Not Enough Bees for Pollination?

Q. I think I don’t have enough bees to pollinate my vegetables. What should I do?

Honeybee pollinating peach flower.

A. To improve vegetable pollination, plant herbs in the garden or in containers such as rosemary, dill, lavender and tarragon to attract bees. Herbs that flower during the winter like rosemary are a good choice for cool season crops. Other herbs that flower in the summer keep pollinators coming back.

            Water also attracts pollinators in the summer so put out a shallow tray of water with some rocks in it and clean the tray and water once a week.

            Remember pollination will be erratic in the garden anytime temperatures climb above 90° F. Its not because the pollinators like honeybees are not active. They are. Many are busy during summer heat hauling water back to the hive to keep it cool. Once temperatures exceed 105° F,  few plants get pollinated during that kind of heat because of "pollen failure". Successful pollination occurs again when the air temperatures start dropping in the late summer and early fall and pollen tubes and sperm can succeed in pollination.