I've noticed that pollinators LOVE sunflowers! It's my first year growing them and each flower has AT LEAST 2 bees on them at all times. It's wonderful
I've also noticed sunflowers are great 'trap' plants for aphids! The aphids in my garden seem to preferentially go to the sunflowers instead of my other crops, and the flowers are hardy enough to survive the pests long enough that ladybugs and other pest predators can show up!
Hi Ben. I love your videos but being wildlife mad, this has to be my favourite. I loved it and have most of the pollinator attracting plants you mentioned. I sympathised with your story of being stung. I unwittingly disturbed a wasps nest on my allotment last year and was stung 5 times. It was awful and I ran away screaming and flinging my tshirt in the air. Thankfully the chap on the next plot wasn't there to witness a screaming woman in a bra fleeing any more encounters and stings. I still try and live alongside them, but definitely at a distance! Thanks Ben 😁🐝
This is a great video, especially since recently the Monarch butterfly was put on the endangered species list. Will definitely have to up my gardening game!
Last year I was stung by a bee - my fault since I disturbed it while it was eating. Thankfully I'd learned about the 'weed' Plantain and had some in my yard near me. I quickly took a leaf from it and put it on my stinging area. The pain was immediately gone, and the area was healed by the next day. So many of our so-called weeds are beneficial to us in many ways.
So inspiring. Slowly but surely turning all my lawn into veg and flower beds and have lots of wildlife. Great for the soul! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and cheery presentations. Best wishes
This year I'm growing 27 varieties of flowers that do well in my zone. It made a noticeable difference in the yield of some veggies and has reduced pest pressure. Next year I plan to add additional varieties with the aim of more consistent blooming all year.
This entire video made me smile. I love pollinators and try to ward off one of my friends,who uses total defoliation products,so her fence row will look good. Some people are so introspective that they cannot be reached🤷♀️. You gave me quite the chuckle with the wasp sting,but also made me think….. I should be a bit more aware of those flying javelin throwers. The thought of them stinging the nether regions is scary. I am allergic to most stings,so that would be rather embarrassing (not to mention excruciating) if I had to show the Dr. I have a funny/not so funny story about a wasp sting. When I was a young child,I was fortunate enough to have my own pony. My parents made it clear….YOU will feed,water,groom him by yourself with zero help. Of course I agreed,although secretly I was hoping for some help. It didn’t come. Lol So,we had an old water well that you dropped your bucket(on a rope) into the water and drew it up by hand over hand on the rope. They made me use that well so I wouldn’t cost them anything for water. Neither one of my parents could swim and were terrified of water. I went to draw water for my pony,my parents were at the other side of the house. I had “flipped” my bucket,filling it and began drawing it toward the curb of the well. All of a sudden I felt excruciating pain right on the tip of my finger. I screamed and dropped the full bucket. Not realizing what that sounded like to my parents. They came running from both directions. When they realized that I had not fallen into the well,I almost got a spanking for screaming. Lol lol
My father got stung by a wasp which went up his trouser leg. My brother and I were only young and it gave us the giggles as we were eating our Sunday lunch at the time....he jumped up shouting ouch....it was funny at the time. Hope you were OK.
EXACTLY,,, we need pollinators and you are right to say WE can do something on our property to attract them. Just as I calendar plan my veg garden, I plan my flowers to put out and around and in it. As some radish and cucumber die off in my hot summer, I can replace with summer flowers. Also though, my poached egg plants only flower until May, then I have to add more color, gets very hot here for extended periods. It is a juggling act. I agree with the purple idea, I always grow a purple basil and let it go to flower, the green basil I pick to eat. For some reason my marigolds did not do so well this year. It seems every year that something does not want to grow. Thanks for a great video, Ben.
This video is phenomenal Ben and should be shown in every classroom - it is so educational with beautiful photography. A friend of mine is a beekeeper and he said they are finding more evidence that lawn and garden pesticides are killing pollinators so I am completely organic or nothing at all and am increasing mostly native pollinator plants each year to help them out. It does make a huge difference increasing your harvest!
Ben....its been tricky here in zone 9 . I do have pollinators but if I didn't self pollinate my squash I wouldn't get any. I do have flowers of a few varieties but after your video I know I need more. Your a professional and I'm a carpet cleaner trying to learn as much as I can from you. My corn is looking good and I planted it the same way you showed me. I also will remember to shake the tops of my corn when the time comes.great stuff Mr Ben. Thank you for sharing your wealth of information.
Actually since I started doing more varieties of flowers I used to hand pollinate squash too. I have now found that the wasps that visit the garden are some of my best pollinators. They pollinated my pumkins very well and alot of my rasberries. Ps everbaring rasberries or blackberries are fantastic flowers to keep pollinators happy.
I love wildflowers. Beebalm is a big fav of insects, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Tiger lilies that grow wild around the mountains. 4 o’clock all abound around my properties. Chicory is another wonderful wildflower to transplant.
I replanted Calendula, have berry bushes, boysenberries, and borage, but I also have a neighbour who put out wasp traps, killing the bees at the same time.😡 Someone said wasps are necessary for figs, haven't been able to verify, but the actions of the neighbours would likely explain the poor fig harvests last year, maybe this one too.
Thank you for the wonderful video, Ben, as always. I have been worried about pollinators for months here. I have all of the flowers and plants, fruit trees and places for pollinators to dwell, but it has been such a bad year. I have had to pollinate even courgettes myself. I'm in a very small, quiet town and I don't understand it. I have heard this all over the UK. I am hoping it I because we just didn't get that spring heat, and not a problem that is ongoing. Thank you again.
I m like a bee: I keep coming back to your videos! There are so much infos you can go back on one video for ever and learn again, something new! You are a fan tas tic teacher
@@GrowVeg You re the best, between us. Ah ah ah! Don t tell some! Every sentence you produce has 300% infos that make sense to a beginner like me! I go back on each video and get more each time! [ like reading the Bible!] And you are funny! And humble! I stop! [ keep the Fahrenheit measurements! I still do not understand it, but bit bit ,it sinks if we hear it, drop drop !and it s very good for meee, who is french,and for our American friends, over-there!] So ….im hooked!
I planted catnip in my front garden bed and it was covered in so many different species of fly, wasp and bee that I kept losing count. Sometimes I couldn't tell what type of insect it was! Lol
As always, great information. I would love to see a video on how you are managing through the record heat. I'm in the western U.S. and our record heat is really hitting my garden hard. I'd love any tips you may have.
Hi Sandy. Our record heat lasted two days in the end, though we are still going very short of water. Thank you for the suggestion - I'll add this to our list of content ideas. I appreciate the drought you're experiencing is truly awful. I sympathise I really do.
Stung in the nether regions?!! Yikes! When I was very young, I stepped through a rotten stair tread on the outside of an abandoned house, right into a giant wasp nest. I got 12 stings on and around my right eyelid. It made me terrified of wasps for decades. Fortunately, I’ve learned over time not to fear them, but see them as pollinators.
I really enjoyed your book and found many helpful tips for planning and growing a successful vegetable garden. You have such a lovely and direct style to share garden wisdom.
In the US, the best resource for local growing flower species is probably your (USDA) County Extension Service. Not just the staff, but also the Master Gardeners that they train up. You may find Master Gardener training or social groups if you ask.
Thank you this was so informative and really helped me to plan out my garden! I'm new to gardening but I'd love to grow more things to eat so I'm grateful for your content 🙏🌱🌼🐝
clovers and sunflowers, the sunflowers are intermixed with stuff and the clovers are a buffer around the gardens and lead the pollinators into the area. I keep the ground cover around the garden thick as possible. Also embrace endemic and naturalized "weeds" like wild lettuce and lamb's quarter as net positives for the bugs they attract, and both can be eaten or used as medicine. I have too many bees in my garden, it's absolutely terrifying to be in there sometimes, the wasps are the worst about not wanting me to touch their sunflower branch. Wild lettuce works spectacularly as a support for corn and even big sunflowers seem to be best off when they have a lettuce to lean on.
Yes, we absolutely need pollinators. God gave them to us and we just make sure to care for them. In having a beautiful, lush garden, with all of its choice of varieties I’ve made into my tropical haven, I’m just as excited to consider these options for my new adventure…. (Veggie gardening). Thanks very much Ben!
I live in an urban desert, but had some salvia, lupins, lavendar, nasturtium in window boxes and have had at least two bumble bees and five (count them!) honey bees appearing out of nowhere. I've also rescued two cabbage whites from my second floor, and they laid eggs on my very tiny kale plants and ate them all. No idea where any of these are coming from.
Howdy Ben!👋 Beautiful video recording!👍I always watch your vids on our theater screen.🙂 Loads of great knowledge! 👍Thank you! I secession plant sunflowers through our long growing season...the pollinators go crazy for them too. And this year I learned corn is a great pollinator attracting plant.😃 We are able to grow a lot of the plants you can grow...love butterfly bushes!🦋 Your garden continues to enchant me! It's beautiful!😃 We got a break from 100+ today...just 100. Felt nice. 😎 See ya on the big screen next weekend.👋
I have my first Hibiscus flower today, they are lovely late summer flowers, also have buds on my hollyhocks and sunflowers. They bees loved the clover flowers in my grass so much I left two patches of it when I mowed.
I enjoy seeing how your garden is becoming more and more beautiful each year with the arches, towers, flowers and that bench thingie. Thank you for taking the time to video in addition to garden! My husband and I garden in the mountains of Colorado at 8500 elevation, zone 5a-b with a ridiculously short season, harsh UV rays, hail, and often too much wind. But, there's still so much I learn from your teachings in your climate and location. Your earlier conversations inspired me to focus on more flowers this year, too, and I'm glad for that little push. Although, something I planted attracted a bee we haven't seen before, the size of dirigible.... hello huge bee! Keep up your happy work.
Great video - such beautiful shots of various pollinators and the gorgeous flowers they get nectar from. Watching these interactions in our gardens is the real reward.
Great stuff. I'm currently planning my flower "design" for my yard, I'm hoping to get a lot of nice scented flowers and a range to help bring the pollinators. I've nearly finished making my greenhouse which is where I will have to start some of the flowers off as we're in the middle of Winter down here in Australia.
Thank you so much for your knowledge ❤ you’re so amazing for giving these insects shelter that other wise is being taken from them from us humans ❤ thank you for giving back
Just to note, if you're going to make a bee hotel make it for bees. Bug hotels have been shown to promote disease among species and do more harm then help
I LOVE the butterfly you have shown in the very beginning of the video! In Ukraine it is called Peacock Eye 😃 I don't think it lives in the USA 😞 that would definitely give me a nudge to start a butterfly garden (we moved to US many many years ago) however you have been inspiring me to grow vegetables and herbs on our lanai and indoors. Over the last few months, I have found a great seed company with parthenocarpic varieties, so now I am super excited to see the first cucumbers and zucchini in my tiny indoor garden 😃
I normally get plants for the bee's this year I'm going turn too some veg I've bought myself a green to put up next to my beehive, I also keep a small bit of nettles amongst some of my plants and you can't really notice them as being weeds.
Stung in the nether regions by a wasp? OUCH! I'm going to sort a bee hotel - makes total sense. Going to plant borage, lavender and a few other plants, too 🙂
39 percent of pollination happens from non bee insects (i don't have the link to the study anymore ☹) . if you plant watermelon and cantaloupe next to each other the bees will only go for the cantaloupe. until the cantaloup flowers decline and other highly fragrant flowers in the area also decline. cross pollination is not a problem with all bees(workers not scouts) as they will only collect from one type of plant at a time and after 2-3 days they will call reinforcements if there's too much for one bee. also don't put lime in garden because it will destroy the scent the bees use to find the flowers. cedar is fine it's just ph modifying compounds that are the problem. btw putting zinnia(tall kind) in with melons is a good idea because it's highly reactive leaves and shallow roots make it a excellent water meter.
Pollinators are vital to garden success. Can you please share tips on how to grow poached egg plants successfully? I bought some seeds but haven't had germination success. I'd appreciate any tips you share. Thank you!
I enjoy to watching this, so beautiful garden 😍🥰 I want to see & wanna be with your vegetables, fruit and everything of your garden 😍😊 Thanks for your sharing 😊 OK, now! So I wanna be with your garden! But now, so sorry.. May I go to bed 🥱😴
Thank you for the chuckle I got at your title. I always enjoy your informative videos, they keep me inspired to keep gardening when it seems to be failing. My best crop so far has been purslane. 😏
I'm all about planting pollinator flowers as well as trap flowers in my veg & herb garden. I apologize; I'm 80 yrs and losing my hearing and can't afford hearing aids. I couldn't make out the flower you mentioned after Cardoon. Could you plz print it here? Tks so much Ben. As always, I enjoy your channel Ben and learn so much from you for my extensive gardening :):):)
That's a globe artichoke - the sort you eat. They are loved be bees - absolutely adored by them! So pleased you enjoy the channel. Thank you so much for watching. :-)
I was watering my garden this morning with a water can. And I raised up and pivoted to my right and this dark bee flew into my chest, bounced off and landed on the ground. it was a native, not enough yellow for a bumble. So I thought, " oh no, I've killed a bee." I looked for it on the ground and it wasn't one bee, it was two. I nudged them and they were still alive..very. Seconds later they separated and flew off. I've never seen that before, they never show you that when they show bee hives. I didn't even know bees could do that. I'm pretty sure these are the solitary bees but I have a whole new respect for Queen bees everywhere.
Great advice ... as you normally offer, Ben. Your mention of Phacelia brings back sad memories for me. Last year, my mother-in-law was visiting and she pulled all of my Phacelia out of the pots that I had them growing in as she said they were weeds. As you can imagine, I was NOT happy with her. 😉 I advised her to leave my pots alone as I know what I'm doing. I purchased the Phacelia specifically to attract bees, and up until the time they were pulled from my pots they did a fantastic job. I always seemed to have bees present, especially when the sun was shining. Blue globe thistles (Echinops spp.) are also good for attracting bees, though some might not appreciate the spikiness of the leaves and stems.
@@GrowVeg There's next year, Ben. I must admit that, although we have other plants/shrubs to attract bees and other pollinators, I've been rather disappointed with what we've seen this year (2022). I found one bee, dead, when inspecting my plants, though we did get quite a few around the flowers on our Wisteria that grows against a fence that 'catches' the sun from early morning until afternoon.
What a wonderful video! Surely one of your best Ben. I've never replied before to your channel but this film was exceptional showing such a variety of flowers and all the creatures visiting. Inspirational!
One man’s pollinators are another man’s brassica carnage. Despite nets, lovingly crafted brassica collars and nasturtiums, ours are being savaged by the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly. It is heartbreaking. If anyone can tell me what biological control I can put in there to up the brassica arms race, I’ll do it. The recent hot weather has made black fly proliferate on the broad beans too. Again, I’m interested to know what the solution might be for those. It’s a somewhat dispiriting week on the allotment.
Lovely video I am trying very hard to grow things the bees and things love especially veggies gone to seed heck why not I can’t eat them at that point. Trying more perennial or self seeding flowers. Thank you Ben have a great week 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 safe
Hi been watching your runner beans video 2 question's yellow leaves? Second one OR two beans to a pole I've done two wondering if the cause for yellow leaves????? Many thanks for your time and help 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I had a few fruits off it a few years back, but this year it has done really well - probably given the heat. I got a really good crop, with enough to dry. Was so pleased! I think if you can offer apricots a sunny spot - ideally against a sunny wall, then you should do okay.
Thanks Ben. I was wondering if they also suffered from the same fungal issue as a peach tree grown outside in the UK? As they are in the same nectarine family.
I had to laugh. Last year I got stung on the head. It's no fun I thought my head was going to explode. Getting stung up your shorts must have been nasty. 😵
Grew a load of marigolds as apparently binder weed doesn’t like them. All ok until put the out and both batches that I have planted have been eaten by slugs and snails. Any ideas??
Yes, slugs seem to love young marigold plants. You will need to control your slug population. Check out this video: th-cam.com/video/VJvUwkFZeOM/w-d-xo.html
Hey Ben...here's a pollination-related question I can't find a decent answer to. (I know corn is self-pollinating, but still). For corn, is it normal for tassels to form first, or ears/silk? I've been getting tassels which start browning and are well on their way to depletion before I get silks. That seems backwards..silks should form to be ready to accept the pollen from the tassels, no??? What's your experience been? (I've been getting around this by collecting the pollen from still-producing tassels and distributing it to stalks whose tassels have spent themselves)
Hi Frank. It can vary, but often the tassels seem to be ready before the silks. I'm not sure why it should vary so much, but one explanation is that most corn tends to be pollinated by a different plant, not by itself, so it doesn't so matter so much that that the tassels and silks of an individual plant come out at the same time. In a natural or field setting there would always be tassels and silks out at the same time across a certain area, encouraging cross pollination between plants. You're doing the right thing in saving pollen. Check out my recent video on improving cob set also: th-cam.com/video/DQSwwLvVtCE/w-d-xo.html
@@GrowVeg Cool, thanks for sharing. Was wondering if I was doing something wrong. The field explanation makes sense, but it still seems weird to me...but Mother Nature knows what she's doing!
If they were not at a palce in the garden where oyu ened to go very often it should be no problem since ground nesting bees are already very docile and if you are not directly on top of their nest they should never attack you. So tbh if that was the case and you already destroyed the nest than that was reducing pollinators and species diversity, for no good reason except irrational fear of some tiny insects you are 1000x larger as.
They will lay eggs on your cabbages and related plants, so you don't want them around those plants. If you can, the only way to really keep them off is to cover them with row cover/fleece/netting/insect mesh or similar. They aren't intrinsically 'bad' insects - we just don't want them on our cabbages!
I've noticed that pollinators LOVE sunflowers! It's my first year growing them and each flower has AT LEAST 2 bees on them at all times. It's wonderful
They are stunners! :-)
I've also noticed sunflowers are great 'trap' plants for aphids! The aphids in my garden seem to preferentially go to the sunflowers instead of my other crops, and the flowers are hardy enough to survive the pests long enough that ladybugs and other pest predators can show up!
Hi Ben. I love your videos but being wildlife mad, this has to be my favourite. I loved it and have most of the pollinator attracting plants you mentioned. I sympathised with your story of being stung. I unwittingly disturbed a wasps nest on my allotment last year and was stung 5 times. It was awful and I ran away screaming and flinging my tshirt in the air. Thankfully the chap on the next plot wasn't there to witness a screaming woman in a bra fleeing any more encounters and stings. I still try and live alongside them, but definitely at a distance! Thanks Ben 😁🐝
Wow - five times must have really hurt! So pleased you're still managing to work alongside them, if a little warily.
This is a great video, especially since recently the Monarch butterfly was put on the endangered species list. Will definitely have to up my gardening game!
Ben, as always plenty of information and encouragement to plant and nurture pollinators. Thank you!
Last year I was stung by a bee - my fault since I disturbed it while it was eating. Thankfully I'd learned about the 'weed' Plantain and had some in my yard near me. I quickly took a leaf from it and put it on my stinging area. The pain was immediately gone, and the area was healed by the next day. So many of our so-called weeds are beneficial to us in many ways.
Weeds have wonderful ways to help us, for sure.
So inspiring. Slowly but surely turning all my lawn into veg and flower beds and have lots of wildlife. Great for the soul! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and cheery presentations. Best wishes
Well done on covering your lawn!
This year I'm growing 27 varieties of flowers that do well in my zone. It made a noticeable difference in the yield of some veggies and has reduced pest pressure. Next year I plan to add additional varieties with the aim of more consistent blooming all year.
Blooms all year round is a great thing to aim for.
This entire video made me smile. I love pollinators and try to ward off one of my friends,who uses total defoliation products,so her fence row will look good. Some people are so introspective that they cannot be reached🤷♀️.
You gave me quite the chuckle with the wasp sting,but also made me think….. I should be a bit more aware of those flying javelin throwers.
The thought of them stinging the nether regions is scary. I am allergic to most stings,so that would be rather embarrassing (not to mention excruciating) if I had to show the Dr.
I have a funny/not so funny story about a wasp sting.
When I was a young child,I was fortunate enough to have my own pony. My parents made it clear….YOU will feed,water,groom him by yourself with zero help.
Of course I agreed,although secretly I was hoping for some help. It didn’t come. Lol
So,we had an old water well that you dropped your bucket(on a rope) into the water and drew it up by hand over hand on the rope. They made me use that well so I wouldn’t cost them anything for water.
Neither one of my parents could swim and were terrified of water.
I went to draw water for my pony,my parents were at the other side of the house.
I had “flipped” my bucket,filling it and began drawing it toward the curb of the well.
All of a sudden I felt excruciating pain right on the tip of my finger. I screamed and dropped the full bucket.
Not realizing what that sounded like to my parents. They came running from both directions. When they realized that I had not fallen into the well,I almost got a spanking for screaming. Lol lol
Oh dear, that's quite a story! They must have been pretty alarmed when they heard you!
My father got stung by a wasp which went up his trouser leg. My brother and I were only young and it gave us the giggles as we were eating our Sunday lunch at the time....he jumped up shouting ouch....it was funny at the time. Hope you were OK.
All good Karen - just a nasty surprise! :-)
EXACTLY,,, we need pollinators and you are right to say WE can do something on our property to attract them. Just as I calendar plan my veg garden, I plan my flowers to put out and around and in it. As some radish and cucumber die off in my hot summer, I can replace with summer flowers. Also though, my poached egg plants only flower until May, then I have to add more color, gets very hot here for extended periods. It is a juggling act. I agree with the purple idea, I always grow a purple basil and let it go to flower, the green basil I pick to eat. For some reason my marigolds did not do so well this year. It seems every year that something does not want to grow. Thanks for a great video, Ben.
Gardening always seems to be a somewhat game of luck - and surprises!
This video is phenomenal Ben and should be shown in every classroom - it is so educational with beautiful photography.
A friend of mine is a beekeeper and he said they are finding more evidence that lawn and garden pesticides are killing pollinators so I am completely organic or nothing at all and am increasing mostly native pollinator plants each year to help them out. It does make a huge difference increasing your harvest!
It really does Sherri. I notice so many more bees with the extra flower in the vegetable garden.
Ben....its been tricky here in zone 9 . I do have pollinators but if I didn't self pollinate my squash I wouldn't get any. I do have flowers of a few varieties but after your video I know I need more. Your a professional and I'm a carpet cleaner trying to learn as much as I can from you. My corn is looking good and I planted it the same way you showed me. I also will remember to shake the tops of my corn when the time comes.great stuff Mr Ben. Thank you for sharing your wealth of information.
You're very welcome. Do include more flowers - they just look so superb as well as doing so much good. :-)
Actually since I started doing more varieties of flowers I used to hand pollinate squash too. I have now found that the wasps that visit the garden are some of my best pollinators. They pollinated my pumkins very well and alot of my rasberries. Ps everbaring rasberries or blackberries are fantastic flowers to keep pollinators happy.
This channel is the sanctuary we all crave, really great gardening art
Thank you so much. And I will pass your kind comments on to the Videographer, who will be delighted to hear this. 😀
Clover is a wonderful plant to draw in bees to the garden.
I love flowers 🌸 the older I get the more I enjoy them!!
I love wildflowers. Beebalm is a big fav of insects, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Tiger lilies that grow wild around the mountains. 4 o’clock all abound around my properties. Chicory is another wonderful wildflower to transplant.
I look forward to seeing the hummingbird that frequents my flower bed every afternoon. It likes my bee balm and echinacea.
I replanted Calendula, have berry bushes, boysenberries, and borage, but I also have a neighbour who put out wasp traps, killing the bees at the same time.😡
Someone said wasps are necessary for figs, haven't been able to verify, but the actions of the neighbours would likely explain the poor fig harvests last year, maybe this one too.
The wasps that pollinate figs are very tiny I believe, so hopefully wouldn't have been attracted to the same wasp traps.
Thank you for the wonderful video, Ben, as always. I have been worried about pollinators for months here. I have all of the flowers and plants, fruit trees and places for pollinators to dwell, but it has been such a bad year. I have had to pollinate even courgettes myself. I'm in a very small, quiet town and I don't understand it. I have heard this all over the UK. I am hoping it I because we just didn't get that spring heat, and not a problem that is ongoing. Thank you again.
That does sound very disappointing/scary. I hope you manage to attract more pollinators in time.
Thank you for your perspective on wasps. I’ve always seen them as enemies (having been stung terribly) but I’m beginning to realize their importance.
Thanks so much Ben and Oh my goodness ! What a place to be stung!
I m like a bee:
I keep coming back to your videos!
There are so much infos you can go back on one video for ever and learn again, something new!
You are a fan tas tic teacher
Thanks so much. I'm really pleased you're enjoying all the videos. :-)
@@GrowVeg You re the best, between us.
Ah ah ah!
Don t tell some!
Every sentence you produce has 300% infos that make sense to a beginner like me!
I go back on each video and get more each time!
[ like reading the Bible!]
And you are funny!
And humble!
I stop!
[ keep the Fahrenheit measurements! I still do not understand it, but bit bit ,it sinks if we hear it, drop drop !and it s very good for meee, who is french,and for our American friends, over-there!]
So ….im hooked!
I planted catnip in my front garden bed and it was covered in so many different species of fly, wasp and bee that I kept losing count. Sometimes I couldn't tell what type of insect it was! Lol
I love the added comment about your wasp encounter 😂 you poor creature!
Haha, all part of the fun of gardening!
Great video. Just what this old gal needed this morning! Thank you!
As always, great information. I would love to see a video on how you are managing through the record heat. I'm in the western U.S. and our record heat is really hitting my garden hard. I'd love any tips you may have.
Hi Sandy. Our record heat lasted two days in the end, though we are still going very short of water. Thank you for the suggestion - I'll add this to our list of content ideas. I appreciate the drought you're experiencing is truly awful. I sympathise I really do.
Love the flowers you have through out you're garden.
Thank you. :-)
I got stung on the foot by a wasp a few weeks ago but i still like them in my gardenxx
Stung in the nether regions?!! Yikes! When I was very young, I stepped through a rotten stair tread on the outside of an abandoned house, right into a giant wasp nest. I got 12 stings on and around my right eyelid. It made me terrified of wasps for decades. Fortunately, I’ve learned over time not to fear them, but see them as pollinators.
Oh wow - I can see why that would have been a terrifying experience!
I really enjoyed your book and found many helpful tips for planning and growing a successful vegetable garden. You have such a lovely and direct style to share garden wisdom.
In the US, the best resource for local growing flower species is probably your (USDA) County Extension Service. Not just the staff, but also the Master Gardeners that they train up. You may find Master Gardener training or social groups if you ask.
They’re a great resource for sure!
Great video. I am looking forward to the container garden video! Thanks
fantastic video!! cheers from Australia. 😊
Thank you this was so informative and really helped me to plan out my garden! I'm new to gardening but I'd love to grow more things to eat so I'm grateful for your content 🙏🌱🌼🐝
You're welcome Marianne - thanks so much for watching. :-)
clovers and sunflowers, the sunflowers are intermixed with stuff and the clovers are a buffer around the gardens and lead the pollinators into the area. I keep the ground cover around the garden thick as possible.
Also embrace endemic and naturalized "weeds" like wild lettuce and lamb's quarter as net positives for the bugs they attract, and both can be eaten or used as medicine.
I have too many bees in my garden, it's absolutely terrifying to be in there sometimes, the wasps are the worst about not wanting me to touch their sunflower branch.
Wild lettuce works spectacularly as a support for corn and even big sunflowers seem to be best off when they have a lettuce to lean on.
Sounds like you'er doing all the right things for the bugs in your area. :-)
Yes, we absolutely need pollinators. God gave them to us and we just make sure to care for them. In having a beautiful, lush garden, with all of its choice of varieties I’ve made into my tropical haven, I’m just as excited to consider these options for my new adventure…. (Veggie gardening). Thanks very much Ben!
Your blog always make me smile,keep up the good work! Greatings form the Netherlands
Will do, thanks for watching. :-)
I live in an urban desert, but had some salvia, lupins, lavendar, nasturtium in window boxes and have had at least two bumble bees and five (count them!) honey bees appearing out of nowhere. I've also rescued two cabbage whites from my second floor, and they laid eggs on my very tiny kale plants and ate them all. No idea where any of these are coming from.
So pleased you're getting insect visitors. It just goes to show they are about and will come if you provide for them.
Howdy Ben!👋 Beautiful video recording!👍I always watch your vids on our theater screen.🙂
Loads of great knowledge! 👍Thank you! I secession plant sunflowers through our long growing season...the pollinators go crazy for them too. And this year I learned corn is a great pollinator attracting plant.😃
We are able to grow a lot of the plants you can grow...love butterfly bushes!🦋
Your garden continues to enchant me! It's beautiful!😃
We got a break from 100+ today...just 100. Felt nice. 😎
See ya on the big screen next weekend.👋
Cheers Valorie - so sorry you're enduring such awful heat. Hope it cools down for you soon.
What a beautiful video! You illustrate your points so well with all your gorgeous photography and videos. Thank you for this lovely gift to gardeners!
Thank you so much, that's really appreciated. Our videographer will also be thrilled by your kind comments too. :-)
I have my first Hibiscus flower today, they are lovely late summer flowers, also have buds on my hollyhocks and sunflowers. They bees loved the clover flowers in my grass so much I left two patches of it when I mowed.
Clover is a great one for bees - a great way to bring a lawn to life. :-)
I enjoy seeing how your garden is becoming more and more beautiful each year with the arches, towers, flowers and that bench thingie. Thank you for taking the time to video in addition to garden! My husband and I garden in the mountains of Colorado at 8500 elevation, zone 5a-b with a ridiculously short season, harsh UV rays, hail, and often too much wind. But, there's still so much I learn from your teachings in your climate and location. Your earlier conversations inspired me to focus on more flowers this year, too, and I'm glad for that little push. Although, something I planted attracted a bee we haven't seen before, the size of dirigible.... hello huge bee! Keep up your happy work.
Wow - I wonder what that huge bee was!
Great video - such beautiful shots of various pollinators and the gorgeous flowers they get nectar from. Watching these interactions in our gardens is the real reward.
👍 got my phacelia seeds for next year, also crimson and white clovers. Vipers bugloss, borage, hawkbit and dandelions are all good too.
Great additions to the garden there!
Hi ben new vids on the way hopefully yay
Great stuff. I'm currently planning my flower "design" for my yard, I'm hoping to get a lot of nice scented flowers and a range to help bring the pollinators. I've nearly finished making my greenhouse which is where I will have to start some of the flowers off as we're in the middle of Winter down here in Australia.
Good job Christopher. It won't be long till you're sowing for spring. :-)
Thank you so much for your knowledge ❤ you’re so amazing for giving these insects shelter that other wise is being taken from them from us humans ❤ thank you for giving back
Thanks for that, appreciated. :-) We all need to give something back - that way nature stands a chance!
Really great information! Thanks!
I have a lot of clover and daisy growing in my lawn, the bees love them, so I take turns mowing, always leaving sections available for the bees.
Thanks for your information 😇💟💟💟 Love you.
Borage and catnip are fan faves in my garden with bees
They're absolute bee winners!
Love this one! I love the pollinators although some frighten me. Good explanation! Thank you!
Thanks for watching Judith. I know what you mean about some of them frightening you! :-)
Great video Ben , as always. And stunning footage of the pollinators!
Thank you. I'll pass this on to our videographer too, who is responsible for the stunning footage.
Great video as always. Some really great slow close ups of pollinators at work, really stunning!
Just to note, if you're going to make a bee hotel make it for bees. Bug hotels have been shown to promote disease among species and do more harm then help
I LOVE the butterfly you have shown in the very beginning of the video! In Ukraine it is called Peacock Eye 😃 I don't think it lives in the USA 😞 that would definitely give me a nudge to start a butterfly garden (we moved to US many many years ago) however you have been inspiring me to grow vegetables and herbs on our lanai and indoors. Over the last few months, I have found a great seed company with parthenocarpic varieties, so now I am super excited to see the first cucumbers and zucchini in my tiny indoor garden 😃
That's brilliant to hear. Very best of luck with you mini garden - I'm sure it will be beautiful.
@@GrowVeg thank you 😊 🤗
Thank you. Truly enjoyed and appreciated this video
Thanks for watching. :-)
I started gardening for the pollinators I have over 39 different varieties most are wildflowers that I have sowed and I've seen lots of pollinators.
That's a wonderful variety of flowers - I'm sure the pollinators must love it! :-)
I normally get plants for the bee's this year I'm going turn too some veg I've bought myself a green to put up next to my beehive, I also keep a small bit of nettles amongst some of my plants and you can't really notice them as being weeds.
Nettles are so good for wildlife. :-)
Stung in the nether regions by a wasp? OUCH!
I'm going to sort a bee hotel - makes total sense. Going to plant borage, lavender and a few other plants, too 🙂
Good work!
39 percent of pollination happens from non bee insects (i don't have the link to the study anymore ☹) . if you plant watermelon and cantaloupe next to each other the bees will only go for the cantaloupe. until the cantaloup flowers decline and other highly fragrant flowers in the area also decline. cross pollination is not a problem with all bees(workers not scouts) as they will only collect from one type of plant at a time and after 2-3 days they will call reinforcements if there's too much for one bee. also don't put lime in garden because it will destroy the scent the bees use to find the flowers. cedar is fine it's just ph modifying compounds that are the problem. btw putting zinnia(tall kind) in with melons is a good idea because it's highly reactive leaves and shallow roots make it a excellent water meter.
Super advice and extra info there - thank you for sharing. :-)
Pollinators are vital to garden success. Can you please share tips on how to grow poached egg plants successfully? I bought some seeds but haven't had germination success. I'd appreciate any tips you share. Thank you!
Absolutely. Check out our article on this: www.growveg.com/guides/companion-planting-with-poached-egg-plant/
I enjoy to watching this, so beautiful garden 😍🥰 I want to see & wanna be with your vegetables, fruit and everything of your garden 😍😊 Thanks for your sharing 😊 OK, now! So I wanna be with your garden! But now, so sorry.. May I go to bed 🥱😴
Please do! And thank you for watching. I'm so pleased you enjoyed being in the garden. :-)
Thank you for the chuckle I got at your title.
I always enjoy your informative videos, they keep me inspired to keep gardening when it seems to be failing. My best crop so far has been purslane. 😏
I'm all about planting pollinator flowers as well as trap flowers in my veg & herb garden. I apologize; I'm 80 yrs and losing my hearing and can't afford hearing aids. I couldn't make out the flower you mentioned after Cardoon. Could you plz print it here? Tks so much Ben. As always, I enjoy your channel Ben and learn so much from you for my extensive gardening :):):)
That's a globe artichoke - the sort you eat. They are loved be bees - absolutely adored by them!
So pleased you enjoy the channel. Thank you so much for watching. :-)
Plenty of information I had a few pollinators in my garden. I will add the Milkweed to the wild garden.
This was so great, thank you! You didn’t change my mind about asps and hornets, but I will plant some things for the other pollinators.
Thanks for this video! I’ve also planted cosmos among zucchini or my root crops as they grow taller but also don’t shade out my vegetables
Great use of cosmos there. 😀
Loved this video! Your garden is beautiful and has given me much inspiration. Thank you!!
Absolutely Awesome 🥳🥳🥳
Cheers Bobby! :-)
Lots of great tips as always Ben. Thanks 😊
I was watering my garden this morning with a water can. And I raised up and pivoted to my right and this dark bee flew into my chest, bounced off and landed on the ground. it was a native, not enough yellow for a bumble. So I thought, " oh no, I've killed a bee." I looked for it on the ground and it wasn't one bee, it was two. I nudged them and they were still alive..very. Seconds later they separated and flew off. I've never seen that before, they never show you that when they show bee hives. I didn't even know bees could do that. I'm pretty sure these are the solitary bees but I have a whole new respect for Queen bees everywhere.
They are awesome for sure!
Top bravo 👍
Big like and beautiful sharing 💖 please welcome my dear
Love that video
Great advice ... as you normally offer, Ben. Your mention of Phacelia brings back sad memories for me. Last year, my mother-in-law was visiting and she pulled all of my Phacelia out of the pots that I had them growing in as she said they were weeds. As you can imagine, I was NOT happy with her. 😉 I advised her to leave my pots alone as I know what I'm doing. I purchased the Phacelia specifically to attract bees, and up until the time they were pulled from my pots they did a fantastic job. I always seemed to have bees present, especially when the sun was shining. Blue globe thistles (Echinops spp.) are also good for attracting bees, though some might not appreciate the spikiness of the leaves and stems.
What a shame to lose your phacelia. Love globe thistles also!
@@GrowVeg There's next year, Ben. I must admit that, although we have other plants/shrubs to attract bees and other pollinators, I've been rather disappointed with what we've seen this year (2022). I found one bee, dead, when inspecting my plants, though we did get quite a few around the flowers on our Wisteria that grows against a fence that 'catches' the sun from early morning until afternoon.
What a wonderful video! Surely one of your best Ben. I've never replied before to your channel but this film was exceptional showing such a variety of flowers and all the creatures visiting. Inspirational!
@@yolande2296 Hear hear, ma'am. I always learn something new from Ben's videos.
I got stung for the first time last year, luckily not in the neather regions. It does really hurt 🤦♀️
great video!
I love wasps but a hornet got me good last year, I'd forgotten how much that sting hurts. They are real pros about telling you to go away.
Good information, thanks
One man’s pollinators are another man’s brassica carnage. Despite nets, lovingly crafted brassica collars and nasturtiums, ours are being savaged by the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly. It is heartbreaking. If anyone can tell me what biological control I can put in there to up the brassica arms race, I’ll do it. The recent hot weather has made black fly proliferate on the broad beans too. Again, I’m interested to know what the solution might be for those. It’s a somewhat dispiriting week on the allotment.
Hi Sandra. How dispiriting. Check out our recent video on brassica pests: th-cam.com/video/-NYVacngcXw/w-d-xo.html
Lovely video I am trying very hard to grow things the bees and things love especially veggies gone to seed heck why not I can’t eat them at that point. Trying more perennial or self seeding flowers. Thank you Ben have a great week 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 safe
Cheers Ali. Bee safe also!
fukken brilliant! you're videos are such a joy to watch...
Cheers matey!
Hi been watching your runner beans video 2 question's yellow leaves? Second one OR two beans to a pole I've done two wondering if the cause for yellow leaves????? Many thanks for your time and help 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Yellow leaves is often caused by competition/lack of water. I had this on my beans then gave them a really good soaking and they did green up again.
Ben. Do you have any tips on dealing with the cucumber beetle?
Hi Jim. Check out our guide to cucumber beetle: www.growveg.com/pests/us-and-canada/striped-cucumber-beetle/
my caterpillars seem to only want my broccoli...they absolutely swarm it every year
This video might be useful to keep them off: th-cam.com/video/-NYVacngcXw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=K6lTi5hvKmHnpr_G
thanks for sharing
Brilliant video Ben, how successful are you with your apricot tree grown outdoor in the UK?
I had a few fruits off it a few years back, but this year it has done really well - probably given the heat. I got a really good crop, with enough to dry. Was so pleased! I think if you can offer apricots a sunny spot - ideally against a sunny wall, then you should do okay.
Thanks Ben. I was wondering if they also suffered from the same fungal issue as a peach tree grown outside in the UK? As they are in the same nectarine family.
I had to laugh. Last year I got stung on the head. It's no fun I thought my head was going to explode. Getting stung up your shorts must have been nasty. 😵
I survived Fred - I imagine getting stung on the head must've been pretty unpleasant!
Grew a load of marigolds as apparently binder weed doesn’t like them. All ok until put the out and both batches that I have planted have been eaten by slugs and snails. Any ideas??
Yes, slugs seem to love young marigold plants. You will need to control your slug population. Check out this video: th-cam.com/video/VJvUwkFZeOM/w-d-xo.html
Hey Ben...here's a pollination-related question I can't find a decent answer to. (I know corn is self-pollinating, but still). For corn, is it normal for tassels to form first, or ears/silk? I've been getting tassels which start browning and are well on their way to depletion before I get silks. That seems backwards..silks should form to be ready to accept the pollen from the tassels, no??? What's your experience been? (I've been getting around this by collecting the pollen from still-producing tassels and distributing it to stalks whose tassels have spent themselves)
Hi Frank. It can vary, but often the tassels seem to be ready before the silks. I'm not sure why it should vary so much, but one explanation is that most corn tends to be pollinated by a different plant, not by itself, so it doesn't so matter so much that that the tassels and silks of an individual plant come out at the same time. In a natural or field setting there would always be tassels and silks out at the same time across a certain area, encouraging cross pollination between plants. You're doing the right thing in saving pollen. Check out my recent video on improving cob set also: th-cam.com/video/DQSwwLvVtCE/w-d-xo.html
@@GrowVeg Cool, thanks for sharing. Was wondering if I was doing something wrong. The field explanation makes sense, but it still seems weird to me...but Mother Nature knows what she's doing!
Great vid, tho those poppies at 2.59 are not california poppies, they look more like iceland poppies.
Yes, thanks for that Dave. That slipped the net!
🤣🤣🤣🤣I had a sting the same way, right on the butt cheek.
Oww!!
I have bees humming happily on a ton of borage
Wonderful!
The nether regions hahaha.
God that must have hurt.
I had a ground nest of bee's that created anything BUT Joy for me.🤬
I prefer the nests up where I can both avoid & enjoy their presence.🤣
If they were not at a palce in the garden where oyu ened to go very often it should be no problem since ground nesting bees are already very docile and if you are not directly on top of their nest they should never attack you. So tbh if that was the case and you already destroyed the nest than that was reducing pollinators and species diversity, for no good reason except irrational fear of some tiny insects you are 1000x larger as.
@@AGenericFool no,it was in-between the blackberry bushes.
What are the pretty red blooms at 6:09?
Those are crocosmia.
@@GrowVeg Thank you, they're so lovely! I will look for them for next spring!
Don't forget pollination by the always friendly mosquito
I shoooo away white butterflies
Should I not ?
I thought they would lay on my cabbage 🥬
They will lay eggs on your cabbages and related plants, so you don't want them around those plants. If you can, the only way to really keep them off is to cover them with row cover/fleece/netting/insect mesh or similar. They aren't intrinsically 'bad' insects - we just don't want them on our cabbages!
👍🤗✅