Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => RAPID BEEYARD GROWTH => Topic started by: MrILoveTheAnts on June 26, 2007, 05:13:39 pm
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One of my dad's customers in NJ has a large garden. Actually it's more like a small business as he has a vegetable stand out front of his house. I'm told most of his yard is basically a miniature farm filled with all sorts of plants. I haven't seen it but some of the plants mentioned were Tomatoes, Zucchini, I believe some sort of poll bean, and so on. Many of it has already bloomed for the year but he wants a hive around his house to see if it helps out. I'm more than willing to loan him one of my smaller hives (which at times is my busiest) but given the plants I named will the Honey bees help him out?
I'd think bumble bees or some other bee would be more effective.
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the thing with bumble bees being superior i think is mostly about enclosed gardens. bees are reluctant to fly in closed spaces, that's why bumblebees are superior.
tomatoes, pumpkins...surelly he'll get some yield increase, without doubt.
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OK good, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dropping my hive off somewhere that they won't get much food. At the house here I've greatly expanded my garden with plants honey bees treasure.
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They wouldn't likely stick to just his garden anyway, with a 2-mile radius of forage area. If there isn't enough in the garden, they'll go farther afield.
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ha....his veggie increase doesn't mean that bees will get much food off of it. let's say..strawberrys, bees get much pollen on them, and the yield increases, but the bees would starve themselves to death on strawberrys.
but like Moonshae said, they fly further.
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Tomatoes and corn will not bennifit from bees, but the other stuff, all beans, peas,melons,squash, cukes, peppers,will love to have the bees. Also anything in the "greens" , turnips, collards, if they are let to bloom.
Corn and tomatoes get polanated from the wind.
doak
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Corn and tomatoes get polanated from the wind.
hummm, i've heard that tomatoes do need pollination, and the flower doesn't seem ummm like other wind-pollinized flowers.
yeah...corn does get self pollinated but for what it's worth..bees do help...at least a bit. i've seen them gathering pollen on it, and by gathering it i'm sure they help releasing it, so it does help
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Yes the bees gather pollen from corn. But the corn is pollenated from the pollen getting in the ear where the silk is. The bees have no reason to go there.
With tomatoes, it is pollenated within each individual bloom, all that has to be done is to shake the stem that has blooms on it.
No argument, just fact.
doak
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I have farmers in my area using bumblebees. The reason for that is two fold. One Bumblebees do not fly the extreme range that honeybees do. They pollinate plants that honeybees do not. While the tomato and certain other plants are self pollinating. The tomato plant seems to gain a small benefit from bumblebees. If you have acres of tomatoes even a small benefit can be good. Also if they are not flying to far they do not fly into the farm that uses tons of chemicals. Those chemicals tend to kill honeybees.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
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oh, i wasn't aware of the tomatoe thing. we learn something every day.
and yes, i know how corn gets pollinated, i just suggested that bees might help releasing more of the pollen from the...ummmyou know.
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If there is a pollen shortage the bees will work the corn pollen. Just read an article where a commercial beek sets hives that are lacking pollen near the corn.
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Hi, I'm new here, just had my bees for a few days...... but I think my area will be good food for the bees. I have large wildflower areas and perinnial beds. Also there are wild apple trees, my veggie garden, my pumpkin and gourd patch, neighbors have blue berries, there are numerous wild raspberry and blackberry bushes, plus corn fields galore, and a newly planted organic hay field in front of my house. It has peas in it !!!
I know it's too late this year, for some of these, but next year we should be going great guns !!
Melissa
;)
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Bumble bees have longer tonge than HB. My HB doesn´t want beans, they prefer the "meat" :-D
And solitary bees usually work flowers than bees don´t want.
In the slide show, a solitary bee harvesting pollen from the vicia faba, (that my bees don´t want -perhaps robbing nectar from the external side-), and a bumble bee, so powerful.
http://album.miarroba.com/merops_apiaster/16/slide/ (http://album.miarroba.com/merops_apiaster/16/slide/)