Bees.....I need them.....but not always.

I need them and I don't. The vegetable crops at Earthworks count on the bees for pollination. As the bee moves pollen from flower to flower, they become pollinated. Once the flower is pollinated, the flower begins to decline as the fruit forms behind it, either a tomato, cucumber or melon etc. These 'fruits,' yes - cucumbers, pumpkins etc are botanically speaking 'fruits' of the plant. They are technically the enlarged ovary of the plant. In cool, cloudy weather, bees are not as active and less flowers may get pollinated. Gardeners often wonder if plants 'cross' in the garden, and the answer is no. You may occasionally get an oddball plant however. In a controlled situation, hybridizers can manipulate pollen/fertilization. That is how hybrids are created. The flowers I grow for cut bouquets react the same as the flowers of vegetable crops. As soon as the bees visit and pollinate them, they decline. So because of an abundance of bees in the field, my window of time to pick my flowers is smaller. Need them for veggies, not for cut flowers. Bees are very important to our food supply. About 70% of all our field crops are bee pollinated.