flowerbug
Garden Master
...How do I know which ones are safe to eat green (low enough in lecithin) does the "snap" name denote that? Do "bush" beans still need support?
i think you mean lectins?...
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i think you mean lectins?...
flowerbug
Garden Master
I wonder if it may be that they don't have as many native bees that will cross beans in Europe but I don't know for sure if that is what is going on?
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Blue-Jay
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I would imagine that Europe has many bees otherwise why Guy Dirix want to surround his beans with so many flowers. A few nights ago I was watching a documentary on plants and insects in England. England has 50 species of just Bumblebees not counting other bees they have.I wonder if it may be that they don't have as many native bees that will cross beans in Europe but I don't know for sure if that is what is going on?
heirloomgal
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I checked for fun on this bee situation, as I've always wondered myself. Europe has between 2,00 - 2,500 kinds of bees and North America has 4,000 - 4,500.
A number of North America's bees are invasive imports; the honey bee, giant resin bee, wool carder bee and the horned face bee are all considered to have the greatest negative ecological impact, with honey bees in the number one spot surprisingly, because they spread pathogens, are ubiquitous and compete with native bees. But there are many other introduced species of bees, probably brought in for commercial pollination purposes.
I did some research on which bees are the most responsible for cross pollinating our beans - it's honeybees! In order of crossing influence it actually is the exact same order as the invasive list. The bumblebee is also able to force open the cleistogamous flowers of beans with buzz pollination so they are a problem for cross pollination too.
A number of North America's bees are invasive imports; the honey bee, giant resin bee, wool carder bee and the horned face bee are all considered to have the greatest negative ecological impact, with honey bees in the number one spot surprisingly, because they spread pathogens, are ubiquitous and compete with native bees. But there are many other introduced species of bees, probably brought in for commercial pollination purposes.
I did some research on which bees are the most responsible for cross pollinating our beans - it's honeybees! In order of crossing influence it actually is the exact same order as the invasive list. The bumblebee is also able to force open the cleistogamous flowers of beans with buzz pollination so they are a problem for cross pollination too.
