Hello. We live in the Twin Cities. Looking at eliminating invasives off our hillside (and then seed and plant natives). When is the best time to do the solarization or occulation? Which is the better option? What should we do to "treat" the area as we gather information? Thank you for all you do!

I have small bees swarming in my woodpile on my front porch. 
I took a photo but it is a little hard to see. They are shaped like a honey bee, but they are darker in color and smaller. 
What kind of bees are they and should I be concerned? Or can I remove them or lure them away without harming them? How?

They seem to be flying in and out former termite holes. Are they nesting or looking for termites?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. 
Dave

I have 8 hives across 4 locations in the Lansing Michigan area. All hives were wrapped in insulation and roofing paper for the winter. All but one hove had plenty of food and the one that was light was feed since January. When checked this weekend all the hives had plenty of bees. 5 of the hives had no brood I could find, one had just one frame of eggs (no larvae), and 2 had eggs through capped brood. By this time of year, I would expect lots of brood in all the hives. The fact that one had just eggs made me think they were just starting late, but this seems way too late. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Two other beekeepers I talked to had lots of brood in all their hives. I was thinking about giving them a week or two to see if brood shows up or should I be putting a frame with eggs from one of the haves with brood into the bloodless hives? Your thoughts?

Attached are photos of what I think is a dwarf Alberta Spruce tree that has been in my yard for approximately 25 years. It gets a southern exposure on the front of my residence in Laurel, Maryland. Recently, it has developed bare spots that may soon threaten the entire tree. The needles on the branches in certain areas dry up and die. The soil is uniformly wet so drought is not present. The backside of the tree that gets little sunlight is the worst but lately, even the sunnier, front side is showing this issue. I've tried using Sevin insect killer bug spray thinking it may be an insect issue, to no avail. I do not see any visible insect infestation. Any advice on what I might to do stop the tree from deteriorating will be appreciated.

My Harry Lauder stick was infected and is basically dead. All cuttings were bagged prior to sending to landfill. My question: I was thinking about keeping the basic skeleton in place. Will this be a problem spreading the disease?

We cut down a pine tree last year to a 6 ft stump that my husband wants to carve a tree spirit in. My question is if the soil around this tree needs any amending in order to grow some perennials at the base and further outward. There is a lot of loose needles and the soil is quite dry. Thank you in advance for your advice!

Would like to get Mason bees into my yard for Flower and vegetable pollinating. I know flowers and fruit trees will attract them but I've never seen them in my neighborhood. Is it possible to buy Mason bees or cocoon? I have very little bees around and would like to have these around !

I’m in Milwaukie and would like to get a compost sample tested. Is there somewhere I could take a sample and get it tested?

I planted roots ordered on line last January 2023. and planted in a raised bed in full sun (Brownsville, South Texas). Produced one skinny spear after feathering stage. This spring, one or two stems and feathering beginning March and April 2024. I suspect the weather may be too hot here, but lots of feathering and approx foot tall stems feathering with one or two stems that looked like very skinny spears. This year I repotted with fertilized potting soil and added soaker hoses to the bed Tues, Thurs, Sat for 18 minutes recently (appeared too dry set to 15 minutes). Any suggestions?

Is it possible to grow a tomato plant with a rose plant in the same raised bed box? If so, please give me instructions on how to plant them together. Thank you.