In article ,
Omelet wrote:

In article
,
Billy wrote:

Gentelmen, gentelwomen, can we garden now?
--

Billy

I'm game. ;-)

Gotta weed tho' and get stuff prepared.
I'm always concerned about the oft' present late March freeze tho'.

Historically, we have had freezes up to the 10th of May but they are
usually over by early April. We had a very mild first three weeks in
February, which sent many overly optimistic people to the nurseries. Two
years ago, we had our rainiest April on record (in days and inches). I
plan to get my cold weather stuff in, in early April, cabbage, onions
and the like. Bless the chard. It doesn't get cold enough here to kill
it off and it just keeps goin', and goin', and goin'.

Gardeners, start your compost heaps.
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:18:59 -0800, Billy
wrote:

In article ,
Jangchub wrote:

On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:53:42 -0500, Ann wrote:

Billy expounded:

Look, I only asked what makes organic honey, OK. Secondly, we have been
plagued with nitwits who either say that they don't know the answer to a
problem but they are too busy with school anyway, or we have newbies who
want to start a garden but don't say what kind of plants they want to
grow and don't tell us what USDA zone that they live in. Thirdly, we
have "old timers" who have a personal, political, axes to grind, or we
have people who are disjointed because they have been ridiculed for
being supporters of total disasters like Dixie Ray Lee. Enough already.

Gentelmen, gentelwomen, can we garden now?

Billy, I have no axe to grind with you, but if you want to garden now,
go ahead and garden. I don't recall electing a president of
rec.gardens and both Anne and I have been here for over a decade
posting patiently to newbies trying to find out their
zones. Newbies don't know there ARE zones, let alone know within
which they reside.

Just have patience, it's such a nice way to be.

It is increasingly more difficult year after year to maintain any form
of organic anything. There are strict rules and far too many to list.
It takes three years of rigorous book keeping on every step of pest
management, as well as every single shovel which enters the soil. If
the honey you buy does not say Certified Organic, it is not organic in
the way we mean it. This is a big problem in the industry right now
and has been for quite a while...actually as long as I remember. The
word to look for is "certified" not the casual term "organic."

After the USAD allowed toxic sludge to be used on organic, I don't
believe anything unless I see it below the company's letter head. Then I
can sue their sorry butts if they lie to me. Best know your grower.
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Jangchub wrote in
:

Without his bees, the blueberries in Maine would not exist.
This problem is much more serious than we know. Imagine,
a business which hauls bees across the country to rent to
farmers. That's a sign and it ain't good.

bee hauling has been around since post WWII, at least. it may
also be one of the vectors for hive collapse.

one the brighter side, honey bees are not the only type of
bees, nor the only pollenators of food crops.
lee

True, only the best:-(
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

Jangchub expounded:

There was a piece on 60 Minutes on Sunday evening about the bees.
There is some sort of virus which is causing complete hive collapse
and death. This one keeper brings his bees all over the country to
pollinate farmers crops and recently his entire colony, which is in
the tens of millions of bees all died. He ad to borrow money to build
new hives and bees and he said if it happens again he is broke and
will be out of business. He's been doing this for over thirty years.

Without his bees, the blueberries in Maine would not exist. This
problem is much more serious than we know. Imagine, a business which
hauls bees across the country to rent to farmers. That's a sign and
it ain't good.

V, I'm a very active beekeeper and keep up with all of the current
research. It hasn't been established let that a virus has lead to
colony collapse disorder. The only sure thing that's known is that
the bees are in trouble. Many of us think it's the chemicals used in
agriculture, combined with the chemicals that have been used by any
beekeeper who keeps bees commercially (mainly, although hobbyists have
been using many of them, also). It also seems to strike migratory
beekeepers more than hobbyists. Michael Bush
(http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm) will tell you that beekeepers on his
Yahoo organic beekeeping group haven't lost a single hive to CCD.

What all of this tells me is that we're up against agribusiness again,
chemical companies, the 8000 pound elephant in the middle of the room
that no one wants to talk about......
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Jangchub wrote in
:

Without his bees, the blueberries in Maine would not exist.
This problem is much more serious than we know. Imagine,
a business which hauls bees across the country to rent to
farmers. That's a sign and it ain't good.

bee hauling has been around since post WWII, at least. it may
also be one of the vectors for hive collapse.

one the brighter side, honey bees are not the only type of
bees, nor the only pollenators of food crops.
lee

True, only the best:-(

Ever have Tupelo honey ?

http://www.tupelohoney.org/

Note how it does not crystallize.

I get mine here.

http://www.lltupelohoney.com/orderformUS.htm

Bill

No not this.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupelo_Honey )

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
ICAO = KMIV Millville Weather
Lat 39.5982 Long -75.0358