At Last, Laidlaw Almonds in Bloom

At last, the Laidlaw almonds are in bloom.

That would be the almond trees on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road at the University of California, Davis.

And no one appreciates this more than the bees holed up in the 40 hives behind the facility. The bees are getting ready for the big spring build-up, and what's a spring build-up without almonds?

The bees are hungry.  Very hungry. If you take a photo of the almond blooms,  you'll see how hungry they are. Sometimes you get five bees in one photo.

So, it was with great interest that we read a news story in today's Business Journal, Fresno, that was headlined "New Almond Promises Independence from Bees."

Independence, you ask? Are bees declaring their independence from almonds? No.  The piece in The Business Journal concerned the "Independence almond." Wrote reporter Chuck Harvey in the lede: "The Independence almond — a self-fertile variety needing few bees to produce numerous large nuts — is creating a buzz among almond growers."

"Created by Zaiger Genetics Inc., the Independence almond was released in 2008. Dave Wilson Nursery, which holds the patent on the trees, has a producing Independence almond orchard in Modesto."

Basically, it's an early-blooming, self-fertile almond described in the news story as "a large high-grade commercial quality almond with a soft shell," according to the CEO of Dave Wilson Nursery. And it "blanches well."

You'll want to read more about it, and what the Almond Board of California, beekeepers, and growers have to say about it.

One thing's for sure: we need stronger, healthier bees, or we'll all in trouble.