A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.
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July 14, 2013 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: northern new jersey
Posts: 683
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no bees for pollination?
I have flowers but few fruit..is this due to less honey bees ? My plants are growing tall and vinery compared to my upstate neighbors mato plants that have more fruit thicker and not as viney.. (his are stockier looking plants) he also is not seeing bees. I will still get tomatoes but disappointed with comparing them to my friends plants once again.
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john |
July 14, 2013 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Virginia Beach
Posts: 2,648
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Tomatoes don't depend on bees for pollination. They are self pollinating with both male and female parts within each flower. Hopefully the bees are hanging out with the cucumbers and squash.
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Michele |
July 14, 2013 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: northern new jersey
Posts: 683
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Okay here with the cucumbers..going to make a cucumbers salad tonight from my garden.. wish my tomatoes would start ripening. .I may start looking for fresh jersey stand tomatoes until mine are ready to pick. Hope too for the bees
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john |
July 14, 2013 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Virginia Beach
Posts: 2,648
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I know what you mean about the honey bee population. I've seen them more the last two summers but for a few years there I hardly saw any. Most of the bees in my garden are actually bumble bees.
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Michele |
July 14, 2013 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Pilot Hill, Ca.
Posts: 307
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Bees concentrate mostly on one or two plant varieties at a time. There are always scouts looking for nectar flows so they can report back to the collective but once the report is in, that's where the bees go. It's not uncommon to see a lack of bees, they're just somewhere else.
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-Dennis Audios, Tomatoville. Posted my final post and time to move on. |
July 14, 2013 | #6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Quote:
That is so true. Many a time I wont see one bee on squash or cucumber only to see millions on the crape myrtle 50 yards away. Then they hit my rosemary and then on to something else. Worth |
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July 14, 2013 | #7 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Finland, EU
Posts: 2,550
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Quote:
It's even more effective than bees, and definitely more productive than just shaking the plant. There was a video about it somewhere in T'Ville, but just google it, or search for it in YouTube. Just place an electric brush gently on the stem of an open flower, and hold it there for ten seconds. You can literally see the cloud of pollen bursting out. I'm getting huge green fruits after just ten days, after very very small fruits that are the result of shaking. This gardening stuff sure is full of surprises ... Last edited by NarnianGarden; July 14, 2013 at 04:05 PM. |
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July 14, 2013 | #8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: northern new jersey
Posts: 683
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Quote:
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john |
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July 15, 2013 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mid-Ohio
Posts: 848
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Don't look for honey bees, they rarely touch tomatoes. Little tiny halactid bees, very small and very fast, will leave little brown marks on the ends of the anther cones where they have bitten them to get the pollen. Around here the bees are green, bronze and black - three types. They would probably look like flying ants to most people
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July 15, 2013 | #10 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: kansas
Posts: 158
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Quote:
I believe it is due to planting Yellow Squash the lastb two years. my wife was just complaining this morning about having to many bees in the squash plants, she was afraid to stick her hand in to harvest the fruit. Also haven't had any squash bore problem with killing the plants like I did before when I planted green Zucchinni. |
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