By Darrell Blackwelder
For the Salisbury Post
SALISBURY — It is very important for beginning gardeners planting vegetables such as cantaloupe, watermelon, squash and cucumbers and other cucurbit crops to know that these plants depend on insects for pollination.
Without honeybees and other pollinating insects, these vegetables produce poor quality or no fruit at all.
Vining cucurbits such as cucumber and winter squash have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers bloom first and are very abundant. Female flowers producing the fruit bloom shortly afterwards. Female blooms have a short period in which they are receptive to pollination.
What can the bees do to help? Find out here: http://www.farmcarolina.com/article/050412-darrell-blackwelder-column-bees-pollination