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Fri, May 6, 11 at 15:28
| In just the few minutes I was watching it a big black bumblebee cross pollinated the blossoms on seven of my tomato plants. It is amazing how efficient they are, they can hit every blossom on a plant in about a minute, and they don't waste time going back to the same blossom twice, some how they know they already visited it, probably from some scent they leave.
But I don't mind it, in fact I like it, because I read you get 50% more tomatoes, and the tomatoes you do get are bigger, if the blossoms are pollinated by a bumblebee instead of just self pollinating. In fact some green house owners keep bumblebees inside their greenhouse just to do the pollinating, which works much better than mechanical vibrators or just shaking the plant by hand. Outside the wind shakes the plant, but a bumblebee still does it better because they hang upside down on the individual blossom and vibrate special muscles on their bodies to make the pollen fall onto their bodies which they then collect and eat or bring back to their nests. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I agree they are efficient but it sure wouldn't stop me from saving seeds (your post title?). Very few non-professional seed savers bag their blooms and we all have bumble bees not to mention wind. So if you have saved seeds in the past then why wouldn't you save them this year? Dave |
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| the books say that insect pollination with tomatoes is almost imposable because of how the blossom is constructed. they are a self pollinating plant. you can cross pollinate them with a q-tip to breed a new type. i am not the expert but i save seed from tomatoes every year and they are true to type the next year. at least that is my experience. Dean PS i have some seven generation Anne Russian tomatoes. PS for better pollination i tap the supports for my tomato plant with a stick 2-3 time a week to vibrate the blossoms for better yields. |
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| I would save seed every year as long as the plants are heirlooms. The process you speak of is efficient for gathering pollen and causing self pollination, not so much distribute it. There's a lot of knowledge out there. The most important thing is learning how to interpret it and put it to work for you. |
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