  |
|
|
|
A Rash of TroubleRead the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only".
» emilylevitt - A new way to get-- poison ivy(posted by Emily, for Eric) Emily, -- posted by emilylevitt » emilylevitt - A contaminated container was probabaly the culprit, somewhere along the line.-- posted by emilylevitt » bindweed - An upside to Poison Oak Great article Emily,This Pacific Northwest gardener tends to miss some aspects of Poison Oak. In CA this wonderful plant was much visited by bees, and both in CA and Oregon poison oak yields a delicious honey which is "free" from poisonous properties. The ingestion of which was believed (myself included) to make one immune to the poison of the plants. I used to produce some thousand pounds of honey per year, and poison oak was one of my favorites. I also could hand grub out the plant with no ill effects. The pollen is also early and welcome to the hive. I have no clue if Poison Ivy -- also a Rhus would have similar characteristics. If other beekeepers know, please let me know. As a boy, I used to live in Pennsylvania and New Jersey so am well familiar with all the consequences of exposure, but "smoke" is absolutely the worst. In California I ended up firefighting one summer and ended up with the worst case of lung involvement -- steroids had to be given. As for the honey part -- I will definitely vouch that not only is it non toxic, it is delicious! Kalmia latifolia (your Mountain Laurel) and some Rhododendrons ARE! After eating a few spoonfuls of this honey many people become numb and actually may lose consciousness for a brief time. So be sure to eradicate all those damn Rhodies and Kalmias! There is often much confusion about toxin's -- The Buckeye is one of these plants. The eastern Buckeye is much visited by bees and is a good honey source, The California Buckey produces a honey injurious to the bees and can kill entire colonies in a short time. Was it poisonous -- sorta. Turns out that it was not the honey but the pollen. Buckeye honey could be fed to other hives with no injury -- nor to man. Turns out also the length of exposure of hives to the tree made a difference as well. Like exposure to poison oak, if the bees were allowed to remain in the same location year after year, they seemed to acquire the ability to utilize buckeye bloom without ill effect. But hives suddenly moved into a buckeye area before or during bloom will most often die or suffer serious decline. Dogwood blossom also was thought to be "poisonous" -- it actually makes a lovely honey with a mild flavor. Herbert Senft <img src="http://www.fritech.com/skyline/images/bumblebee.gif" -- posted by bindweed » emilylevitt - I had no idea! that beekeepers liked the blossoms! I ate locally produced honey all my life, as my grandfather kept a half dozen hives not far from a huge stand of poison ivy. We never had the store bought stuff. REAL honey has a big hunk of wax in the Ball jar.I don't think it did a thing for my immune system, at least where poison ivy is concerned. But you're right, the honey is out of this world. -- posted by emilylevitt » bindweed - Honey and the immune system Emily,Problem being finding a beekeeper sorting his honey. He or she would have to be a freak (like I used to be) and use shallow supers, then label each according to the nectar source being visited. Moreover there would have to be enough nectar to fill the frames. One would then begin eating (say I have spring Alder allergies) last years spring extracted honey -- (hopefully having pollen and or nectar from the alder or the poison oak)-- the season before. So this winter, I have been eating my share of last years spring honey and will continue doing so into and during spring. I hope this is clear! As you note I make to claim about poison ivy -- I never knew it to be a nectar producer, then again I could be wrong. By the way -- support your local beekeepers, they are having one hell of a time with the mite problems. Herbert Senft <img src="http://www.fritech.com/skyline/images/gardenerstroll.jpg" -- posted by bindweed
Please follow the guidelines set forth in the Suite101 Posting Etiquette when adding to the discussion. |
|
|
|
