One summer, we had planted an apple tree that bloomed but had no apples. I commented about this in one of my summer classes and a student told me that it could be that it was not being pollinated. He then explained that the bees were in trouble worldwide. As a family we started reading about this and decided to get a beehive and start keeping bees.

Beekeeping is not quite that simple though. Bees need flowering plants 11 months a year! So, we began to learn about growing things to feed our bees which led to testing our soil. Our East Tennessee soil was rocky and awful. A friend who works with the UT agriculture department recommended we get rabbits for their manure in order to improve soil quality and fertilize our plants. We did… and how. Today we have 30 rabbits, mostly giants.

This is how our little, giant bunny farm started with the bees’ needs. Now, the bunnies feed the soil which grows the plants that provide nectar for the the bees. While the bees collect nectar, they pick up pollen on their scratchy legs and carry to the next flower, thus pollinating plants. These fruit, veggies and herbs feed us and the rabbits and starts the whole cycle anew.