Meadowsweet In A Meadow ?

Stigura

I've tried google. Couldn't seem to hit on anything though. Thought I'd ask the real deals

One of my neighbours is a bit OCD about his land. He tends to get a bee in his bonnet about a single issue. Then, he goes to war against it.

Meadowsweet happened to be his latest obsession. Out came the knapsack and he prowled the meadow, hunting out every single plant.

Just got me wondering; Does the presence of meadowsweet in a meadow presage the imminent coming of The Four Horsemen? Or, is he just a bit of a nut?

Thanks.

Birdnuts

Stigura wrote: »

I've tried google. Couldn't seem to hit on anything though. Thought I'd ask the real deals

One of my neighbours is a bit OCD about his land. He tends to get a bee in his bonnet about a single issue. Then, he goes to war against it.

Meadowsweet happened to be his latest obsession. Out came the knapsack and he prowled the meadow, hunting out every single plant.

Just got me wondering; Does the presence of meadowsweet in a meadow presage the imminent coming of The Four Horsemen? Or, is he just a bit of a nut?

Thanks.

This - its a great plant for bees and was used in olden times to sweeten meade. Folk like him and their obsession with wiping out every wild flower out there are going to get the likes of roundup banned:rolleyes:

Stigura

Yep. There's Far more reference to what it's good for than any other plant I've looked at.

In fairness; I can see how it was starting to form clumps of itself. Not beyond the realms of possibility that it could, practically, become a meadow of meadowsweet. But, hey ..... (What did I just do there )

I'm just trying to imagine what went on in the old days. Before we had species specific herbicides.

Err ... I was about to ~ semi rhetorically ask if a farmer, hundred and fifty years ago, would have been seen leaping about his meadow. Pouncing, like a cat, on single, individual plants and manually tearing them out of the ground. But, then, I remember a year or two ago. Some other kind of plant had appeared. He Was doing exactly that! :eek:

Dunno. I guess, if it took hold and turned the entire acre into a swathe of meadowsweet? Would I want a bale of That, for my horses?

Seems to me though that Drainage would be more use than constantly ripping up plants? (I'm not a farmer. I just happen to live amidst farmlands) Prevention, rather than cure?

I think, what we need here is a hay growing, horse feeding, plant recognising farmer. Or, are we a century too late?

Willfarman

My grandparents generation and before were big believers of the benefits of a thing called Errbage in pasture. Some fields were noted for their curative effects and thriving stock due to the herbs and wildflowers.

Still waters

Also, farmers farmed the land they had with hardier animals, no machinery around in the old days to RIP out hedges, walls,moots, trees and the like, I realise they changed some things but was a slow managed care of land rather than the mechanised rape of land we see today, and not for the better, all some lads want to do these days is have fields with nothing in them only perfect silage without giving a thought to an ecosystem that was evolved with earth itself, is it any wonder bees and birds are losing out in the race to have swathes of perfect green fields good for nothing only feeding cattle

Willfarman

A quick google of meadowsweet tells me it not worth a ****e for bees.. it’s very fragrant and brings bees in abundance to pollinate it but it’s got no nectar!

alps

Still waters wrote: »

Also, farmers farmed the land they had with hardier animals, no machinery around in the old days to RIP out hedges, walls,moots, trees and the like, I realise they changed some things but was a slow managed care of land rather than the mechanised rape of land we see today, and not for the better, all some lads want to do these days is have fields with nothing in them only perfect silage without giving a thought to an ecosystem that was evolved with earth itself, is it any wonder bees and birds are losing out in the race to have swathes of perfect green fields good for nothing only feeding cattle

Sorry now but this land was cleared of forests and worked into productive farmland........by hand, by axe, and by horse...probably fire used to a large extent..

Hedges and walls all put in place...again by manual means....

Birdnuts

Willfarman wrote: »

A quick google of meadowsweet tells me it not worth a ****e for bees.. it’s very fragrant and brings bees in abundance to pollinate it but it’s got no nectar!

The Pollen itself is an important foodsource for many Bumblebee species in particular. Unlike honey bees only the queen survives the winter so they don't need nectar to make honey as a winter food source for the hive

Say my name

Willfarman wrote: »

My grandparents generation and before were big believers of the benefits of a thing called Errbage in pasture. Some fields were noted for their curative effects and thriving stock due to the herbs and wildflowers.

Was that Buttercups?

Birdnuts

alps wrote: »

Sorry now but this land was cleared of forests and worked into productive farmland........by hand, by axe, and by horse...probably fire used to a large extent..

Hedges and walls all put in place...again by manual means....

Ireland was probably at its most biodiverse when the forests were opened up on a small scale for traditional farming. Traditional farmland habitats like Haymeadows, extensive pastures etc. were great for wildflowers and many birds that depend on open areas to breed. Unfortunately the changes to farming since WW2 in terms of mechanisation, chemical use etc. have nearly overnight upset the balance that existed for thousands of years prior

i71jskz5xu42pb

Willfarman wrote: »

A quick google of meadowsweet tells me it not worth a ****e for bees.. it’s very fragrant and brings bees in abundance to pollinate it but it’s got no nectar!

Bees need pollen and nectar - nectar for honey, pollen as a protein source to raise young.

https://carolinahoneybees.com/why-pollen-is-vital-for-honeybee-survival/

Stigura

Willfarman wrote: »

My grandparents generation and before were big believers of the benefits of a thing called Errbage in pasture. Some fields were noted for their curative effects and thriving stock due to the herbs and wildflowers.

Yep. It's a thing a blind man would notice; When I let the horses out, after a long winter, stuck in the stables, eating hay and meal? They're like kiddies in a sweet shop!

Off to the hedge they go. A bite of this. A nibble of that. They seem to know exactly what they're lacking and go, straight away, to find it. I love watching it All that grass under them. Yet, they go straight for the hedges and the 'weeds' beneath.

Odelay

Stigura wrote: »

Yep. It's a thing a blind man would notice; When I let the horses out, after a long winter, stuck in the stables, eating hay and meal? They're like kiddies in a sweet shop!

Off to the hedge they go. A bite of this. A nibble of that. They seem to know exactly what they're lacking and go, straight away, to find it. I love watching it All that grass under them. Yet, they go straight for the hedges and the 'weeds' beneath.

It’s like a big salad to them:)

Stigura

Odelay wrote: »

It’s like a big salad to them:)

Looking forward to watching it again, soon, too