Plants that do not need Pollinators

For those who want to grow under tulle or netting, there are plants that do not need bees or other pollinators in order to produce their fruits.  Here are some off the top of my head:

Tomatoes - self-pollinating self-fertile
Peppers - self-pollinating self-fertile
Eggplant - self-pollinating self-fertile
Lettuces
Greens such as chard, kale, bok choy, collards
Herbs
Corn - cross-pollinating with wind or gentle shaking
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Root crops such as carrots, beets, turnips
Onion
Garlic
Beans - self-pollinating self-fertile
Peas - self-pollinating self-fertile

Can anyone think of other veggies?

Brassicas: broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, cabbage

boffer wrote:Brassicas: broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, cabbage

unless you want to keep seed.

Sorry, that would be me tossing a wrench into the works.

Nah, that's the start of another list!

Very helpful list, sanderson and boffer. No idea I could have covered my beans from the terrible JBs......at least the tops.

Or how about some parthenocarpic seeds/plants.  I am growing Cucumber Persian Baby from Botanical Interests and Partenon Zucchini Summer Squash.  They do not need pollinators.  I am sure there are many more.  I think Boffer is growing some parthenocarpic cucumbers in his greenhouse.

sanderson wrote:For those who want to grow under tulle or netting, there are plants that do not need bees or other pollinators in order to produce their fruits.  Here are some off the top of my head:

Tomatoes - self-pollinating
Peppers - self-pollinating
Eggplant - self-pollinating
Lettuces
Greens such as chard, kale, bok choy, collards
Herbs
Corn - self-pollinating, wind or gentle shaking
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Root crops such as carrots, beets, turnips
Onion
Garlic
Beans - self-pollinating
Peas - self-pollinating

Can anyone think of other veggies?

Tomatoes, peppers, okra, and eggplant are most definitely NOT self pollinating, yet the myth persists. They are self fertile, which is not the same thing at all. Wind can accomplish some pollination, but buzz pollination with bumble bees will produce larger and better quality fruit on all three of these crops. If you have them covered so bees cannot get at them, you need to hand pollinate (artificial buzz pollination) with a tuning fork for the best possible yield. And corn is not even self fertile - it MUST be cross pollinated. SOME bean varieties, all peanuts, and all garden peas that I know of can self pollinate. In fact legumes are the ONLY self pollinating garden plants. The stigma and pistil grow together to accomplish pollination. Southern peas vary, just like beans. Most benefit from bee pollination. Gardeners do not need pollinators for cabbage, greens, onions, garlic, carrots, and lettuce, unless you are producing seed. Sweet and Irish potatoes do not need bees, nor do parthenocarpic fruits such as some cucumbers, some squash, and some citrus.

I see I used "self-pollinating" incorrectly. Self fertile.

Thanks pollinator for the clarification! Great info!!

This saves me the time of coming up with a list for the green house once I get one.

Thanks for the clarification, pollinator.

I remember reading an article last year that stressed that the taste of tomatoes corresponds directly to how many of a tomato fruit's seeds get pollinated.

There's so often trade-offs involved in gardening. In this instance, with this particular plant: Preserve the plant's health and ability to produce fruits at the cost of flavor by covering it during its pollination phases, or risk disease and/or bug infestation by leaving it uncovered, in order to get greater flavor and possibly larger fruits.

Everyone has their own ideas on what risks are worth taking, probably largely dependent on how severely they are afflicted by things like, in the case of tomatoes, things like tomato hornworms, which can be devastating. I have my own ideas as to what risks I'm willing to take for what rewards, too, and know that they're largely related to my own growing situations rather than absolute.

Certainly there are enclosed growing facilities that never see a bee but still reliably produce good quality, beautiful tomatoes in abundance. Then again, there are people whose backyards produce amazing flavors.

Marc Iverson wrote:Thanks for the clarification, pollinator.
Certainly there are enclosed growing facilities that never see a bee but still reliably produce good quality, beautiful tomatoes in abundance.

For greenhouses and high tunnels and such.
https://greenmethods.com/bumblebees-for-pollination/

camprn wrote:Thanks pollinator for the clarification! Great info!!

+1