My third system

[GpsFrontier]

All your plants are looking great. And that water melon (I think you said) reminds me of the cantaloupes I grew last year. I also grew snow peas like that too last year, I tended to just pluck them and eat them straight off the plant. I'm allergic to bees too! Many years ago I used to carry the prescription shot, so I could inject myself right away if I got stung. But I don't have one anymore. Luckily it has been years since I have been stung by anything (over a decade). The last time I was riding my motorcycle, and a wasp hit me in the leg. I went straight home (5 min away), pulled out the stinger. Tried sucking as much venom out as I could with a camping snake bite kit. Then made a patch out out of baking soda and put it over the spot, then warped it to my leg. Everything was going well until the next day when I went to work, and had to leave a few hours early to go to a walk in doctors office to get the shot.

The doc told me where I went wrong was going to work, and walking around on the leg all day. I should have kept off of it, changing the backing soda patch. Kept the leg up, and with ice on it. Though I know everybody's allergic levels to stings are different, and change over time. They don't really scare me anymore, I know a few things to do to self medicate if stung. I don't mind being around bees too much, I'm just careful not to provoke them. I just let them do their thing, and if there's more than a few in my general area, I just calmly step back out of the way. If I needed to get something done and there were too many bees in the area, I would smoke them out of the area, similar to the way bee keepers do (but have never had to yet).

Now I live in the land of the killer bees (Arizona). Even though I'm always on the lookout for bee swarms and aggressive bees, I'm most concerned with scorpions. We have the Bark scorpion here, and I haven't been stung by one. But I know I'm allergic to bees, so I don't know what a bark scorpion sting will do to me. We get the house sprayed for pests at least twice a year, and I have a pump sprayer with pesticide (that works for scorpions too) that I periodically spray around. I have caught about 6-7 scorpions in the house in the last about 5 years. Their easy to catch when you see them, I just place a glass jar over them, slide a piece of cardboard underneath, then flip it over. They cant climb glass. But when I start seeing crickets inside, I know scorpions aren't far behind, and it's time to get the place sprayed.

[jamromhem]

I am the same way with bees.. Pretty much if it flies and stings I have an alergy to it in some degree... I usually am ok with not going to the doctor's, unless they get me in the head, and that is where they like to get me the most.. Yellow jackets on the other hand, while I don't swell seem to put my body into shock.. I didnt enjoy learning that one.

I tend to just respect their space as well. Though I think it is funny how many gardeners are actually allergic to their garden "friends". My sister is planning to start her own bee hive in Louisiana.. I think I will be avoiding visiting as much lol. Though they are interested in hydroponics after I get my systems down to a science. They have about 6 households of family in the area and all would benifit from a good supply of produce year round.

[GpsFrontier]

Ya, it sure is funny. I'm working on having a commercial farm for growing produce for our local community. But because of our extreme weather, it will be necessary to grow inside a climate controlled greenhouses most of the year. Thus I will need to bring in pollinating insects (bees, bumble bees, and/or fly's). Here I am allergic, but considering raising my own bumble bees. Using bumble bees because their more docile, and have a easier going temperament than bees. Also the killer bees can infiltrate a bee hive, and turn it into a killer bee hive. But bumble bees don't live nearly as long as bees do from what I've read, basically just weeks. Having them shipped in every 3 weeks to a month would be very expensive. That's why I'm considering raising what I need myself. If that isn't ironic...

[jamromhem]

it makes complete sense to me lol. the need to get what you need done is more important lol.. And worst case.. the bees are sensitive to temperatures and will return to their hive in certain temperature/humidity conditions. They don't waist their energy if they think the conditions are less than favorable to get what they want from the plants as well... You might be able to use that to your advantage and change the temp/humidity to make them return to their hive when you need to run maintenance to minimize risk as well.

I have also considered getting bees myself when I get out of the apartments, and get myself some land. I havent made a final decision yet, but I think I might. I am considering building indoor grow systems as well, and would be in a similar situation. I am in Florida and would prefer to still be growing and not lose all my maters if a hurricane comes through lol... I have a ton of ideas on how I might set up the growing areas. My ideas are very contained and controlled.... More so than many like to be lol... I guess I am just more into the over doing it than doing what is needed.

[fintuckyfarms]

I have the shot cuz I stop breathing....

If you mix in meat tenderizer in with the baking soda into a really wet paste it helps pull the toxin out the injection site then add ice right way it will slow any reaction except for the whole breathing stoppage thing.

It is a baby cantalope and it's about 4 inches long now. AND as it happens I'm alergic to them too, but my son loves them.

[jamromhem]

LOL your just all about the things that hate you lol.. I also keep drawing salve and tobacco on hand for such occasions as well. The drawing salve is a black tar-like substance. tobacco helps when applied moist to the location of the sting. Similarly just drawing out the toxin, but the chemicals in it also help slow the bloodflow of the area as well (constricting arteries as tobacco does so well)

I think my worst reaction is to yellow jackets.. I get some crazy pain throughout my whole body (I have had kidney stones and think the sting is worse) and then black out. It is probably a very interesting alergy if nothing else lol.. My nervous system doesnt like their toxin at all.

[GpsFrontier]

Your reactions are worse than mine fintuckyfarms, I have never stopped breathing before, or even had breathing problems from it I that remember. My skin quickly swells up, and turns leather hard. My whole limb/s will swell up to twice their normal size. But I am concerned that if I get stung in the neck or head, my throat could swell up and choke me to death, because I swell up so bad. But I know the severity of reaction changes over time, and with how often your stung. I haven't been stung in about 20 years, so it's hard to say how my body will react now.

Ya I used the baking soda as a paste over the sting, but I never knew meat tenderizer will help draw out the poison too. I had a friend many years back who smoked that was allergic too, and he told me about using tobacco in a paste as well. But I don't smoke so I don't usually have any cigarettes handy. But If I'm ever away from the house and get stung, I'm sure there is someone near by that does smoke. Or at least a store I can buy a pack of cigarettes from. I always take a first aid kit with that stuff with me when I go camping.

One time I was camping at J-tree national park (we go there a lot), and we climbed to the top of a rock formation in our campground. We were climbing down and went around a corner. Right in front of me, 10-20 feet away was a large swarming bee hive (not killer bees or they would have attacked). It was right in the middle of the only path down on that side of the rock formation. The worst part was I had to go to the bathroom (that's why we were climbing down), and I could see the port-a-potty about 100 feet or so away. But we had to slowly back out and go all the way around the rock formation. There would have been no way through without being stung hundreds of times (just no other option).

P.S.
Now that you mention it jamromhem, I have some of that drawing save around here somewhere. I forget what I bought it for, but I remember using that black tar looking stuff. It kind of stinks too. I hadn't thought about that as an option before, but I have some somewhere.