Creating Biodiversity

At both Garfield Community Farm and our little yard we're creating atmosphere's that support a more diverse range of life. At the farm the biggest things we're doing are reducing Japanese Knotweed and adding plants that attract beneficial insects. These plants include oregano, butterfly bush, yarrow, dill, lambs ear, and wild flowers. This is the first year we've seen Monarch Butterflies like the one in the photo above. All the bees and insects are helping to pollinate our many vegetable plants. The Japanese Knotweed creates a mono culture, a large space where it completely crowds out all other plants. The only thing it's good for are bees in the late summer, they love knotweed flowers. If anyone wants to do bee keeping at the farm, let me know!

Also by cutting down on the Knotweed we've seen lots of turkey, who now have a more plants to eat, the same with rabbits and squirrels, which we never used to see in year's past. We are happy to have a family of hawks that keep those new smaller neighbors in check.