Jangchub expounded:
Yes, it is sad, however, there are many beekeepers out there trying really hard to figure it all out and ensure that the bees continue. It is a complex problem with many angles - one thing that rings true throughout all of this mess is our bees are like the canary in a coal mine - their ailments are trying to tell us something! I'm beginning to have just a glimmer of hope that the tide is ever so gradually turning.....I hope it turns before it's too late.
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 expounded:
And you were answered.
So, that justifies your nastiness?
You're the poster child for political axes to grind. No one brings up their politics more than you.
That's right, enough already, Billy.
It would be great if you'd start, instead of constantly demonstrated what a bitter, nasty little creature you've become.
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.
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."
Jangchub wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
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
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.
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.
True, only the best:-(
Jangchub expounded:
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
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......
Ever have Tupelo honey ?
I get mine here.
No not this....
I see "organic foods." But, I don't see any foods labeled "non-organic." I think it matters more if the food is fresh and clean more than anything else. Labels can lie.
Also produce that started out fresh and clean can be contaminated during their transport to your store. Foods aren't marked GMO, even though some people have allergic reactions to them. There are government standards for how much salmonella and e. coli (read shit) can be in your food. Irradiated crap is still crap.
I'd start you at
Check out popular produce and their levels of pesticide residues.
Bon appetit.
Yes, you're correct...they did say there was not one reason, but contended that grouped with stress. pesticides, virus' and other factors the bees are dissapearing. This is really something we should all be concerned with. I certainly am concerned. I'm not all freaking out and fear based with red zone terrorist threat charts, but concerned.
BTW, I've had your honey and it is delish.
v
Not labels which state "Certified Organic." If you suspect it is a lie you should report it as it is a hefty fine.
USDA makes the rules. The USDA can break the rules.
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