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Author Topic: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?  (Read 4639 times)

Offline Joelel

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What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« on: August 10, 2009, 02:30:21 pm »
What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Last Edit: August 10, 2009, 05:32:36 pm by Joelel »
Acts2:37: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40: And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation

Offline Bee Happy

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2009, 12:17:20 am »
they seemed to like my squash, zucchini, and they loved the cucumber - there's probably a pile of stuff in addition to that. they really worked my corn plants, but it was just for the pollen -no nectar. My garden wasn't really enough to keep them going anyway; I'm sure they have plenty of wild forage and other gardens to go to anyway.
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Offline luvin honey

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2009, 01:06:38 am »
Ditto :) Also my broccoli and pak choy that have flowered. Oddly enough, I almost never see any honeybees on the 1000s of sunflowers in my gardens.
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
---Emily Dickinson


Offline podius

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2009, 09:02:32 am »
I have a bean patch about 40x80 and I got chased out and stung several times while trying to pick my beans.
John VT
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Offline BruinnieBear

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2009, 10:56:32 am »
Ever since I've put in bees my berry bushes are bumper!  Here's another link I've found useful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_honey_plants

BB
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Offline AGM

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2009, 12:36:49 pm »
I had bees all over my purple hull pea patch. Then I had deer all over my purple hull pea patch. No peas for me this year.

Offline sc-bee

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2009, 12:53:50 pm »
I had bees all over my purple hull pea patch. Then I had deer all over my purple hull pea patch. No peas for me this year.

No peas but I would have meat in the freezer ;)
John 3:16

Offline Bee Happy

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2009, 03:52:22 pm »
ditto the meat, that means meat and peas on the table next year.
be happy and make others happy.

Offline charlotte

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2009, 06:42:03 pm »
I had about a half row of radishes we never ate bloom.  The bees were ALL over it.  And it bloomed for almost a month!!  Not that you plant radishes, just to let them go to seed, but if I could get ahold of a bunch of seeds cheap I would consider putting in a little patch, just for that purpose.  Always nice to see the bees working in your yard  :-D
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Offline diggity

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2009, 04:49:27 pm »
They seem to love any of the cole crops that you let go to flower (broccoli, cauliflower, mustard, anything in that family).  They also love Borage.  LOVE it!  I started planting Borage in my potager style vegetable garden a few years ago.  It's easy to grow (sometimes too easy, as it self-seeds prodigiously), it's really pretty, has companion effects for other plants, and the young leaves are edible or can be made into tea.  In late summer, when the plants are each 2-3' high and just as wide, they are COVERED with light blue flowers that the bees love.  They also seem to love mint and oregano flowers too.

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Offline BruinnieBear

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2009, 08:54:47 pm »

They also love Borage.  LOVE it!  I started planting Borage in my potager style vegetable garden a few years ago.  It's easy to grow (sometimes too easy, as it self-seeds prodigiously), it's really pretty, has companion effects for other plants, and the young leaves are edible or can be made into tea.  In late summer, when the plants are each 2-3' high and just as wide, they are COVERED with light blue flowers that the bees love.

-Diggity

I find myself growing a lot more herbs these days, since I put in the bee-critters.  After a quick search, I found that borage is an annual.  The search literature said that It flowers profuously during the entire summer.  It is also said to improve the taste of tomatoes planted near it.  That would be a perfect fit for my salsa garden.

Diggity, it appears you have experience.  You are at a similar latitude as me.  Do you start your plants indoors, or just sow the seed?  And do you know if the companion effect is from the leaves, or the flowering phase?

Better tomatoes ... Bees love it ... WIN/WIN!

Thanks for any help!

BB
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Offline buzzbee

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2009, 09:53:57 pm »
Asparagus seems to draw them when its in bloom

Offline luvin honey

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2009, 01:02:35 am »
I forgot one :) My raspberries are absolutely coated in honey and bumble bees right now. I should have a bumper late summer crop!

So, not only do I talk to the girls in their hives (wow! way to go, queenie. nice laying pattern) but also out in the gardens (yikes! thanks for the awesome berry pollination and these amazing cukes) and the woods (look at these incredibly enormous, well-pollinated berries! thank you, bees!) Am I the only nut doing this?

Note to self: Buy borage seed for next year!!
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
---Emily Dickinson

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2009, 02:35:12 am »
I got over 10 gallons of gooseberries off of 5 plants and over 3 gallons of currents off of 2 plants.  Then the Strawberries and Raspberries were going gang busters until the week of 98 - 101 temps and both had the berries roast on the vine.   My apple trees are loaded as is my pear tree.  When in bloom the bees are all over most of my garden plants.
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Offline diggity

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #15 on: August 13, 2009, 11:33:41 am »
BB, borage is best direct-sown.  It doesn't seem to transplant well.  It will survive transplanting, but will grow more slowly than if you just direct seed it.  It's pretty easy to spot the young seedlings in the garden - they have a pale bluish-green color and are slightly fuzzy - so you probably won't accidentally weed them (I say this because I know how tricky it can be direct sowing something you've never planted before... "is that a weed or the new thing I planted?"  Been there, done that!)    ;)

To be honest, I'm not sure how it improves the flavor of tomatoes.  I started planting it about 5 years ago, before I started beekeeping, as a way to draw beneficial insects into the garden.  Also, it's traditional in French potager gardens, which is the type of garden I have (sort of).

-Diggity
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Offline BruinnieBear

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2009, 04:05:32 am »
Diggity,

Thanx for the informative reply!  As yourself, I have more experience growing things that are less mobile than the bees.  I'll make sure I archive your post to help with identification next year.  I must say I prefer doing transplants, but I will defer to your reccomendations.

Potager.  Such an interesting word, I had to look it up!  I'm not sure my growing has the aesthetic appeal yours does, but as long as the tomatoes are sweet, and I can hold down the ground blight, I'm happy.  This new escapade into herbal gardening may or may not prove to be good idea.  I just hope the darn bees appreciate the effort. :roll:

Thanx again,

BB
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Offline JWPick

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #17 on: September 05, 2009, 03:15:25 pm »
Hi all! Try looking up "The Melissa Garden" on-line (unable to post links right now).  It has lots of info on ALL plants including the garden. It also shows the possible amounts of nectar and pollen per acre of "the list of honeybee plants". Good luck!

Offline beecanbee

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #18 on: September 05, 2009, 05:41:47 pm »
I got over 10 gallons of gooseberries

Music to my ears - this past spring I put in 5 gooseberries, so maybe next year...
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Offline JWPick

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Re: What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
« Reply #19 on: September 07, 2009, 09:16:45 pm »
You might also try going to HoneyBeeNet...it's a sight set up with NASA...click on Honeey Bees, then click on Honey Bee Forage, then click on Bee Forage Regions map...then all you have to do is click on your Region and it will give you a list of forage species (including vegetables) within that Region. It even shows the "Begin bloom month" and "End bloom month for each species of plant. It's quite intriguing.