Question:

This year the region I live in lost 100s of millions of bees

and they are still researching why. My question is this:

I have 20 blackberry plants and no bees. I know I am

supposed to manually cross pollinate but have had no luck

finding articles on the web that explain methods for doing this.

Can you make suggestions as to how or web links?  Same

question for my peaches, lemons & tangerines.  Thank you. M.K.

Hi M.K.,

I hope they find a way to stop bee deaths. That is so devastating.

The blackberries, peaches and citrus fruit should actually self

pollinate somewhat when the wind blows the pollen around.

However, to be sure you have a decent crop, you can do it

yourself. To manually pollinate a plant, you should:

* Find a small artist's paint brush.

* Gently collect pollen from a blossom by rubbing the brush on

the stamen's anther.

* Tap the pollen into the flower so it lands on the stigma or brush it directly

against the stigma. You can use pollen from one blossom on several other

blossoms.

Good luck and don’t forget to garden joyfully!
Katelyn