Flying Frog Farm Hedgerows working According to Plan

By Keith Abeles, CAFF North Coast Staff

Field tour participants had the opportunity to examine several young hedgerows designed to fulfill the dual functions of attracting benegicial insects for crop protection while respecting the farm's views and open space. Photo by Keith Abeles

An enthusiastic group of 55 people braved one of the hottest days of the year for a tour of the seven hedgerows planted last April at Flying Frog Farm in Sebastopol. Jolee and Mike Steinberg run the eight-acre organic vegetable operation. As career educators (former teachers), they were pleased to answer the continual steam of questions and share their experience. Asked why they put in hedgerows, for instance, Jolee said growing lettuce and other cool weather crops means being under constant siege by insect pests. “One of the main goals was to increase the populations of beneficial, predatory insects,” she said.

They decided to surround their fields with native plant hedgerows as a means to provide year round habitat and flowers, mostly with plants that are documented for hosting beneficial insects. Jolee said previous efforts to increase beneficial numbers by using the Good Bug Blend only partially addressed the need because of difficulty establishing a stand of annual plants that needs a good deal of water. “So we decided to try perennials as a means to attract more beneficial insects and conserve water,” Jolee said.

The hedgerow is showing substantial growth after just six months and the Steinberg’s are already seeing the anticipated increase beneficial insect activity, thanks largely to profuse flowerings of the yarrow and buckwheat.

“Each hedgerow needs to be planned with specific goals in mind,” Abeles said. “Once the goal is clear, plant choices and logistics naturally follow.” he said. The Flying Frog hedgerows were designed to meet two needs clearly conveyed by the Steinberg’s. “On this site we chose plants that would attract beneficials, while remaining short enough to respect the views and open nature of the property,” he said.

Compact varieties of coyote brush, coffeeberry, and ceanothus were identified and used in the installation of six of their seven hedges. Full size plants were used in a 375-foot hedgerow, which will provide buffer for dust and a visual break from a neighbor who is building a house on an adjacent property.

Hedgerow serve other functions as well, including erosion control, creating habitat, building biodiversity into the farm and creating corridors and transition areas to adjacent natural ecosystems.

Additionally, hedgerows serve as an asset to create buffers and privacy. Once grown, they prevent dust and drift off the land when it is windy or machinery is being used. That was a major motivation for installing a 1,000-foot hedgerow at the 14-acre orchard at Gabriel Farm this spring with CAFF’s assistance. Other reasons to plant include creating a source of beauty, and creating a form of weed control as the plants grow and shade out areas that previously needed to be mowed or weed whacked.

Discussing relevant logistics and the challenges he faced in installing and maintaining the hedgerow, Mike stressed the need to design an irrigation system that is suited to the hedgerow. He installed a drip system to minimize water use and weed pressure. The hedge gets watered for an hour once a week (twice if it’s hot), using 1/2 gallon emitters on each plant. He pre-tilled the area for the hedge before planting, then added a shovel full of compost to each hole for added fertility.

While their hedgerow appears to be benefiting from the compost, restoration professionals say native plants can generally be planted without amendments, thereby reducing cost and labor for a project. Mike spent a lot of time determining how to control weeds, eventually deciding to go with mulch instead of weed mats. (Sixty yards of mulch was used to create a heavy cover on the 1000-foot of hedgerow.) So far, weeds have been minimal and the system is working, though it has yet to endure a winter.

“Make sure the plants are placed high enough in the ground to allow good drainage in the summer, and don’t place mulch directly against the plant,” Mike said, “because native plants need good drainage and won’t tolerate wet feet in the summer.”

Some key logistical considerations to keep in mind include: order plants early from native plant nurseries to ensure availability (ideally six months ahead of time); regularly weed and water your installations for the first 2-3 years; contact your local RCD, NRCS, or FSA office for financial and technical assistance; and be sure to mark all your plants well and make all your workers aware of them. “Many hedgerow plants can be lost in the first couple years as winter weeds swallow them or uninformed workers weed them out,” Abeles said.

The Steinberg’s enthusiasm for their new hedgerows was obvious and infectious to the group, and will certainly inspire others. “It’s been a great experience,” Jolee said. “Planting hedgerows is already providing benefits to the farm and we look forward to deriving even more positive results as the hedge matures.”