Creating a haven for butterflies and bees
WATERLOO REGION — The Fertile Ground farm outside St. Agatha only dedicates about five acres to growing vegetables and other crops, so setting aside even a few hundred square feet of land to let native wildflowers flourish might not seem to make economic sense.
There was a cost to setting up four pollinator strips, and the strips have made managing weeds more of a challenge, said farm manager Angie Koch. But “that’s the only down side,” she said. The 60-metre long strips are filled with native plants and flowers that have created an inviting habitat for beneficial bees, butterflies and other insects that pollinate the peas, beans, tomatoes and squash that the farm grows for its market garden business.
The four strips also provide a feast for the eyes of farm workers and customers, with a riot of purples, oranges, pinks and yellows of native wildflowers. “They’re gorgeous. They’re absolutely gorgeous,” Koch said.
All those flowers attract plenty of insects and the pollinator strips “are just humming” with life. The result has been increased crop yields and better quality fruit, she said, since well-pollinated plants tend to produce bigger, more filled-out fruit.
As an unexpected added bonus, the pollination strips have attracted “all sorts” of predatory wasps and beetles that eat the pests that attack the crops on the farm, which doesn’t use pesticides.
A University of Guelph researcher was struck on a recent visit by the small number of Colorado potato beetles the farm had, compared to other organic farms she had visited, and agreed that the pollinator strips appeared to be a factor in the low number of
pests.
The Grand River Conservation Authority holds free workshops a few times a year to educate landowners about the benefits of pollinators and on how to make their land more inviting for bees, butterflies and other good bugs. The next workshop is set for this Wednesday in Puslinch. The authority is also holding a special site visit workshop on Sept. 16, which includes a visit to Fertile Ground farm.
Attracting pollinators has several benefits, said Karen Buschert, who runs the workshops. It helps the economy, because fruit, nuts, oilseeds and many vegetables need to be pollinated, and it improves biodiversity. “There’s evidence that pollinators are declining,” Buschert said. “This is a way of trying to counteract some of the stresses they’re experiencing.”
Making your property attractive to pollinators doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition, she said. No longer mowing areas at the edge of fields or roadsides, or in marginal areas next to streams, and allowing them to become natural meadows can make a real difference, Buschert said. “You don’t have to invest a lot of time or money.”
Trees and shrubs such as maple and willow not only produce early flowers that attract pollinators; planting them can also help reduce erosion and enhance soil and water quality. Rural properties of five acres or more may be eligible for grants for tree planting and naturalization projects, Buschert said.
Factsheets on pollinators are available on the authority’s website at www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/Landownerresources.aspx.
The workshop this Wednesday is at Puslinch Community Centre, 23 Brock Rd. S., Puslinch from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Participants must preregister by email at ruralwater@grandriver.ca or by calling Buschert at 1-866-900-4722, ext. 2262.