Subject: Thoughts on pollination (fwd)

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 23:52:29 -0500 (EST)

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 19:59:13 EST
From: Pollinator <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Thoughts on pollination

    My work is now slowing down a bit and I'd like to do some work on the
pollination portion of the FAQ.

   My first concern is that I would like to see it placed under Cultural
Practices, where it is now placed under Gardening for Wildlife.  My experience
is that pollination is the least understood part of gardening, and inadequate
pollination is frequently a problem, often without the gardener even knowing
the reason.

   When placed under Gardening for Wildlife it:
1. Implies that we are seeking the benefit of the bees, when we are generally
more interested in the benefits the bees can bring us.
2. Implies that we can attract bees, when they often (sadly) are not present
to attract.

   I used to think that pollination management was only a concern of
commercial growers; that there would always be sufficient wild pollination for
gardeners. Today I am convinced that even gardeners in many areas already have
to be proactive on pollination, and that more and more will be joining the
group. Putting pollination under Cultural Practices will place us on the
cutting edge.

My suggestion is to place it immediately under Pruning, bumping down Problem
Cultural Practices one tic, or including the info, as seems to be happening,
under soils.

Here is a possible outline

E.09.  Pollination

  E.09.00 Primary and Secondary Pollinators overview: uses, strengths,
weakness of each. Why pollinator populations are declining.
      Cultured bees (honeybees, bumblebees, orchard mason, hornfaced, alfalfa
leafcutters.
     Wild bees (about 2000 species)
      Butterflies & Moths
      Hummingbirds
      Bats
      Others

   E.09.10 Symptoms of inadequate pollination.  Basic pollination biology.

   E.09.20  Crop by crop pollination techniques.  Use of Pollenizers

   E.09.30  Hand pollination techniques.

   E.09.40  Beekeeping for garden pollination  
            Honeybees: basic cultural overview, sources of more detailed info;
beekeeping tools equip, and bee sources.
            Orchard Mason Bees, Hornfaced Bees and Leafcutter bees, culture,
equipment, sources for purchase.
            Bumblebees, basic culture, sources of info, bees.

   E.09.50  Enhancing wild pollinator populations, Providing nest sites to
attract wild solitary bees. Plantings to feed bees.

   E.09.60  Pollinator protection from Pesticide misuse, including legal tools
to protect your pollinators from your neighbor's misuse.  

   E.09.70  Butterfly gardening, raising and/or attracting butterflies and
moths to enhance pollination.

   E.09.80  Birds and Bats, (including tropical and subtropical gardening,
where these are more  significant pollinators)

   E.09.90  Catch-all of topics not covered above.