View Single Post
Old December 29, 2013   #18
bower
Tomatovillian™
 
bower's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 6,794
Default

There's quite a buzz about using bumblebees as pollinators for greenhouse tomatoes - the trick is though that nectar (or substitute) has to be provided because tomatoes have none, and the bumblebees need both. Typical design has a sugar syrup provided in the artificlal bbee-nest.

I found this document by British beekeepers that lists plants rich in pollen, nectar, or both. I'd say it would be handy to have a nectar-rich (not pollen) plant handy to the tomato crop (pansies, for example), so the bumblebees have a source of energy to gather your tomato pollen without going further afield.

http://www.bbka.org.uk/files/library...1310045511.pdf
bower is offline   Reply With Quote