# Vegetable Gardening with Bees?



## Zane (Mar 28, 2008)

*Bee gardening*

Wellllll I planted alot in my garden and my girls did a great job and I had no cross pollination that I know of. I sometimes get HOT bell pepper's when I plant jalepeno's and habanaro's but this my first year w/ the bee's I did fine.


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

you can't get cross pollination between different species so a watermelon won't taste like a cucumber
you can get some cross influence from different varieties of watermelon because they are the same species
don't worry about it, you're doing the right thing

Dave


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## Natalie (Jan 14, 2009)

Thats good to know, since my hives are literally going right in the fenced in garden area.
I had other bees coming in the yard and in the garden even before I decided to take up beekeeping and I never noticed any problems with vegetables.
Don't your own bees mostly fly off in some other direction and pollenate someone else's garden for the most part?


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*will my watermelons taste like cucumbers?*

Watermelons and cukes are in the same family, _Cucubitacea._
The x pollination has nothing to do with this years quality of the melons. But, it will if you save the seed and plant it the next year. You will get a standard Medalian assortment of the gamets. You know , its called a Chi square.
growing hot pepers next to lor fire pepers is in the same category as the cucurbits.
However, thers are some mild and some hot Jalepeano seed availabe.
BTY you should have straight cucumber instead of C shaped one because of pollination
Good Luck,
Ernie


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*Cucurbitaceae – the cucumber family*

By Dan Gill
LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

There’s much more to the cucumber family than cucumbers.

Cucurbitaceae – the cucumber family – provides a wide variety of vegetables popular in the home garden. 

Members of the family that can be planted now include summer squash, winter squash, mirlitons, pumpkins, gourds, cucuzzis, watermelons, cantaloupes, cushaws, luffa gourds and, of course, cucumbers.
Ernie


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

Don't your own bees mostly fly off in some other direction and pollenate someone else's garden for the most part?[/QUOTE]

They will take what's abundantly available. My hives are about 75 feet from my garden and the bees work the squashes, collards,oregano,thyme etc


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I didn't think cross pollination affected the flavor of the fruit, only the seeds if you're collecting them for next year.


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## Tia (Nov 19, 2003)

*That's what goes on here!*



berkshire bee said:


> Don't your own bees mostly fly off in some other direction and pollenate someone else's garden for the most part?


They will take what's abundantly available. My hives are about 75 feet from my garden and the bees work the squashes, collards,oregano,thyme etc[/QUOTE]

I initially got bees to pollinate my garden. They're located about 15' directly behind my garden and must fly directly over the garden when they leave the hive. But they just keep flying. . .right across the vegetable garden and the wildflower meadow in front of it, over the road and into the marsh! Must be some good stuff out there because I get the best honey. . .changes from year to year. Can't wait to see what color and how it's going to taste this year! Meanwhile, wasps are pollinating my garden!


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## BoBn (Jul 7, 2008)

HoneyBee28 said:


> I have a qusetion about vegetable gardening with a hive next to my garden. This will be my first year of gardening with a Bee hive right next to my garden, what I mean by right next to is within 100-150 feet of my garden. So my qusetion to yall is will I have lots of cross pollenation of my plants? Like will my watermelons taste like cucumbers?


This happens with corn. But corn is wind pollinated and the "fruit" is only .5 mm thick over the seed and the flavor of sweet corn is the green seed. So it could have some effect upon the flavor of the seeds (like KQ6AR said). 

BTW the most noticeable effect of having honeybees on fruit production that I have seen has been on my cucurbits (squash, melons, cukes and pumpkins). I have fruit trees and berries also, although the honeybees are also working these, there seem to be plenty of wild insects to do the pollination of the blueberries, raspberries, cherries, plums, quince, pears and apples.


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