| AAA newsletter Archive
May 11th 2009 |
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----- Original Message -----
From:
Gwilym (AAA)
To:
AAA Mailing List
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 10:41 AM
Subject: AAA Web-site Newsletter (May 11th 2009)
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Hello Fellow
Gardening Sirs & Mesdames,
Some of the more observant
and frequent visitors amongst you will have noticed that there's
a new subject on the main page of our web-site, headed "Sign the
petition to stop the death of Bees". So what's that all about
you ask?
The new subject on the front
page of the site deals with a real full-blown crisis that has
erupted as the numbers of bees in this country has
declined by up to 30% over the last two years. This
coincides with the collapse of bee-hive colonies across the
globe, more especially the USA and Europe. It has been given the
label of CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder). CCD is a phenomenon in
which worker bees from a bee-hive colony abruptly disappear.
While such disappearances have occurred throughout the history
of apiculture, the term colony collapse disorder was
first applied to a drastic rise in the number of disappearances
of Western Honey Bee colonies in North America in late 2006.
European bee-keepers observed similar phenomena in Belgium,
France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and
initial reports have also come in from Switzerland and Germany,
albeit to a lesser degree. Possible cases of CCD have also been
reported in Taiwan since April 2007. Aside from fundamental
concerns about the survival of bee species, colony collapse is
economically significant because many agricultural crops
worldwide are pollinated by bees. From a gardener's point of
view this is disastrous because bees are the No. 1 pollinating
machine on our allotments. No bees = no crops!
Now I'm quite cynical
about human global warming effect predictions, and other
apocalyptical pronouncements that panic people and children into
thinking they're going to fry, drown or get wiped out by some
nasty, recently discovered, killer chemical in the family
shampoo, or some other mad doomsday scenario! I'm a pragmatist &
not a natural, fearful "tree-hugger". I'm not easily convinced.
The sea alone gives off methane gas in such huge quantities that
it makes our puny contribution pale into insignificance. Methane
is a far more potent greenhouse gas than Co2. Our collective
input as humans is in the region of 0.28%, if
water vapour is taken into account - about 5.53%
if not [check some
facts]. The melting of the North
Pole ice-cap won't drown us because it's ice floating on water,
and if melted or solid it occupies the same mass displacement as
water (try melting some ice cubes in a glass of water & observe
the level of the water after they've melted). It's only a few
centuries since we've officially come out of a mini ice-age. The
Medieval Warm Period (MWP) or Medieval Climate Optimum was a
time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region, lasting from
about the tenth century to about the fourteenth century. It was
followed by the a cooler period in the North Atlantic termed as
the Little Ice Age. It happens NATURALLY friends - it's
cyclical, and besides, we haven't had the technology to monitor
it for long enough to be sure of our conclusions. But enough
about my cynicism. On the other hand, the Honey Bee
Colony Collapse Disorder IS a REAL worry and IS a potential food
wipe-out threat.
The finger of blame for bee
colony collapse is increasingly pointing at an insecticide
culprit - NEONICOTINOIDS. To find out more
please read up on the subject on our Web-site. You'll also have
the opportunity to link to a 10 Downing St. on-line petition
site that's calling on the UK government to ban the use of these
systemic insecticides (as some countries already have). The more
eagle-eyed visitors to our Web-site will also have noticed that
you have a further opportunity to sign the petition on-line as
you leave our Web-site (assuming that you have pop-up blockers
disabled for our site in your internet browsing software!)
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Insecticides
Coupling the reference on the
(public) front page of the AAA site to CCD problems, there is
also a new section in the Members Area of the site - with a
reddish button you can't miss in the left-hand navigation menu
of the Members Pages. This page goes into details about the
unwitting use of neonicotinoids by gardeners. To view that page
now click on this button:
You'll need to login with
your registered member's login data & password for this page. If
you have not yet registered here's a link for you to do so now
(it's free and open to anyone- not just AAA plot-holders) :
More new sections
FERTILIZERS
This new section deals with organic &
inorganic (chemical) fertilizers. It also deals with the
mysteries of soil pH and how your soil pH has a direct bearing
on your plant health and crop successes. Did you know, for
instance, that the prevalence of "weeds" such as sorrel,
creeping buttercup, nettle, dock and mare’s tail are all signs
your soil is becoming, or is too acid? Anyone noticed how prone
our allotments at Cae Ffynnon Wîn are to some of the above
plants - especially the buttercups? Time to check out the
FERTILIZERS section perhaps?!
Also unravelled in this section are the
mysteries of lime & it's uses in our
allotments.
Did you also know that according to a 32-
year study performed in Sweden, the best thing about organic
fertilizer is that it increased the yield rate of crops by 15%!?
The inorganic fertilizer only produced a 50% yield rate compared
to the organic producing a phenomenal 65% yield rate.
All interesting stuff.
PESTS fact files
As promised in the last AAA Web-site
Newsletter a new section has now been opened specifically for
this subject. Again this section can be found by browsing down
the navigation menu on the left hand side of your Member's
Pages. The pests & diseases listed are the main protagonists on
our allotments. More will follow in the future. Also check out
the "Disease Identifier" link - if you want an interactive hand
in finding out what ails your plants.
Sorry!
Monthly To Dos
An apology that the May "To Do" list was a
little late appearing this month - unforeseen circumstances I'm
afraid, I was out of circulation for a short while, but it's
there for you now.
Of interest
EVENTS
For those who visit the "EVENTS" section
in the Members Area you'll notice a popular event coming up next
Saturday at the Royal Welsh Showground. For those who haven't
visited the Events Section of our Web-site, or who have missed
it - here are the details:
2009 Smallholder & Garden Festival
When:
Sat, 16 May, 09:00 – Sun, 17 May, 10:00
Where:
Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd (map)
Description:
The Festival enjoys a
reputation of having a relaxed and intimate atmosphere,
creating something very different in concept to the
Royal Welsh Show in July.
A
nice little break for the day - take the children/
grandchildren and sow the seeds of interest in gardening
for the next generation!
DIARIES
I'm feeling increasingly isolated with my diary. It
seems that the initial surge of interest in opening and
keeping a diary on-line has waned amongst the initial
diarists! Either you have not been doing anything of
interest (unlikely) or, the task of maintaining a
diary has slipped down your priorities list. It's not
mandatory of course, but from the feed-back I get the
joy is in the reading of these diaries by others, so
guess who's missing out? On a more selfish note, it's a
great way of keeping track of your own little
seasonal adventures for personal viewing in the future.
PHOTOS
It's difficult to remember to take
a camera down to the allotment (I even forget more basic
necessities like seeds or a specific tool - that's why I
permanently keep most of them in the car!). However if
you DO remember to take some snaps - don't forget to
donate them for our "PHOTOS" page.
And finally, our old friend (or enemy -
whichever way you look at it) the weather. According to the 7
Day Gardening Forecast for Aberaeron, we were in for a sharp
fall in night-time temperatures over the weekend. At one point
the min. temperature expected on Saturday night/ Sunday morning
was 2c and - wait for it - it would feel like minus 11c!!!
(Met. Office predictions not mine!) Never cast a clout till May
. . . etc. So care is still needed for those more delicate
plants.
To check what the weather will be like for
your gardening activities over the next 7 days check out this
icon on our web-site (or if you're feeling lazy click on it
here! :-)
That's all for now Folks . . . .
Take Care & Happy Allotmenteering - till
the next time -
All the Best,
Gwilym.
AAA Webmaster
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