many have talked about getting more bees and we sell out every year. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to you within 48 hours with more information. 
General information about mason bees can be found at: https://blossommeadow.com/pages/mason-bees

3. Why we harvest our cocoons
By harvesting the mason bee cocoons, you are giving your mason bees a competitive advantage against pollen mites and other pests. The dilute bleach solution kills the pollen mites on the outside of the cocoons. The physical removal of the cocoon from the tube and discarding unwanted creatures keeps pest populations at bay. For example, the Houdini fly is a kleptoparasite. It does not attack the mason bee directly, but lays its eggs on the pollen and nectar loaf meant for the mason bee young, starving the mason bee larva. When harvesting your cocoons you will likely find a few cells of really sticky maggots – these are the Houdini flies - squish, squish! – kill the maggots.

4. Jam
Happy to announce that our Queen’s Jam (50% red raspberry, 50% blueberry; a blend known as drottningsylt in Sweden) recently won a 2026 International Flavor Award!  And two new jams debuted this year: Red Raspberry-Cardamom Jam and Blueberry Aviation Jam. Also in the headlines this year was our Red Raspberry Jam as Erin Colton from News12 donned an apron to make a batch of jam with me in our kitchen (it was quite a day – I am not sure I will ever be comfortable with a camera filming for hours on end…). 

5. Flower Flies
As you know, bees are facing population declines due to climate change, habitat loss, pesticide exposure, and disease. This situation has intensified the search for alternative pollinators that can supplement or replace the work of bees, particularly in environments where bees may not thrive. Among these alternative pollinators, flies have emerged as an effective group, second only to bees in their importance to global crop pollination.

We’ve continued investigating how to create better habitat for beneficial insects, including flower flies. Although science is messy and there have been a lot of dead ends over the years, our attendance at the International Pollinator Conference in Montana this past June underscored that we are currently on a strong path of exploration. I look forward to our second field season with aphid-eating flower flies this coming Spring 2027.

6. It’s All Connected
Our organically grown berries are the result of hard-working pollinators, and turning that fruit into jam gives me plenty of time to daydream about ecosystems and beneficial insects. Your purchases from Blossom Meadow Farm and the winery Coffee Pot Cellars help keep the whole operation going and our pollinator research moving forward. And, a huge shout-out to East Coast Nurseries, BR Data, and the coffee shop Panoramica whose continued support and belief in our work also help make our wild pollinator work possible. 

And, of course, thank you to all you Bee Ranchers! Your enthusiasm, curiosity, and care for these remarkable little insects make this work especially rewarding.

If you have a chance, please follow our adventures on Instagram: @BlossomMeadowFarm.

See you at the Harvest Parties - Go Pollinators!

Sincerely, Laura