Zuccini Plants are not growing Zuccinis

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Time to get a hive of honey bees!

 

[ShannonR]

Carpenter bees are pollinating for me this year. They live in my neighbor's fence boards.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Time to get a hive of honey bees!

I would love too! But i also have a pesky 40 hour per week job - theoretically 40 hours…
One of my uncles was a bee-keeper and i will never forget all the different kinds of honey he had, best was the pine honey: Black like tar and itching in the throat, but tasty, tasty, tasty!

 

[Serin]

Neonico-what? - I have 17 ducks! No need for any pesticides. Last year we had ticks in the grass, this year they're gone. But we have a lot of wild bees around here. Unfortunately also carpenter-bees. Those pesky hole drillers…

It's good you have bees there. Neonicitinoids are used by commercial growers, even those that sell garden flowers, and are a major cause of bee declines.

 

[TooCheep]

I would love too! But i also have a pesky 40 hour per week job - theoretically 40 hours…

That's why I push mason and leaf-cutter bees for gardeners. You don't get the honey, but you get the pollination benefits with far less maintenance, expense and time-investment.

 

[so lucky]

I have had very few honey bees this year, as well. And we have white clover in the lawn. Just very few bees.
I wanted to remind you all, too, that the night time temperature makes a difference with whether pollination takes place. Too hot at night, no tomatoes setting. I think it makes a difference with cukes, as well. Tomatoes and cukes are both self pollinating, if I remember correctly, so all you would need to do is shake the plants occasionally, if there is no wind at all.
I was going to mention the male/female squash blossoms, but I'm glad to see that is now well known.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

That's why I push mason and leaf-cutter bees for gardeners. You don't get the honey, but you get the pollination benefits with far less maintenance, expense and time-investment.

Tell us more please! - The only problem i have with those carpenter-bees [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee] is that most of my outside structures are made out of pressure-treated wood and they are drilling holes ½" in diameter into that. Too many of those holes and everything will fall apart.

 

[ShannonR]

I have had very few honey bees this year, as well. And we have white clover in the lawn. Just very few bees.
I wanted to remind you all, too, that the night time temperature makes a difference with whether pollination takes place. Too hot at night, no tomatoes setting. I think it makes a difference with cukes, as well. Tomatoes and cukes are both self pollinating, if I remember correctly, so all you would need to do is shake the plants occasionally, if there is no wind at all.
I was going to mention the male/female squash blossoms, but I'm glad to see that is now well known.

Tomatoes should be self pollinating. I make a habit of hand pollinating mine, just in case though. Cucumbers, like the rest of the curcubit family, have separate male and female flowers. My cukes are finally beginning to take off and produce without my help (after leaving town for 2 days and not watering them). They seem to really thrive on neglect, for whatever reason.

 

[TooCheep]

Tell us more please! - The only problem i have with those carpenter-bees [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee] is that most of my outside structures are made out of pressure-treated wood and they are drilling holes ½" in diameter into that. Too many of those holes and everything will fall apart.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of carpenter bees either. They are perfectly fine in the woods, but can do significant damage to structures and then woodpeckers are attracted to do further damage.

Honey bees live in colonies. Most other bee types (there are 100s) are solitary. Both mason and leaf-cutter bees need pre-existing holes to lay their eggs in. The next generation emerges and helps fertilize local flowers at different times in the spring/summer, so it is best to have both. They are both smaller than bumble or honey bees and are very peaceful. You pretty much have to crush them to get them to sting

Masons create chambers in the hole with mud to separate the eggs and leaf-cutters create chambers with small leaf pieces. If you provide holes of various sizes, they will select one that fits their needs. Masons need access to mud in the spring. I have a plastic 1gal tub where I just keep some soaking-wet dirt near the nest.

You can drill a bunch of holes in wood to create a home or you can buy them pre-made. Commercial-made ones often only have a single size hole which I don't believe is flexible enough. One alternate home design uses sections of bamboo which naturally come in different sizes.

You can actually buy mason/leaf-cutter bee cocoons, but I prefer to attract locals and give them a good home. You can learn a lot more online. I like Beediverse as a resource. They have cocoons, nest houses and other supplies. I've purchased some supplies there, but have used them more for their excellent educational materials and monthly newsletter.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Plant butterfly-loving gardens! My flower + vegetable garden simply hums with insect activity.

Possibly get the soil tested? Maybe someone here knows if the duckwater put too much nitrogen in the soil. Some plants - tomatoes, I know - need less nitrogen or they produce too many leaves and not enough fruit.

Good luck!