spraying the himalayan balsam

[stilllearning]

sorry i'll go on and put my sandels on and skip merrily round the countryside while the population starve to death due to the lack of food because of yet another crop failure
obviously there will be some who will not be turned because, and i quote " it looks like some people swallow their poisonous drivel..."
there's two sides to every coin
and by the way if your were a child during the 50's 60's or 70's then more than likely you were brought up on food which was treated with all sorts of nasties.......and your still here !!
oh happy days

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I agree with Brosville that pesticides and herbicides etc are much more destructive than their manufacturers would have us believe.

However, I have many friends who are farmers and the majority of them are great custodians of the countryside and take their role very seriously.
An example: I was recently considering what to do about an enormous wasps nest just down the road from my apiary. I was stood by the nest and the farmer came over to me and suggested I leave it alone - and that the badgers would probably dig it up soon as they had done to two other wasps nests on his land.
So, this is a dairy cattle farmer who doesn't splash chemicals around at the first sign of trouble and who doesn't think killing badgers is the answer to all the farming world's woes.
And no, he's not a hippy-farmer type, he's a dyed in the wool, third generation welsh hill farmer.

 

[Brosville]

And a great many of my peers are coming down with cancers that they "shouldn't have" at their age........

As I said, there are some that have been totally bamboozled by the guff pumped out by "Big Ag", most of which is just plain inaccurate (ok, lies!) - organic farming works well, permaculture (using very little inputs) has shown we can increase yields per acre, and we are just plain running out of the inputs needed by high tech agri/horticulture, which is merely hastening the despoilation of the earth's fertility. I grew up on what would be termed an "organic" nursery in the 50's, and have ever since viewed with dismay the nonsense that some try to suggest that "icides" and high inputs are desirable, safe and sustainable, when they are patently none of those things.... If I can grow organically with no particular problems (or great expertise), then so can everyone else! "Icide" use is usually for the ignorant who don't know how to do the job properly.....

 

[MartinL]

Why is it that the anti farming lobby are rarely from outside of the towns!
Located in "UK" !

Our Village stream is little more than an open drain for the M40 but we wouldn't be adding weedkiller to it!

What happened to the Shires? ? ? ?

 

[Brosville]

I'm personally very "pro-farmer" and spent awhile as one myself - and am living miles from nowhere in the Sussex countryside.......
As GBH says, there are some damned good farmers out there, but sadly there's some dreadful ones too - in my experience the dreadful ones are those who have sold out to "Big Ag".

 

[BeeNice]

Going back to the HB being sprayed, yes I agree this time of year is a waste of time and money (have you seen the cost of roundup!) I live in an area near a river with some Balsam, it can clogg up the water ways yes, so do other river weeds, but what other damage does it do? I've seen it living happily with nettles and brambles and they all seem to be doing ok, it hasn't taken over the whole area. Japanese Knotweed is another matter. regards Steven

 

[Erichalfbee]

Talking of Balsam our council are excelling themselves with their hedgerow management. This afternoon I watched the tail end of a mile long hedgecutter massacre; willow,hazel bramble and ivy ripped to shreds. What for? It wasn't encroaching on the road and was home and future food to much wildlife. I despair sometimes.

 

[MartinL]

I live in an area near a river with some Balsam, it can clogg up the water ways yes, so do other river weeds,

There will be nothing left alive if they are spraying into the watercourse!

Has nobody challenged the men doing the spraying? The Local Council seem to be a little blinkered here. Pouring weed killer into the stream will kill more than just the HB, all vegetation/life that comes into contact with it downstream is threatened!!!!

 

[BeeNice]

Hi MartinL, no one is spraying HB on the river where I live. It does grow well in the fields with hill water run offs. But as I said nobody is spraying around here.
Steven

 

[Swarm]

Oddly enough, I saw the first local authority gang clearing Ragwort a couple of weeks back, not seen this in ages. Pity it was in one of the most remote spots around.

Erichalfbee,
It does look like mutilation when hedgerows are freshly cut, I agree but it encourages new growth which provides the habitat for nesting birds and other wildlife. It is left til this time of year so as not to disturb nest sites but has to be done fairly regularly to keep down branch size/diameter and preventing some species becoming small trees. I much prefer to see a wonderful piece of layering but there you go. Next spring it will be a beautiful hedgerow yet again.
We have had a large operation throughout the area where trees are cut back for a certain distance each side of the road, now this is truly mortifying. Whole trees and large branches are being felled and it's all under the H&S blanket. I guess the idea is that when some clown drives a car off the road the impact will be a softer one. One particularly splendid Horse Chestnut with a trunk diameter of 5ft+ became a victim of this crazy policy.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I know why it's done. It just seems such a shame when ripped up branches litter the ground. There was a beautiful rounded bank of ivy some twenty metres long about to bloom. I've noticed some of the hedgecutters seem to leave little mess and fairly neatly severed branches but the chap who works around here just rips the smaller ones from the larger.

Next spring it will be a beautiful hedgerow yet again.

Only to be cut back before the ivy flowers again

 

[tonybloke]

I know why it's done. It just seems such a shame when ripped up branches litter the ground. There was a beautiful rounded bank of ivy some twenty metres long about to bloom. I've noticed some of the hedgecutters seem to leave little mess and fairly neatly severed branches but the chap who works around here just rips the smaller ones from the larger.



Only to be cut back before the ivy flowers again

ivy is not classed as a hedgerow species (it's not a tree)

and the chap who is flailing the hedge needs to spend a couple of quid and get his flails sharpened!

 

[greatbritishhoney]

, it can clogg up the water ways yes, so do other river weeds, but what other damage does it do?

1. Clogs up waterways increasing the chance of flooding.
2. Out competes native species resulting in their disappearance from the area.
3. Grows in dense stands, so when it dies back in winter, leaves bare earth resulting in riverbank erosion.

 

[Swarm]

Had loads of white clover just come into flower and along comes the ride on mowers .... It's just poor understanding.

 

[user 6228]

hedges are either flailed too much or at the wrong time of year or not at all.
hedges should only done be once in two years and then in jan or early feb.

 

[Erichalfbee]

hedges should only done be once in two years and then in jan or early feb.

Absolutely! Give wildlife a chance to eat the berries etc.
My local carnage took care of two huge roses laden with hips, innumerable hawthorns similarly laden and bushes of blackberry and elderberry.

 

[BBG]

I've just seen Bristol city Council spraying the himalayan balsam with round up with clouds of bees over the flowers as he sprays.

I was told the council 'have to be seen to be doing something' when I showed the sprayer the exploding seeds that will survive the spraying and winter.

Its just my bees are missing out on some winter feed.

Just an observation.

Bristol City Fathers have always been proud of their city as are and have been Bristolians.

Your objections should be directed to the Council and the City Fathers.

Your bees need to be fed, by you, not by a plant that is a hazard and nuisance to our countryside.

Look forward to hearing what Bristol City Council have to say about this.

 

[Andre cardona]

one of the best honeys comes from himalayan balsam

 

[VEG]

not a nuisance where I live my bees love the stuff.

 

[Brosville]

"Your bees need to be fed, by you, not by a plant that is a hazard and nuisance to our countryside"

I'd like some clarification on the precise meaning that the above is trying to transmit - is it suggested that we should be feeding our bees (presumably sugar in some form or another) rather than allowing them to feed naturally on plants growing locally?....... If that is the case I'd better go and read my bees the riot act, tell them to leave the HB alone, and feed sugar syrup instead..........

IF it needs removing, there are far saner methods than spraying, particularly when insects are on the plants - many local councils are run by utter dimboids who haven't the first clue about such things, and will cheerfully wage chemical warfare on all and sundry.
I'd question whether HB is always as bad as it's painted, it certainly doesn't appear to be causing any problems in my local area - the bees love it!