What to Use to Attract Bees to Pollinate a Vegetable Garden

Grow Wildflowers

• By allowing the growth of local wildflowers around your yard and garden, and even propagating them in your landscaping, you will attract bees that are then likely to visit your vegetable patch, as well. Local wildflowers, even those we think of as weeds, are attractive to bees. Dandelions are a good example. Wildflowers are adjusted to the climate and soil quality of their native land, and thrive with little or no additional watering or feeding. Bees are especially attracted by blue and yellow flowers, so do not be so quick to yank them up.

Nesting Sites

• Providing nesting sites is another step necessary in attracting bees to the garden. While honeybees live in social hives, the majority of bees are solitary, and each one needs a home. The type of home depends on the individual bee. Carpenter bees nest in holes they bore out of wood, be it a tree or the eve of your home. Miner and digger bees nest underground in homes they dig for themselves. Bumblebees find abandoned burrows and crawl inside to make a home. You can go to the trouble to build or create nesting areas, or simply leave natural areas available to bees. Leave a pile of branches, leaves and twigs undisturbed on the perimeter of your yard. Provide some bare dirt patches for bees to use. Leave that rotting tree stump where it is and it will likely host some bees. Forgo mulching, as this covers up soil that bees might nest in.

Planting

• You can also plant bee-attracting ornamentals, and plan for flowers that bloom in spring, summer and fall. Most flowers attract bees. Herbs are also attractive to bees. What you plant depends entirely on your area of the country, but avoid hybrid or tropical plants, as many times they are bred for their beauty and not their high-quality nectar. Bees do not bother with a plant unless it produces good nectar.

Bee Safety

• While most bees do possess painful stings, they rarely use them on people. A bee usually must feel trapped or threatened in order to attack a person. Watch for bees in the garden, and move gently around them, lightly shooing them away if they are in your way. Solitary bees, especially, have little or no aggressive tendencies, as they are more interested in self-preservation when they have no hive to back them up. Only female honeybees have stingers, the male drones are unable to sting. Bees provide far more good to your garden than harm unless you are in the minority of people who suffer from bee allergies; if this is the case, be sure to take extra precautions when working around bees.