Why We Stopped Relying on Pollinators (and What We Grow Instead)
Let’s get this out of the way first: the bees aren’t gone. Not everywhere. Not yet. But they are unstable. And if your food system depends on stability, that should concern you.
Pollinator populations are in decline—regionally, seasonally, and sometimes catastrophically. Some places still have healthy native bees, hoverflies, and managed hives doing their job. Others don’t. And the thing is, by the time you notice the decline in your own garden, it’s already too late to pivot.
We’re not anti-pollinator. We’re anti-fragile. We want food that grows even if the bees don’t show up that day, that week, or that year. Not because it’s fashionable. Because it’s practical.
This Isn’t Panic. It’s Planning.
Yes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are technically self-pollinating. And yes, they’ll still give you a decent yield without bees. Same with peas and beans. You won’t get nothing. But even those crops tend to do better when insect activity vibrates the blossoms and improves pollen transfer. That’s not opinion. That’s observation.
And sure, companion planting, flower strips, and pollinator habitats help. We plant them. We encourage them. But they aren’t guarantees. They’re inputs. They cost time and space, and they still rely on a pollinator population that is increasingly unpredictable.
So we still grow pollinator-friendly crops—but we prioritize crops that don’t need pollinators at all. Not because it’s either/or. But because a stable core of pollinator-independent crops means food on the table no matter what else fails.
What Doesn’t Need Pollinators to Feed You
These are the crops that produce food without pollination—or where we harvest them before pollination even matters.
Leaf and Root Crops:
Lettuce
Spinach
Kale
Swiss chard
Turnips
Radishes
Beets
Carrots
Rutabagas
Alliums (pollination only for seeds):
Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Shallots
Vegetative Propagation:
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Wind-Pollinated Grains:
Corn
Barley
Oats
Wheat
These are the crops that make up the spine of a truly resilient garden. They ask for soil, water, light, and care—but not bees. You can count on them whether the weather’s good for flying insects or not. Whether your neighbor sprays pesticides or not. Whether the hive down the road collapses or thrives.
What We Still Grow (But Don’t Rely On)
We still plant:
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Beans
Peas
Squash
Cucumbers
Melons
These aren’t off the table. They’re just not the foundation. Some of them are self-pollinating. Some use native bees. Some, like squash, rely on specific pollinators that disappear when habitat vanishes.
And yes, we do the work—interplanting flowers, reducing pesticides, creating bee habitat. But we don't pretend that’s a silver bullet. It's not a guarantee. It's just good stewardship.
It’s Not All or Nothing
The point isn't to abandon pollinator-reliant crops. The point is to stop assuming they'll always produce. A healthy, sustainable garden grows both—but it leans on the crops that don’t blink when the pollinators do.
We don’t plant in fear. We plant in preparation.
Not for collapse—but for continuity.
Not for scarcity—but for security.
Grow the flowers. Keep the bees. But don’t bet the whole farm on their wings.