Bees are now on the endangered list in the US

JCricket · #1 10-01-2016, 02:43 PM

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...-first-n657926

I had already changed my gardens a few years back to reflect this. It is amazing how many kinds of bees and butteflies I get now. I also spiked my yard with the praying mantis(big green ones) and lady bugs. next year I am going to put in a huge patch of milkweed for the Monarks. I also let my rasberries' and starwberries go for the birds. Pretty cool to see what you get there as well.

I have decided that if my ash trees get killed by the emerald green ash bore, the I will not cut them down completely. I will leave a larger portion up and hollow out some of it for bee hives and bird nests. I am certain my HOA is going to love that, if it should happen, but oh well...

Boreas · #2 10-01-2016, 04:07 PM

Quote:

The listing decision, published on Friday in the Federal Register, classifies seven varieties of yellow-faced or masked bees as endangered, due to such factors as habitat loss, wildfires and the invasion of nonnative plants and insects.

But of course, pesticides, particularly the neonicotinoids, have nothing to do with this.

What a load of shit!!

http://www.hiveandhoneyapiary.com/Ho...esticides.html

JCricket · #3 10-01-2016, 04:20 PM

no question pesticides are a factor. I think the article was referring more to the Hawaii islands than continental US. Even so, it is still a point.

I am hoping to build a green house of sorts for my yard. It will be completely organic and only natural control of pests. Things like garlic and chili sprays. The praying mantis and lady bugs. I have to do some more research on cleaners like orange citrus stuff - see what effects and affects it has on buggies and mildew and............

I am going to replace about 30ft of fence with it. I plan on making it about 4 feet wide and 6ft tall. Cinder block back and sides with glass front and top. The back two feet inside will have a shelf for tomatoes and maybe a little taller plants, the ground will be for squash, cucs and melons.

Wasillaguy · #4 10-03-2016, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCricket

no question pesticides are a factor. I think the article was referring more to the Hawaii islands than continental US. Even so, it is still a point.

I am hoping to build a green house of sorts for my yard. It will be completely organic and only natural control of pests. Things like garlic and chili sprays. The praying mantis and lady bugs. I have to do some more research on cleaners like orange citrus stuff - see what effects and affects it has on buggies and mildew and............

I am going to replace about 30ft of fence with it. I plan on making it about 4 feet wide and 6ft tall. Cinder block back and sides with glass front and top. The back two feet inside will have a shelf for tomatoes and maybe a little taller plants, the ground will be for squash, cucs and melons.

Aphids are our biggest problem. They love pepper plants and will eventually get to tomatoes as well. We plant alyssum, marigolds, and sunflowers around the outside of the greenhouse to attract beneficial insects that will eat the aphids. In addition, our local greenhouse supply sells ladybugs. They're not native to Alaska, so they do quite a nice job when you add them in. They'll stay in the greenhouse as long as they can find moisture and aphids to eat.
I check my pepper plants daily, and if I find aphids they get sprayed with water/Safer's soap and quarantined outside until I'm convinced the little buggers are gone.

I have 55 gal. drums painted black, filled with water and capped, lined against the back wall. They heat up in the day and help hold heat in the greenhouse through the night. Early and late season, I only have things on top of these barrels and on shelves higher above them. This allows me to extend the growing season a little longer without resorting to an energy source for warmth.

JCricket · #5 10-03-2016, 04:38 PM

i'm doing a lot of reading on the heating/cooling of a green house.

My current design has a back wall filled with 2" abs pipe filled with water and antifreeze, circulated with a pump. The face of the GH is southern exposure, the wall is the north side. It will also have 2" of insulation and painted black. Easy enough to keep it warm mostly. Likely going to be a thermostat and fan for cooling.

Wasillaguy · #6 10-03-2016, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCricket

i'm doing a lot of reading on the heating/cooling of a green house.

My current design has a back wall filled with 2" abs pipe filled with water and antifreeze, circulated with a pump. The face of the GH is southern exposure, the wall is the north side. It will also have 2" of insulation and painted black. Easy enough to keep it warm mostly. Likely going to be a thermostat and fan for cooling.

Interesting. Not sure I see the advantage of circulating the heated water, especially considering the power needed to do so.

For cooling/ventilation, get a 12v solar panel, a deep cycle battery, and an electric radiator fan from a junk Honda car.
Also look into the wax cylinder pistons that will open/close a vent without any power.

bobabode · #7 10-01-2016, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCricket

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...-first-n657926

I had already changed my gardens a few years back to reflect this. It is amazing how many kinds of bees and butteflies I get now. I also spiked my yard with the praying mantis(big green ones) and lady bugs. next year I am going to put in a huge patch of milkweed for the Monarks. I also let my rasberries' and starwberries go for the birds. Pretty cool to see what you get there as well.

I have decided that if my ash trees get killed by the emerald green ash bore, the I will not cut them down completely. I will leave a larger portion up and hollow out some of it for bee hives and bird nests. I am certain my HOA is going to love that, if it should happen, but oh well...

Good on ya, Mark. Sadly, over the years in the construction biz I've had to kill a number of honey beehives when they got into walls or attics.

Boreas · #8 10-01-2016, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobabode

Good on ya, Mark. Sadly, over the years in the construction biz I've had to kill a number of honey beehives when they got into walls or attics.

Me too. It used to really bother me, especially since I would always offer to contact an apiarist, of which there are many here, to come and collect them but the answer was always no.

bobabode · #9 10-01-2016, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boreas

Me too. It used to really bother me, especially since I would always offer to contact an apiarist, of which there are many here, to come and collect them but the answer was always no.

Same here. Nobody wanted to go through the drawn out process of transferring a hive. I did save one hive that set up home in a nightstand stored in a shed. I waited till 9PM and bagged the whole nightstand and dropped it off to a local beekeeper the next day. Got a quart of orange blossum honey for my trouble.

JCricket · #10 10-01-2016, 05:43 PM

When I was 13 and 14 I was an assistant apiarist. That was until after my 3rd bee sting in one day. It near killed me with the allergic reaction I had. Of course, I had already been stung a couple of hundred times in my life over the previous years. So now I observe from afar and enjoy the fruit of their labors.