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Thread: Ban the 'environmentalist' opposition . Live a quiet life?

  1. #11
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    A late lamented message board to which I belonged used to flag trolls as soon as they were spotted by posting: DNFTT (do not feed the trolls) or starting a discussion about spoons on their thread. There is absolutely no point engaging with them; they are not open to reason.

  2. #12
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    Thank goodness it doesn't stand for " Do not feed the Trog " - I'd hate that to happen to one of my near- ish neighbours.

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Good point as there are a lot of posters here who grow stuff on allotments or smallholdings so the interest level is high.
    That might make a good thread how to create a bee friendly allotment / garden
    most of the plants I would like en masse don't thrive in my fairly wet soil
    Has anybody tried sunflowers -- is it worth it
    Is there more nectar in a buddlia than forsythia etc

    Also alpacas
    There seem to be a few keepers and they are interesting in a general environment sort of way
    Does their grazing style help wildflowers -- quite a few beekeepers seem to have them?
    Last edited by The Drone Ranger; 15-04-2013 at 05:36 PM.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Pam Hunter mentioned in her UBKA talk that bees on sunflowers do not live as long, even sunflowers with no pesticide applied.
    The US and French beekeepers have reported problems with sunflowers but that may be pesticide related.

    I posted a reference to this in another thread.
    The main thing is to have a mix of pollens and to have pollen available right through the season.
    Bees love any form of brassica in flower.
    Last edited by Jon; 15-04-2013 at 05:38 PM.

  5. #15
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    I'll be sowing Phacelia and Vipers Bugloss on my allotment within the week. More interested in feeding and seeing bumbles and other bees rather than the Apis variety.

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger View Post
    Also alpacas
    There seem to be a few keepers and they are interesting in a general environment sort of way
    Does their grazing style help wildflowers -- quite a few beekeepers seem to have them?
    My business is breeding alpacas DR. We have one of the largest herds in Scotland with 30+ (been at it since 2004 but they breed VERY slowly!). Called "Coire Alpacas". Not sure I think about them in environmental terms as such. Grazing style - they won't graze a field down flat the way sheep will unless there's absolutely nothing else. So maybe in a small paddock in winter. But in summer they'll graze selectively and you end up with a "tufty" field if you know what I mean! How that would interact with the planting of wild flowers I don't know. If the plants were very palatable the alpacas would have them. Never had them on grazing rich in wildflowers or even clover so I don't know the answer to that. I'd be wary of sowing anything that might be poisonous as their natural habitat (the Altiplano of Sth America) is so different from our own. Not saying it wouldn't be something that would work but if it were me I'd want a fair amount of information on hand before risking some very expensive stock

  7. #17
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    One of the farm workers killed a couple of very expensive thoroughbred horses at a ranch near where I work in Mexico by feeding them crap.
    There are plants such as 'higuerilla' the thing which produces ricin and it has a seed dispersal mechanism like Himalayan balsam.
    The local vet told me that a single seed in a bale of hay is capable of killing a cow or a horse.
    Got to be careful with those ruminants!

  8. #18

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    The worst thing we have to worry about where we have the alpacas is rhododendrons. Which means I have an annual session with a brushcutter to keep it out of reach of the long necks!

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by drumgerry View Post
    The worst thing we have to worry about where we have the alpacas is rhododendrons. Which means I have an annual session with a brushcutter to keep it out of reach of the long necks!
    I think Claire Waring the editor of BeeCraft keeps alpacas
    They look very gentle
    Do you get wool from combing them or are they really meant as pets

    I just read they make good flock guardians will they really chase off foxes?
    Last edited by The Drone Ranger; 15-04-2013 at 10:03 PM.

  10. #20

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    They spit just as much as llamas but not often at a person - usually you get caught in the crossfire between two of them! They have to be shorn annually DR and we don't think of them as pets. Some do but there's a multi-million pound industry in breeding them and we (and others like us) like to think we're trying to emulate what particularly the Aussies are doing with their alpacas which is making them an intrinsic part of their agriculture. The fibre (wool) they produce can be as fine as cashmere - it's their raison d'etre but the business is in the breeding of high quality stock.

    Flock guardians is not something I have experience of but I know people are selling males for this and I've heard reports of greatly increased lambing rates with alpacas there to see off foxes.

    If you're ever here in Speyside DR I can give you a close-up and personal with our herd. Just drop me a line and we can sort something out. Is it something you're thinking of getting into yourself?

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