Sunday, June 20, 2021

Attracting Pollinators to Vegetables

The mock orange is blooming and nestled between its branches is a cherry tomato.  This is not as odd as it may seem as the mock orange attracts small pollinators, and these, in turn, pollinate the tomato. When the mock orange has finished blooming, I will cut it back and let the tomato get more light.

Using flowers to attract bees and wasps is a good way to get better fruiting on plants.


Here I left some wild daisies that are growing near the pepper tubs. The daisies almost always have some little bug feeding on them.  So far the peppers are setting fruit really well.  My next issue is keeping a little caterpillar from chewing holes in the peppers.  I'm thinking I will try to wrap the individual peppers in some light cloth.  I can't just cover the whole plant otherwise the pollinators won't be able to get at the blossoms.

Some other flowers that are good at attracting bees and wasps are hyssop, oregano, ageratum (somewhat toxic so I wouldn't plant it in with vegetables), echinacea, bee balm, campanula, evening primrose, phlox, and bachelor's buttons.

Enjoy your gardens.

 

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