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I have a few scarlet runner beans and some red kidney beans that are flowering well but for every 10 scarlet runner flowers I have one bean coming and every 5 kidney bean flowers I have 1 bean coming. I never see bees on them and the bumble bees that love my raspberries are nowhere to be seen should I be hand pollinating them?

Welcome to the forum.

Edmonton Alberta Canada

If Yes, I would say it's not weather related. You temps look just like ours. Wonder why no bees. Your garden should be buzing with life. Are you growing Organically or Traditional


I've picked about 8 lbs of Scarlet Emporer runner beans over this week.

[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC02449.jpg[/img]

Eric

Welcome to the Helpful Gardener!

You don't have to worry about pollinating them as beans produce self-pollinating flowers. I think you just need to give the plants more time.

However, you could try "jiggling" the clusters every now and then to help ensure better pollination, but I've found that my beans are prolific just left on their own.

yes Edmonton Alberta Canada. I don't know whats with the bees its like all they want is the raspberrys. my yard is mostly organic but being so small thats vary easy.

garden5 wrote:Welcome to the Helpful Gardener!

You don't have to worry about pollinating them as beans produce self-pollinating flowers. I think you just need to give the plants more time.

However, you could try "jiggling" the clusters every now and then to help ensure better pollination, but I've found that my beans are prolific just left on their own.

I went at them with a Q tip we will have to see if it helps. as for more time, I don't know, each cluster has a bunch of flowers yet to open then a bunch that are open and tips where past flowers were with maybe one of the tips having a pod growing on it


thanks for the help

Well, I just read on another forum, you should try sugar water. 1tsp to .5 liter of water. Put it in a trigger bottle and spray the flowers. This will supposedly attract bees. Never tried this. I'm thinking it may attract ants also.

Eric

DoubleDogFarm wrote:Well, I just read on another forum, you should try sugar water. 1tsp to .5 liter of water. Put it in a trigger bottle and spray the flowers. This will supposedly attract bees. Never tried this. I'm thinking it may attract ants also.

Eric

I think you're on to something with the ants. I had a sugar-water solution in the humming bird feeder and man, did the ants find whatever way they could to get to it.

However, if you're just spraying them, perhaps it will evaporate and not attract the ants, but I would think that there would still be some sugar residue left.