Gardens 2020
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Finally some good news!!!
Bees love cannabis, and it’s helping to restore their declining populations
Saturday, February 01, 2020 by: Ethan Huff
Tags: agriculture, arrested, banned, bees, cannabis, Cannabis sativa, colony collapse disorder, corruption, harvest, hemp, Illegal, jailed, pollen, pollinators, populations, Prohibition, red states
3,530Views
(Natural News) New research published in the journal Environmental Entomology has found that bees absolutely love to feed on cannabis sativa, which in turn is helping to boost their dwindling populations caused by prolific exposure to deadly crop chemicals like neonicotinoids and Roundup (glyphosate).
Entitled, “The Bee Community of Cannabis sativa and Corresponding Effects of Landscape Composition,” this paper out of Cornell University explains how cannabis produces high amounts of pollen, which acts as a magnet for at least 16 different varieties of bees just in the northeastern United States alone.
As it turns out, the taller the cannabis plant, the more attractive it is to bees, the paper found. In fact, the tallest cannabis plants evaluated as part of the research attracted an incredible 17 times more bees than the shortest cannabis plants – because bigger cannabis plants contain more pollen and bees instinctively know it!
Oddly enough, even though cannabis doesn’t produce the same sweet, sugary nectar as other floral plants that bees are typically attracted to, they love it just the same. The male cannabis plants that bees tend to prefer also don’t produce the brightly-colored flora that normally catches bees’ attention, which makes this phenomenon even more fascinating.
It would seem as though bees simply know that cannabis is an excellent source of food, just like the Bible says it is. If only our country could finally achieve broad legalization and normalization of cannabis, then perhaps Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, would reverse itself entirely – this being one of the many positive outcomes of ending cannabis prohibition once and for all.
“The rapid expansion of hemp production in the United States … may have significant implications for agroecosystem-wide pollination dynamics,” the study explains.
“As a late-season crop flowering during a period of seasonal floral dearth, hemp may have a particularly strong potential to enhance pollinator populations and subsequent pollination services for crops in the following year by filling gaps in late-season resource scarcity.”
Will bees that recently fed on cannabis be arrested and thrown in prison if they accidentally fly into South Carolina or Idaho?
Bees love cannabis, and it’s helping to restore their declining populations
Saturday, February 01, 2020 by: Ethan Huff
Tags: agriculture, arrested, banned, bees, cannabis, Cannabis sativa, colony collapse disorder, corruption, harvest, hemp, Illegal, jailed, pollen, pollinators, populations, Prohibition, red states
3,530Views
(Natural News) New research published in the journal Environmental Entomology has found that bees absolutely love to feed on cannabis sativa, which in turn is helping to boost their dwindling populations caused by prolific exposure to deadly crop chemicals like neonicotinoids and Roundup (glyphosate).
Entitled, “The Bee Community of Cannabis sativa and Corresponding Effects of Landscape Composition,” this paper out of Cornell University explains how cannabis produces high amounts of pollen, which acts as a magnet for at least 16 different varieties of bees just in the northeastern United States alone.
As it turns out, the taller the cannabis plant, the more attractive it is to bees, the paper found. In fact, the tallest cannabis plants evaluated as part of the research attracted an incredible 17 times more bees than the shortest cannabis plants – because bigger cannabis plants contain more pollen and bees instinctively know it!
Oddly enough, even though cannabis doesn’t produce the same sweet, sugary nectar as other floral plants that bees are typically attracted to, they love it just the same. The male cannabis plants that bees tend to prefer also don’t produce the brightly-colored flora that normally catches bees’ attention, which makes this phenomenon even more fascinating.
It would seem as though bees simply know that cannabis is an excellent source of food, just like the Bible says it is. If only our country could finally achieve broad legalization and normalization of cannabis, then perhaps Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, would reverse itself entirely – this being one of the many positive outcomes of ending cannabis prohibition once and for all.
“The rapid expansion of hemp production in the United States … may have significant implications for agroecosystem-wide pollination dynamics,” the study explains.
“As a late-season crop flowering during a period of seasonal floral dearth, hemp may have a particularly strong potential to enhance pollinator populations and subsequent pollination services for crops in the following year by filling gaps in late-season resource scarcity.”
Will bees that recently fed on cannabis be arrested and thrown in prison if they accidentally fly into South Carolina or Idaho?
Hint: They come up out of your lungs when you cough
BLEEEAAAA!!!!!
Brent S
Top Poster
Exactly! That’s what I say every time I try to eat an oyster!
Wow! You have been a busy, busy man! I can’t help but notice that we have similar setups. We too have a greenhouse, orchard, vineyard and gardens. I cheated and hired someone to prune the vineyard and orchard last month. My orchard is not large, and I’m having problems every year with my trees blooming too soon and then the frost getting them. The two apple trees have never even bloomed. They are growing beautifully and are around 8pm’ and well limbed. Have any advice? I’m temped to pull some out and find later blooming trees. Very frustrated at the moment and hoping it isn’t too late to fix my mistake.
So are mine and you want to bet they get frozen by a frost? Ugh! Btw, it is time to spray with this warm weather for a few days. It will keep those wormies away. I use netting to keep birds and such off the fruit.
You’ve got a wonderful assortment of fruit DD!! I’m jealous! And what a great way to keep people out with the briars. Made me LOL at your story of the addict getting what he deserved!
Brent S
Top Poster
We’re in similar weather conditions but don’t know if your cold is more severe each winter. I got most of my plants from the closest Lowe’s garden center when they were on sale at the end of the seasons. Thought I was getting a great deal. Well, I learned a couple things. First, their people don’t know what they have. Some of the plants were labeled wrong. Not a lot but several. The stores just sell the stuff so the mixup comes from their suppliers to be fair to the store. Secondly the issue is the suppliers don’t care if that variety is good for your specific area. They may generalize some, their goal is to sell, not ensure you’re getting the right plants. I did get enough plants that I ended up with some good matches for the conditions here, but had some wasted ones too. The peaches and nectarines were a total bust. Some people can grow them here with lots of pampering and spraying but I’m not that attentive to the trees. Like I said I ended up cutting them down after several years. The plumbs grow well but with late frosts and the birds and squirrels I rarely get any, same with the cherries. So, to the successes here. I have about 7 different varieties of apples. Don’t remember them at this point, but a good mix helps ensure at least something will produce each year. This last year I ate loads of them, gave bags to the food bank and had lots just feed the birds and fertilize the soil. The fig trees have done really well too. I have four that are threatening to take over that part of the hard. They produce a soft fruit that isn’t my favorite to eat but it’s ok. I put in 4 pear trees a couple years ago and hope to get some fruit this year. Everyone I talked with says they do well here and are disease resistant. The grape vines I planted have done well, but I am going to take out all the Concorde and table grape vines soon. The muscadine produce so much better and are maintenance free so I’m sticking with them. I have about 6 or 7 different varieties of them. Same with the blueberries, they grow great here and take no effort. The last thing I can think of is the thornless blackberries produce great too.
So that’s my specific successes and failures here. From learning as I went I would suggest talking to others in your area about what they have that’s working, either people or a local nursery. Once you figure out which plants do well, get several varieties of them and mix them up so each year at least something produces. One thing to think about is plant now as it can take several years for the plants to start producing. It’s a hobby for now, but plant enough to fill your pantry like your life could depend on it, as it could one day. One thing I did wrong too is plant some things too closely together. Remember that little stick will become a large tree one day. I ended up taking out several trees to make room. Even leaving enough room for a large riding mower to fit thru the plants saves a lot on labor later on. Even with good input from local people there is some luck and trial and error involved with learning what works in your yard. Unfortunately life is short and by the time we figure these things out we get to the point of loosing the energy to keep up with it all. I probably have 45 fruit trees now, 60 or so blueberries, 4 figs, 70 grapevines, loads of thornless blackberries and a 20x20’ greenhouse, along with the regular garden. Seriously I could put 40 hrs a week into this if I had the ambition. Hopefully one day my son will appreciate the benefits of all this and want to take care of it all.
I often wonder if my daughter will carry on and appreciate my work too.
JackDW
God Like
Worms. I had this problem with a Pecan tree. Very large pecan tree that bore a lot of nuts every year but I don't think I ever got a good nut off that tree. It was so large that there was not way to spray the tree but it was a beautiful tree. This past summer, I had had enough. I now have a large supply of pecan wood for my smoker. Will be planting a young pecan tree this year and starting over on the nuts. Also planting some young fruit trees. Over the years, I have lot a lot of the fruit trees which I will start replacing, now that I am retiring and will have time to maintain them.
I am also looking online for more info. on the American Chestnut. I am considering putting in chestnut trees to replace the Pecan. Does anyone here have any experience with Chestnuts??
I am also looking online for more info. on the American Chestnut. I am considering putting in chestnut trees to replace the Pecan. Does anyone here have any experience with Chestnuts??
I tried ducks, but found them too darn messy.
I really appreciate the advice and time you took to share it Brent! There is a learning curve for sure on growing anything. The plants that grew well where I grew up don’t always work here in Georgia. I’ve made mistakes on plant choices and of course on fruit trees. My cherry trees did pretty well last year so hoping for more this year. Will definitely go get with one of the local growers today and find out what fruit trees they recommend. I don’t want to delay because of the spread of the virus. Will take great precautions.
You have a nice size of grapevines. I’ve been making jams from ours...as well as a lot of eating of course. Hubby is going to try his hand at wine this year. I planted table grapes, but also a good assortment of wine grapes. The Concords I planted a few years ago are my absolute best growing. The muscadines doing fine too.
We planted a 6 blueberries 2 years ago. One is dead and only a few doing well. What type do you like? I’m in zone 7a.
You do have a lot to take care of and I totally understand not having the energy to care for it all! We are hoping the same thing about our one daughter...that she and her husband will want to take care of it when we are gone. She is a real play in the dirt girl and has an amazing Green Thumb, so my hopes are high all our work won’t go to waste.
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Brent S
Top Poster
I don’t remember the specific varieties of blueberry bushes I got but it was a good mixture of all they had. Probably 5 different types. It really would have been smart to make a map of what went where. Each year I do that for the gardens now but didn’t start out doing it. At least I can see where to rotate stuff and also have a record of successes and failures each year now.
The wine is easy to make and not real expensive to get set up. I probably have 200 gallons of muscadine wine right now. Great for gifts!
KateMTx
A True Doomsday Prepper
What size pot do you use for a tomato plant and what varieties do you grow? I once tried a potted tomato plant but I think the pot was too small and the plant didn't grow very well.
I grew up with a whole bunch of blueberry bushes in the yard. My grandfather was a researcher with the extension service for a while and knew everything about blueberries. He could tell what variety each bush was just by looking at them, and he taught us how to prune and tend the bushes.
We usually use a pot about 18 inches tall and 15 wide. It weighs in at around 10 lbs. But we also get special fertiliser and use the water from a natural spring nearby. We only get good tomatoes if we start in Feb. or March or else they don't get big enough to stay strong. We also have had weak summers and not enough sun the last few years...
Don't know what they are called in America but we planted Black Cherry, Roma VP, Borghese and Lemonia F1. GP
Don't know what they are called in America but we planted Black Cherry, Roma VP, Borghese and Lemonia F1. GP
Roma is one of my favorite for canning pasta sauce! Lemonade sounds interesting. Is it more a fresh eating or canning type?
Kate, I use as large a pot as I can find. Usually not smaller than 2 to 3 gallon. Also, make sure you get soil especially for containers because they have to be watered constantly. Sometimes twice per day in Tennessee.
Also, there are smaller bush type plants. I have seed for Bush beefsteak and the small cherry type tomatoes. I found a tomato called Umberto Pear tomato. They are small, about the size of a golf ball. They were almost extinct. I can only find the seed at "Totally Tomatoes". I have very good luck with them. They are an heirloom.
Yes, I am using small, choppy sentences.
Brent S
Top Poster
I got the new fabric cover for my greenhouse today. It has UV resistance but I average three years with it before needing to be replaced. I am going to wait a few weeks to install it though. The main reason I like the greenhouse isn’t for the cold but as a shade from the intense sun and heat here over the summer. Right now it’s mild temps and I like the rain taking care of the watering for me. hope to mow and till at least a part of the main garden tomorrow. Will see how it goes though. I am so sore from clearing brush and trees yesterday that I’m taking it easy today.
DirtDiva
A True Doomsday Prepper
Brent do you have the extruded metal poly locks on your greenhouse? I think those make a huge difference when pulling poly.
Brent S
Top Poster
No, my greenhouse is an A Frame structure similar to an average house shape. The fabric just goes over the entire structure and gets fastened on the front and back. The sides have a pipe rolled up in them and I can raise or lower them as desired for ventilation. I got a deal on a pile of galvanized pipe years ago and thought “what can I do with these”? The greenhouse project was the perfect use. It really was the biggest improvement I’ve done with producing food. I’d guess it tripled my production at least. The sun gets too hot here in summer and the plants really thrive with some protection from it.
