hoophouse question

[dice]

Around here those bumblebees often nest in the ground under logs,
exposed tree roots, etc. Yellowjackets do that here, too. (Our version
of copperheads, I guess. "Watch where you step.")

[dice]

Not particularly relevant to your cross-pollenation question, but one
way that you can pollenate plants in a greenhouse is to walk through
there daily or weekly with a leaf blower and give them a good shaking
with that.

[Medbury Gardens]

Are you talking about plants other than tomatoes dice

[dice]

Are you talking about plants other than tomatoes dice

I came across a picture online of someone doing that for tomatoes in
a greenhouse somewhere. I do not know how well it would work for
other crops (not all vegetables are self-pollenating; sometimes a
plant cannot produce fruit from its own pollen).

For contraband cash crops, usually they do not want seeds.

[Alpinejs]

Maybe my hoophouse question will be a moot point in a few days. We have
a weather danger alert for Fri. and Sat. of extremely high winds. My two
hoophouses may be floating out in the Pacific Ocean somewhere. And I just
finished rebuilding them.

This might be a good time to add this note in case anywone thinking of making
a hoophouse is reading this. Do not buy 6 mil. plastic from a paint dept. such
as Home Depot. It isn't so bad that it only lasts one season, but the bad part
is that it disintegrates into particles considerably smaller than a molecule or
an atom. Buy only 6 mil. UV plastic from a greenhouse supplier or such. That
supposedly is good for about four years and will not disintegrate like it took
a direct hit from an A-bomb. My guess is that a few others here tried to save
a buck and regretted it. I can't be the only dummy........can I? All this said,
I love my hoophouses and recommend them as an inexpensive alternative to
a greenhouse.

[tgplp]

Originally Posted by dice

Around here those bumblebees often nest in the ground under logs,
exposed tree roots, etc. Yellowjackets do that here, too. (Our version
of copperheads, I guess. "Watch where you step.")

My dad was pulling up weeds last summer, and he came across a friendly bumblebee nest! Of course my dad came to get me to go see it. It was neat, we saw what we thought the queen bee was, come out of the nest to look at us. I quick ran away! What we saw of the nest was just some moss, with a couple small holes that would be unnoticiable, if it weren't for the bumble bees flying out. To see what we were doing around their home.

My friend Erik stepped on a wasp nest when he was staying at his cabin, and got stung more than fifty times. He ran into the cabin and into the shower to try to get them off, which was smart. He still had to go to the hospital, though. Poor guy!

back to the topic of bees in greenhouses.... in my hoophouse, when I leave the doors open, I sometimes have to shoo a bee out. I don't think it pollinated the plants, though, I think it just flew in on accident. At least, I didn't see it pollinating a plant. It kept running into the clearish plastic wall, trying to get out. I chased it out with a plastic cup.

Taryn

[dice]

My friend Erik stepped on a wasp nest when he was staying at his cabin, and got stung more than fifty times.

I think my personal record is 8 times from the same yellowjacket nest.
I do not have an allergy to these things, so it was only painful, not life
threatening. What I find most dangerous about them is driving down
the freeway and getting one in a vehicle through an open window.
I somehow have to keep an eye on the wasp and the traffic at the same
time while trying to shoo it back out the window without getting stung.

[Worth1]

A while back I was riding my motorcycle at about 75 mph and had a bee or wasp get under my helmet strap and sting me on the ear.
Cars were everywhere all I could do was just suck it up and drive.

The very next morning I was woke up with a red wasp stinging me on the top of the head.
Haven't been stung in years and to have it happen on two totally separate occasions in less than 24 hours was a little strange.

Worth

[peppero]

i have been riding since 1952 and have had similar experiences with the little rascals but the most unusual was being hit by a bat at about 40 mph one evening. the little rascal hit me in the right eye was a most memorable experience to say the least. by the way, what do you ride? jon

[Worth1]

jon I ride a Triumph parallel twin Speed master.
I forgot to shift down the other day and the motor locked up going around a corner.

Slid sideways for a wee bit but didn't drop it, stupid mistake for someone who has been riding for years.
I have no idea where my mind was at.

Worth