As if having 20 beehives at a cost of $163.75 each wasn't enough! ( $3,275 total) This year we are having a first! Artificial pollination by Quad Duster! ( if you have read this blog over the past couple of years you may recall hand held sprayers and dust busters and the like but this is the best so far ) Note all the female flowers open in the top photo.
See the pollen blowing in the air.( looks like dust )
This is Joanne on the beast. She was such a cool, clever girl. Wow! She is one of 3 female and of course lots of males doing this particular job at the moment. One you have to be smart, able to ride a quad bike well, be strong, methodical, partctical, drive a car with a trailer, back a trailer, secure a bike on a trailer after riding it up onto a trailer etc etc. I am in awe. I love it when someone proves girls can do almost anything!
A side view of the Quad duster, with it's trailer just in view.
Front view. These machines can do this job so accurately. Using our orchard GPS map, a computer on the bike; a GPS reader on the bike , and regulated speed the pollen is applied evenly over the whole orchard. She arrived with 5 seperate measured jars of male pollen for our 5 blocks. ( scans the bar code as they are used )
They are then poured carefully into the spreader.
Enough excitement for one day; I better get cautiously back to the orchard and to the job I am doing while being very careful to keep my mouth shut as I work amongst the bees. We are friends but I respect them!
See the pollen blowing in the air.( looks like dust )
This is Joanne on the beast. She was such a cool, clever girl. Wow! She is one of 3 female and of course lots of males doing this particular job at the moment. One you have to be smart, able to ride a quad bike well, be strong, methodical, partctical, drive a car with a trailer, back a trailer, secure a bike on a trailer after riding it up onto a trailer etc etc. I am in awe. I love it when someone proves girls can do almost anything!
A side view of the Quad duster, with it's trailer just in view.
Front view. These machines can do this job so accurately. Using our orchard GPS map, a computer on the bike; a GPS reader on the bike , and regulated speed the pollen is applied evenly over the whole orchard. She arrived with 5 seperate measured jars of male pollen for our 5 blocks. ( scans the bar code as they are used )
They are then poured carefully into the spreader.
Enough excitement for one day; I better get cautiously back to the orchard and to the job I am doing while being very careful to keep my mouth shut as I work amongst the bees. We are friends but I respect them!
Fascinating stuff, I wish we'd had time to get up North.
ReplyDeleteI spent the weekend travelling home.
Wow, technology can do anything at all! As can the girls!
ReplyDeletewow thats incredible. Do sell your own honey Alison????? xxxx
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing! Guess they work on these sorts of things after the scare of bees disappearing.
ReplyDeleteKeep up our education, love reading all this.
Is it a sneeze-worthy activity?
ReplyDeleteWow, always something new here.
ReplyDelete