Bees and Pollination

Learn when you need two trees for pollination, and how to attract bees for abundant harvests

Two things are needed to get great fruit crops—the right pollinisers (trees that need to be planted together to get a crop), and enough bees. Learn how to ensure abundant harvests by creating a bee-friendly garden and understanding pollination.

Fruit trees produce fruit as a result of sexual reproduction, which means that female parts of the flower have to be fertilised with the male pollen, usually from a different tree. Lack of bees, and lack of knowledge about pollination, are two key reasons for failure in fruit crops. It’s one of the least understood and confusing fruit growing topics.

Where do the bees come from? Are there enough bees in the garden (and if not, what do you do about it?). Which trees need pollinisers and do you have the right ones?

After doing this fascinating and important module you’ll understand how to encourage and protect bees and other pollinating insects in your garden, how to monitor and measure whether you have enough, and how to ensure all your fruit trees have the right pollinising buddies.

What’s included in this module:

• Unit 1a: Pollination in your home orchard (article)
• Unit 1b: Understand pollination in your home orchard (activity)
• Unit 2a: Bees and other pollinators (article)
• Unit 2b: Pollinating insects – do you have enough? (activity)
• Unit 3: Bees in action (video)