No bees, no beans.

I can make a “soft set” honey btw David by heating and stirring (eg with a drill attachment)...

Hello Davidhs - please can you ask your neighbour how he keeps his rape honey runny?

In our experience rape produces large quantities of honey that sets very hard. It sets SO hard that the bees can’t use it in the winter. I honestly don’t know why his doesn’t. Ours, and that of beekeeping friends has always granulated in the comb if not extracted super fast.

This is a honest question as you have responded to my (negative) feelings about rape honey! I am really, really surprised and I would love to know his trick.

We're eating our purple French beans now and the broad beans are doing well. Lots of flowers on the runner bean 'maypole' so fingers crossed for them.

craftyone

As others have said, you need to support the bees to make them want to come into your garden. I have a potager garden and grow borage, lavenders, catmint and lots of other open flowers that attract bees. It is buzzing and all my veg and fruits are bountiful, I have been eating my beans for 2 weeks

We've got a lot of bee friendly plants as advised by my neighbour who gives talks on this.
However, very few compared to last year when we had an abundance of white tailed bees here.
If any bees stray indoors I rescue them very carefully.

Could it be the sparrows pecking the flowers, perhaps to get at insects? We were recommended a bean with white flowers as apparently they are not so attracted to them but only one has germinated. We did plant red flowering ones as well.

It could have been a result of the dry spell too.

Last year we had a lot of bees in the garden, this year very few and I wondered if the very wet winter was to blame.

In my previous post I said Lavender was bringing lots of bees into my garden and how right I was. I have a Gardener who comes in occasionally to help with heavy work and yesterday he discovered a Bees nest hidden underneath a Phormium I have in the corner of a border. Poor man wished he hadn't as he was stung 3 times as bees chased him away.Fortunately he was wearing a full face visor as it could have been much worse than it was. Phormium has been left as it was and bees have calmed down,hopefully the Gardener has too!

I’m happy to report beans, still not seen more than a couple of bees but there definitely beans appearing now. Thanks for the advice craftyone where abouts are you to have edible beans so early?

friendsoftheearth.uk/bees/20-facts-you-need-know-about-bees
I would urge you all to look at this Friends of the Earth information about Bees. It explains why we need them, why they are in trouble and what we can do to help. It is a lovely website.

Because of changes in the insecticides growers can use many Rape crops have failed this year due to Flea Beetle attack and beekeepers are complaining no pollen.
My neighbour only makes clear honey, not set, there certainly won’t be any rape in it this year.

We're surrounded by farmland but this year no bee friendly crops have been planted and we're certainly noticing the difference. Another problem has been the difficulty in obtaining flower seed earlier in the year for our cottage style veg garden. Tagetes and Calendula aren't even in flower yet as they were sown later than usual. The self seeders did OK but often have to be removed from areas where they have become weeds

And the weather hasn't helped either.

Ha ha Davidhs I dont think bee keepers generally like the rape! Bees are generally angry on rape and the honey has to be removed quickly as it granulates on the comb. The honey is so mild as to have little flavour if you harvest a only rape rather than a mixed blossom hive.

You are right though that it's a high yielding crop in terms of honey weight. We always hated working bees on rape!Give me lime, sea lavender or mixed blossom hive any day.

Traditionally bee hives are placed close to bean fields for pollination, bee keepers also like the yellow oilseed rape fields where there is lots of pollen. I’m not sure which beans are self pollinating or which other insects pollinate. I have a bee keeper next door so always have lots in the garden, when the apple trees were in blossom the buzz was continuous, just like the “hive” in Kew Gardens

I may be wrong davidhs but I think bees are almost the only bean pollinators.
I once knew a commercial beekeeper who took his of bees every year to pollinate bean fields.

As others have said, you need to support the bees to make them want to come into your garden. I have a potager garden and grow borage, lavenders, catmint and lots of other open flowers that attract bees. It is buzzing and all my veg and fruits are bountiful, I have been eating my beans for 2 weeks

I didn't know that about bees favouring blue and purple. We have a lot of bees out front on the lavender at the moment.

There was a delphinium on Gardeners World last week called Blue Nile, and it was amazing. Got those on my wish list.

Lot's of Bees around the lavender in my garden.It looks and smells wonderful too.

I have every sort of bee in the Hardy geraniums ,johnsons blue and Patricia are thick with them. Perhaps grow those around the beans.

Thanks again maybe you're right and it's just a bit early see how we go.

It is early in the season for beans. In any case half the flowers usually drop off without being pollinated. There should be more flowers and usually more bees in July.
My Dad a prolific and successful gardener right up until his death at 96 advocated spraying the flowers as you have done to aid pollination. I usually do this too but latest from RHS is that you don’t need to. I would mulch their bases and wait and see.

Apologies for my lack of knowledge, but dont beans flower continuously?
If so isnt there a chance of pollination later on?

Poppies for pollen are another bee favourite. They may be short of proteins. Have a saucer of water With a piece of cloth or something for the bees to cling onto too, they get thirsty!
Detergent is not a good idea! Try without.
Having said that, I too have noticed a dearth if bees. The lime trees near us are usually Humming, nothing this year.

Thanks for the ideas, don’t have the patience to pollinate by hand and I do have some purple plants at the base of the beans to attract the bees but so far nothing I think they were meant to be self pollinating ones too so I don’t know what’s gone wrong, so disappointing as runners are my favourite veg and I seem to of kept on top of the aphids this year too.

I’ve been spraying with a mild dilution of washing up liquid and water I wonder now whether that might be a reason?

I have planted Campanula in among my veggies as it is purple and the bees love it. It spreads very easily so once it has flowered i cut it right back so it doesn't take over but each year it does it job. I love flowers in among the veggies anyway and i have tomato plants growing with flowers and it looks nice when the fruit arrives and turns red.

You can get self pollinating beans another year. I suppose you could try using a little paint brush to go from one flower to another but it will take ages but then plenty more time in lockdown.
Otherwise it is a good idea to encourage bees. No bees no crops. They like blue and purple in particular and single flowers. My erygiums are smothered in them. Lavender is well liked and chives which you could perhaps grow on the veggie plot.
I love runner beans but we have a deer problem as they also love them. Have bought a cage this year so hopefully We may get to eat some!

The idea of growing certain flowers is to deter insects - pyrethrums. Bean crops usually fail when prolonged rain prevents insects flying, so no explanation why no bees, what about other insects?.