If I see it all written out, will I be able to tend it better? Lets c

[rhoda_bruce]

Ambrosia trifida or giant ragweed. After studying a bit of herbology, I believe I discovered why its called bloodweed. It is an astringent. I always said, that if I can come up with a good use for it, I'd be rich. Well I can stop bleeding, if I prepare it properly. If you not careful here, it will take over and find you in bed. I love the fact that my bees get all they want because a lot of my customers are allergy sufferers.

What's bloodweed?

 

[Denim Deb]

We have a ton of ragweed around here, but I've never heard it called bloodweed B4.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I would hope for somewhat more in dressed weight. I weighed the goslings I slaughtered and the bigger one was 13. It looked like a very big duck. Very tasty and no one complained, but I would have liked everyone to have had their fill and be able to bring a bit home. But we wiped that bird out completely. I'd have needed to thaw out both of them. But I really do believe I'd get a bigger dressed bird, regardless. I'm going to read up in my poultry mags and see which has the biggest brag. In the white varieties, that is. I have to agree with the muscovy thing. I wonder if DH would buy your arguement. Hehehe. I can try.

i can tell you average live fall weight of both toulouse and embden males is up to 20lbs! (females tend to be closer to 13lbs)
i belive most toulouse and embdens dress out anywhere from 8-12lbs,
toulouse arnt that difuclt to dress out as they are ligth enough to not be a big issue, but if your a stickler for a very clena carcass embden are the choice...toulouse have the better/large liver though so if your a big fan of Foi gras, then toulouse are the breed of choice...

muscovy are great and if the plan is to eat them, it might be easier if they are "ugly" lol

 

[rhoda_bruce]

There are 2 varieties of ragweed. One common and one giant. We have the giant. They look similar, but the common looks full of seed heads and the giant is big on leaves. I won't say that the seed heads are smaller, but perhaps look smaller due to the size of the plant and leaves. I think the damage they do is the same. I was never sure why my people call it bloodweed. But we are Cajuns and had close contact with the local Indians.....lots of treaters lived in these parts....Indians and Cajuns both. We have a name for them, but I can't write in French. Now that I am studying herbology, it all makes sense.

We have a ton of ragweed around here, but I've never heard it called bloodweed B4.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Cleaned up around hives again today. Tom Sawyer affect. Guess it looked like so much fun my 2 youngest daughters just had to join me. They tossed some dried weeds in the fire, until they decided to explore around the perimeter. I noticed the guineas went in front of one of the hives and one of them did catch a few bees, but its not like all 9 of them were at it and they didn't stay long. Thought I had another problem to solve. Still.....might be something I wouldn't want to forget about.
It would be great if I could come up with a ground cover to keep that ragweed under control.....if I start calling it that over here, no one will know what I'm talking about. I had bought a mold to make a concrete walk a good while back......one that they would look like stones. Well, DH thinks we would need to start off with sand, then put the stones, then fill in with sand. Sounds like more trouble than I was willing to put myself through. I just thought if I could place all those concrete 'stones' together, that it'd be easier to keep the weeds under control. Too bad, cuz I have 4 sacks of concrete left over from the last time we worked on the barn. If I could at least make a little patio area for each hive, it'd be a lot easier to keep things under control. The bees hate weedeaters and lawnmowers. But I might give it a try. Sometimes if I have hours without supervision, there is no telling what I might try. DH might have a point, but just because I don't do it perfect, doesn't mean I won't at least have most of the problem fixed. I think 4 sacks of mix can make a small patio for one hive. If I'm wrong.....it won't be the first time.
I want to keep myself motivated. Got a lot of cleaning to do before I can replant the garden. Crazy thing is that I think some of the plants from last years spring garden are still alive. Looks like I still have eggplants, tomatoes and bell peppers. Have to clean more to know if anything else is there. Thats a plus for living in the south. The minus is that the same thing that keeps the good plants alive, keeps other things alive as well.
Well my McMurray catalog musta come in a while back. I found it on the filing cabinet, not on the dining room table; so it didn't just get here yesterday. I'll take it to work with me to study. I just got to outsmart Mother Nature a little. I'm not getting any younger, so I can't beat her to death. Only way I can see is to make things easier with ground covers or get some help with weeding from outside help like ducks and geese. Gotta outsmart her (Mother Nature) because I'm not satisfied with the produce I bring in. Must have a bigger garden.

 

[Denim Deb]

The only method I know of to get rid of the ragweed is to pull it B4 it goes to seed. And even then, it will take awhile to get rid of it all.

 

[pinkfox]

i actually have seen a few eople do concrete steppingstone paths with no base material...but unless your ground is level using a mold can be a pain in the tushy. he way im planning on doing some is simply to let the concrete set up just enough to be a veyr soft moddling clay and then slop it down and spread it to the size/shape i want, ive seena few done and they hold up well (and given made right on the ground no worries about uneven ground shifting ect.) you do have to spray them a couple times a day so they dry evenly with no cracking and while they hold up to foot traffic well they cant hold any real weight (ie a car or patio furniture) youd have to use rebar to reinforce in those cases id think.
technically the "right" way is to put down a sand base, level out ect...but its not impossible to just go for it.
in between the stones take a bag of concrete sprinkle it liberally in all the gaps then on mist feature on a hose extnder thing wet it down...itll form a "mortar" between the stones.
the other option would be to plant something bee friendly with a deterinimate height...my vote is for clover! lol

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I've had the weeds under control in the past, but even if I don't have them going into seeds, the seeds will find their way in somehow from neighbors. My late goat ate all she could, til I ran out in her pen, but I didn't have her around the bees. I was afraid she would try to jump on the hives. The 2 goats I have now are going around them and I think they are keeping things trimmed, but doing little to flatten the dead weeds. Its encouraging to see an improvement everyday. I go to church in 4 hours, so I won't do much today.
The bee area is about 90 X 80 feet and I've had gardens in there in the past. I'd want to get it eventually to be full of raised beds. Its my best shot. I have all the tractor tires I can possibly use from my brother and place of employment.......just got to trim the part around the rim to make room. then all I'd have to do is figure ground cover or walkways from bed to bed. A traditional garden wouldn't work here. I need to be ready for a quick 10 inches of water and I've seen rows go under real fast.
One little problem that I haven't solved as of yet, but its been spoken of many times is what to do with the 'pear tree.' I bought a Barlett Pear from Gurney's about 13 years ago. It makes lots of flowers and now I see the pears. They are the size of acorns. I really think they sent me an ornamental pear. Contacted them, but they gave me this handout about trouble shooting all the reasons why a pear tree might not make fruit. I'm surrounded by people that have pear trees all over town, so its not a problem of cross pollenation, plus with 4 hives in my yard, I'm sure I get some help. No......they sent me the wrong thing. That tree is nice and gives shade and all that, but otherwise, is useless to me. I think it has to go. And its right in that 80 X 90 area. Wonder what kinda firewood it will give me. All I know is I'm not cutting on it if its in flower or unless its real cold, because I don't feel like suiting up and pissing off a few million bees.
Well I studied the McMurray catalog and I guess I'll order a few embdens and I'm thinking about the giant pekings....they supposed to get 10 to 18 percent bigger than the pekings. But I must confess that I haven't told DH about the taste recommendations from ya'll on the muscovies. He'd leave me alone with it because the poultry projects are pretty much mine. I wouldn't mind finding out about the taste, but I have no need for a broody duck; plus I'd have to make sure if I get both breeds that I keep them separated........no mules allowed. Oh, I can eat them, but I'm worried I won't recognize the mules from the pures.
Well, I just got home, drank 2 cups and I feel good, so I'm going play a little while. See ya'll.

 

[hqueen13]

Someone else said putting ashes from fires down where you don't want weeds will eventually kill them.

I haven't had a fire yet to try it out.

 

[Denim Deb]

Putting the ashes down will only work if you already have basic soil. Otherwise, it just changes the pH.

And, it sounds like they sent you a Bradford pear instead of a Barlett. When it flowers, are the flowers really, really, fragrant? Bradford pear has a very distinct fragrance to it. If you can post some pics, I might be able to tell for sure which it is. A Bradford doesn't look like a Barlett. Here's a pic of what the "pears" look like.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=brad...t=36&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:36&tx=109&ty=67