The fruit or NO FRUIT? of our labor!
Garden Week Twenty 8/21/2018
The fruit or NO FRUIT? of our labor!
Just a few of the bees I have seen in my own garden - check out more awesome bee photos on Flickr - USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab
As you can imagine, I enjoy reading and sharing stories of the garden. Recently, I have seen many posts on local FB groups, asking why plants are not producing? Common troubles in the garden include pests and diseases, but why would a healthy plant not be productive? Or simply, pollination.
Without going into a biology lesson, vegetables are pollinated by means of self or cross pollination.
Self-pollination: plants which produce flowers containing both male and female organs. These plants can be pollinated within the same flower or by the same plant.
*includes: lima, pole and bush beans, peas, tomatoes, lettuce and endive, etc.
Cross-pollination: plants which produce either male of female flowers, in which pollen from the male flower must be transferred to the female flower by either insect, wind or other means.
*wind pollination: spinach, chard, beets, and corn.
*Insect-pollination: Most plants: from melon, gourds, cucumbers, eggplants to kales, cabbages, kohlrabi, to peppers, herbs, radish, turnips and many more.
But what to do in a greenhouse or where pollinators are lacking? In a small garden, manual pollination methods are cheap and easy to do.
For those plants which are self-pollinators:
Gentle tapping or rustling of the plant can be enough to stimulate pollination.
A fan set to oscillate can replicate the wind and again stimulate pollination.
Using a paintbrush or Q-tip can move pollen around.
Tuning forks struck to sing, will cause a vibration similar to that of the bumble bee, which the bumble uses to coax the pollen free from many plants.
Moths can help in pollination too!
- An electric toothbrush has been suggested to both replicate the bumble bee and manually move the pollen.
For those plants which are cross-pollinators:
Using a paintbrush or Q-tip can move pollen around.
Take a male flower, remove the petals, while holding the base of the flower or stem, place the male stamen or antler into the female flower. Move the stamen or antler around the pistil to cover with pollen.
But what if you have a ton of plants, or don’t have the time to hand pollinate? As we have discussed in a previous article, you can try to attract native bees to your garden. But that takes time and the season is running short. Bumblebees!
Unlike honey bees, bumble bees do not require a lot of work. They are solitary and happy to put keep their noses in the flowers, making them a great benefit to a greenhouse, or area lacking pollinators. Additionally, bumble bees are much cheaper and less maintenance than the lovely honey bee. However, don’t forget, bumble bees do not make honey.
A word of caution. If your outdoor garden is lacking in pollinators, you may have a bigger problem with chemicals or pests or disease. Before investing in such things as bees or beneficial bugs, you should look for your local cause of pollinator depopulation. I say this because, yesterday I saw at least 6 different kinds of bees in my garden. This means the bees are in the area. If you no find cause for the lack of pollinators, it is advisable to encourage local pollinators to move in as they are designed to live here in our areas. Do not introduce foreign bugs to the area as they may become invasive, causing you and your neighbors unexpected problems.
Hoping everyone has a bountiful harvest!
