What kind of vegetable plant blooms do bees like ?
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.
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.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2168.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/pollen-source
I have a bean patch about 40x80 and I got chased out and stung several times while trying to pick my beans.
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
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.
Quote from: AGM 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.
No peas but I would have meat in the freezer ;)
ditto the meat, that means meat and peas on the table next year.
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
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.
-Diggity
Quote from: diggity on August 12, 2009, 04:49:27 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
Asparagus seems to draw them when its in bloom
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!!
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.
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
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
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!
Quote from: Brian D. Bray on August 13, 2009, 02:35:12 AM
I got over 10 gallons of gooseberries
Music to my ears - this past spring I put in 5 gooseberries, so maybe next year...
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.