> I liked the 'Pest ashing'.
> Presumably this involves the use of a blowtorch?
Well, one certainly can use a blowtorch, but the idea is that the burned
corpses of pests will repel others of the same pests, similar to the idea
that heads on spikes would be a crime deterrent in medieval Britain.
Any thinking person can instantly work out that pests are not so easily
repelled, as mosquitos are not deterred in the least by the charred remains
of their sisters at the base of a bug-zapper, the most commonly-used
implement that creates "Crispy Critters" (a 1960s breakfast cereal - "The
one and only cereal that's made in the shape of animals").
But, as with all biodynamics, if one follows the dictates, one is at least
forced to pay far more attention to one's hives than one might otherwise
pay, which can't be a bad thing. Imagine collecting enough varroa or SHB to
make a mass suitable for burning - one is going to be doing a lot of pest
sampling. All one must toss into the mix is a $1.98 spiral-bound notebook
and a pencil, and suddenly one has a much better beekeeper, one that is both
paying more attention AND taking copious notes on what he/she sees.
So, as usual, the addition of a notebook makes any religion or quackery into
a science over time, or it at least makes the true believer or quack into a
scientist of sorts, as their notes allow them to see for themselves what
works and what does not work.
I must add a disclaimer that those of us of German heritage are deeply
ashamed of four things: Wilhelm II, Hitler, Steiner, and how that annoying
Ring ends up right back where it started (at the bottom of the Rhine) after
you sit through the entire saga of Wagner's Ring cycle from Das Rheingold to
Gotterdammerung.
More on Steinerism here:
http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A2=BEE-L;90d6bb40.1
310
http://tinyurl.com/lyr99vx
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