Hedgerow Planting at High Ground

This week we planted a perennial insectary hedgerow alongside our crops, between the farmable portion and the area under conservation easement. The hedgerow consists of two 500-foot rows with more than 300 plants. There are 15 different species of native plants, including elderberry, ceanothus, coyote brush, California sage, wax myrtle, California rose, giant buckwheat, sticky monkey flower, and saltbush. These plants attract beneficial insects by providing habitat, nectar, and pollen. Some of the insects we hope to attract are lacewings, predatory wasps, hover flies, and big-eyed bugs. (We’ll look for some of these at our annual Kid’s Day at the Farm on July 13th). The hedgerow will also help to prevent erosion. In areas where erosion is already occurring, we made sure to choose plants with substantial root systems to help hold the hillside in place.

In order to plant our hedgerow, Steve first needed to mow down the invasive Italian thistle and hemlock weeds, which were up to 8 or 9 feet tall in places. We will need to keep on top of these weeds for a few years, until the hedgerow plants are well established and can outcompete new weed seedlings. Hemlock seeds have a 3-year viability, which means that if we repeatedly mow down the hemlock plants before they set seed for a period of three years, very few will germinate the fourth year and we may actually win the war against these hardy weeds.

Several of our field workers spent most of a day digging the holes for the 300–400 new plants, and Steve helped Sam Earnshaw do the planting. Sam is with the California Alliance with Family Farmers, which partially funded the hedgerow project with a special grant. We planted on 8-foot centers and set up a drip irrigation system, with which we will have to water regularly for at least a couple years. It’s always exciting to plant new crops, but it’s particularly fun when it’s something that will grow and flourish over the years, providing scenic beauty as well as functional benefit to our farm. We’ll be keeping our eyes out, hoping to see lots of beneficial insects congregating there soon.