Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

I just though I would start this thread. Somewhere on this board I read that 1/3 of foods grown do not require pollination by bees?

What are those foods? Guess mushrooms would be one. Probably anything that was in America prior to the English honeybee being introduced.

Please contribute if you know of others.

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

Most grains self or wind pollinate. I think buckwheat is not one of them. Corn and such are.

Potatoes and like root crops. Jerusalem artichokes, carrots, onions, beets, garlic, cabbage is pollinated by butterflies easily.

You could grow pretty much everything there was eaten in medieval Europe. Add to that everything grown in the new world and you will not starve

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

Hi RMac

Great idea for a thread!:emotions16: I will be saving the information that comes forth. (to tired to contribute for now since it's 2am or so)



By the way......
I haven't congratulated you on your beautiful baby!! :birthday:All my best to you and your family.

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

As a basic rule, all monocots (grasses) are wind pollinated. Dicots (everything else) can be wind or insect pollinated. If something doesn't make a flower, it's most likely wind.

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

True, though many dicots are also wind pollinated. Tomatoes come to mind. Squash, cucumbers, and most cucurbits I believe, require insect pollination, as they have male and female flowers. I am not sure about beans.

When I used to grow hothouse tomatoes, we would use bumblebees for pollination. This was required as the tomatoes are indoors, and there is no wind. There are companies that specialize in raising and selling insects like bumble bees, here is the one we used: http://www.greenmethods.com/

I should say we purchased bumbles from them, I don't think they raised them.

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

Some of the hot peppers that I grow will produce without insect pollination, even inside the house during winter, though at reduced levels. The varieties that I grow include Habanero, Jalape�o, Tabasco, and Caribbean Red.

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

I'm no horticulturalist, but if you are just feeding your family I don't think it would be too tough to pollinate with a q-tip or another like item. actually it might be necessary in order to protect you crop from cross pollination with Monsanto crops that may have the ability ruin your heirloom crops. Just remember I learned everything I know about plants from a book on growing "the evil weed" nearly 20 years ago.

Re: Foods grown that DO NOT require pollination by bees
 

For the gardener growing for self and family, the honeybee devastation is an inconvenience; there are other pollinators, like solitary bees, butterflys, and hummingbirds. For monoculture, with hundred or thousands of acres all growing the same crop, it would lead to mass famine. Honeybees are an important cog in the food machine.