Vegetable gardens with pollinator-friendly flowers tend to see higher crop yields. Pollinators such as bees, flies, birds and other creatures help spread pollen from one flower to the next in order to form seeds more quickly.
Bumblebees can be particularly effective at pollinating tomatoes, eggplants and other nightshades using vibration to release tightly bound pollen into the atmosphere. Plant a mix of perennials, annuals and wildflowers specifically tailored for this beneficial pollinator.
1. Plant the Right Flowers
Flowers may seem out of place in vegetable gardens, but adding some blooms among and around your vegetables is an effective way to attract pollinators – beneficial insects that increase pollination rates in your veggie patch and ultimately help produce more food from it. Don’t be intimidated to incorporate flowers into this year’s veggie patch design!
To successfully draw in pollinators, it’s essential that you select flowers with nectar suitable for their specific species of pollinator. Bees prefer white, blue, purple and yellow flowers while hummingbirds enjoy colorful blossoms with long tubular petals; similarly butterflies and beetles are drawn to scent-emitting herbs like thyme or basil that provide soothing fragrances.
Perennial flowers such as buddleia, witch hazel and cleome provide pollinators with shelter and nectar. Marigolds and calendula are easy to grow annuals that will quickly attract bees; while fragrant herb flowers such as chives, thyme, oregano rosemary and lavender make great borders around your veggies.
For maximum yield, add perennial plants that bloom, set seed, and bloom within one season – such as dandelion, goldenrod, or yarrow. All three are frost-hardy as well as self-seeding; so they will continue coming up year after year!
Flowers not only attract pollinators, but they can also attract predatory insects like hoverflies, lacewings and ladybugs that help control problem insects in your veggie garden. Some flowers serve as effective “trap plants” to catch Japanese beetles and squash vine borer – drawing them away from where you’re growing vegetables so they can be controlled without chemical pesticides.
If you’re growing vegetables in containers, try planting some sedums or ivy along the sides and adding cut flowers as food sources for pollinators bees while they tend to your veggies. Or create a pollinator garden bed near your veggie plot by filling it with perennials like Heuchera and Spiraea; herb plants like Pulmonaria Yarrow Hardy Geraniums as well as annuals like Foxgloves Zinnias Sunflowers to attract them and provide them a source of pollinators food while they tend to them – all necessary while they help support pollinators bees!
2. Plant Companion Plants
Many gardeners know that certain combinations of plants can enhance the growth and flavor of vegetable crops. Some plants improve soil conditions for other vegetables while others offer natural pest control or provide nourishment or shade. Companion planting takes into account that each species of plant requires individual care requirements that work best when planted with similar species nearby.
Some vegetables require pollination in order to produce fruit, while even those that don’t often benefit from having lots of pollinators nearby. To attract bees and other pollinators to your vegetable garden, plant flowering herbs. Chives, dill, parsley and sage flowers and leaves are especially favored by pollinators; their flowers also act as sources of nectar! These flowers also help deter common vegetable pests like cabbage loopers, squash bugs and aphids!
Partner planting relies on surrounding nitrogen-requiring vegetables with legumes that fix nitrogen in the soil – such as peas or beans – which act as nitrogen fixers to form an organic relationship that assists corn and other nitrogen-needing vegetables to flourish in an unspoilt ecosystem.
Legumes make excellent natural weed-blockers and cover crops; when planted between rows of other vegetables for their nutritional value and to prevent erosion. Some experienced gardeners swear that using legumes as cover crops actually enhances the flavor of those same veggies!
One of the best-known companion planting practices involves Native American Three Sisters plantings of corn, beans and squash together. Corn stalks provide support for beans while large squash leaves protect sweet corn against vine borer insects that damage it. In turn, beans provide natural support as natural trellises for sweet corn while both serve as pollinators of each other.
Most vegetable gardens can benefit from pairing certain crops together through companion planting. One simple strategy for doing this is grouping vegetables that share similar care needs together – for instance tomatoes and basil should be planted together since their light and watering requirements overlap. Other groups often included beets and onions, peppers and eggplants or carrots/radishes/beans etc.
3. Build a Bee Hotel
Pollinators visit flowering plants for nectar and pollen. Songbirds and butterflies are among the many visitors that frequent vegetable gardens; other species may visit too. To attract pollinators to your vegetable garden, place a bird bath near it in a shaded spot and fill it with clean water regularly – this ensures birds can drink without soiling their feathers!
Bee hotels are another effective way of increasing pollination. Similar to bird houses, bee hotels attract native solitary bee species rather than honey bees as pollinators; these bees tend to be much docile and three times more effective pollinators. You can easily create one yourself using untreated wood blocks with holes drilled into them or bamboo canes secured to a container.
Bee hotels should be constructed of untreated wood that’s free from stain or sealer, although old pressure-treated lumber may work just as well. Some people also paint their hotels yellow, blue or white to make them easier for bees to find; although color may not be necessary – bees will search out nests among twigs and logs without flashy hues!
Drilled blocks and grooved boards can be filled with nesting materials to appeal to different bee species, with red mason bees preferring large holes while smaller scissor bees favor narrower openings (Geslin et al. 2020). Some bee hotels come equipped with multiple cubbies to accommodate each material type.
Avoid placing plastic, paper and glass tubes into your bee hotel as these will attract parasites and mold growth. Also avoid nesting bundles composed of drinking straws or paper party favors as these are too large and are susceptible to parasitism; use these items instead as lining materials on grooved boards (rather than nests) until spring arrives – be sure to store and protect your bee hotel over winter, then open and harvest cocoons as soon as you can!
4. Keep It Clean
As the growing season winds down, gardeners should prepare their vegetable gardens for winter by clearing away pests and diseases while building soil health and fertility for next year’s plantings. It also gives gardeners an opportunity to provide pollinators protection as they leave on long journeys.
As you clean out your vegetable garden, keep in mind that weeds may serve as pollinator food sources. Consider keeping flowers around the garden patch to attract even more pollinators while deterring weeds that compete for water, sunlight, and nutrients with vegetables.
As part of an effective vegetable garden care routine, it’s also crucial that we inspect it regularly for signs of illness or diseases that threaten its wellbeing. Removing diseased leaves and stems helps limit disease transmission from one plant or gardener to the next and ultimately throughout your landscape – this is particularly crucial if your produce contains close genetic relatives like tomatoes and peppers or belongs to one family of plants like squashes, melons, cucumbers or green beans.
If a particular crop is underperforming, moving it to a different spot might help prevent insect or disease issues and allow other plants of its family to flourish more freely.
Finally, it’s wise to avoid harsh chemical pesticides in your vegetable garden. Pesticides not only kill insects but pollinators as well. By keeping your garden free of chemical pesticides you will attract more beneficial insects and pollinators while increasing productivity in general. As winter draws nearer you’ll gain satisfaction knowing your vegetables, flowers and companion plants are ready for next spring gardening and can produce their best! Happy gardening!