On Thu, 19 Jul 2018 09:55:36 -0400, wrote:

>On Thu, 19 Jul 2018U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>penmart wrote:
>>
>>>Pickling cukes, green and yellow zukes:
>>>https://postimg.cc/image/r5sh998vr/
>>>This is only the beginning, lots more comming.
>>
>>Nice.
>>I've got about a dozen zucchini waiting the fridge. Today I will
>>shred them all and pack in 2 cup portions and freeze. 2 cups is what
>>all my zucchini baked goods recipes use.
>>I am not seeing any bees this year. I am having to hand pollinate the
>>zucchini. The cucumbers female blossoms are dropping, unpollinated.
>>Normally I have lots of bees.
>>Janet US
>
>Could be the weather, sometimes the blossoming doesn't coinside with
>pollinator emergence. Last year my fruit trees bloomed during an
>early warm spell and then a frost made them all drop before the
>pollenators arrived. This year the weather cooperated so I'll have a
>large apple and plum crop. There are so many apples that I'll need to
>pick off every other one or their weight will break the branches.
>That's what they do in the orchards and that also yields larger fruit.
>Unlike fruit trees zuchinni will continue setting blossoms so
>eventually your pollenators will arrive. Harvest when small and they
>will keep producing, you'll actually get a lot more by weight.
>Every Oriental long bean seed germinated, all 20, I'm curious to see
>how they produce, this is the first time I've planted them. They are
>already climbing on the trellises I provided, I'm expecting a huge
>crop, I'll probably need to freeze most. Only a very few Chinese
>restaurants serve long beans so whenever I see them on the menu I
>order them.
>Amazon sells the seeds.
>http://www.tinyurbankitchen.com/stir...ng-beans-with/

I'm thinking the cold then hot then cold then hot affected the
pollinators. I think it was those couple of weeks off and on of night
time temps in the 30s. I've got more zucchini than I will need. I do
love my cucumbers and I should be swimming in them by now but have
only had one. The horseradish and thyme should start blooming soon
and that should attract bees. When those two plants are blooming you
can hear the hum as you enter the back yard and see the blossoms
bouncing from the weight of bees. (fingers crossed)
I will be interested to hear your report on the Oriental long beans. I
have been tempted. How much room are they going to take up?
Janet US