BIRB: Beneficial Insect Reservoir Bed

For my final project, I am creating two beneficial insect reservoir beds with beds C9 and C10. A BIRB is a bed that contains crops specifically planted to attract beneficial insects to the farm. Beneficial insects are companions that promote production on the farm in a number of ways. These insects are very helpful for dealing with pollination and fighting pest populations. 

In order to obtain the plants I need for my project, I needed to reach out to local organic nurseries to see if they were able and willing to help me. I sent an email introducing myself, the farm, my project, and sent a list of potential crops that I am looking for. This list included:

Purple poppy mallow

Cinquefoils

Sea lavender

Evening primrose

California Milkweed

Most of the nurseries replied in a very helpful manner and I ultimately decided to go to Green Jeans Garden Care in Mill Valley. At Green Jeans, I was able to find four starters for crops that I thought would be a good idea to plant in my bed. I bought a mallow plant, a salvia plant, and was donated two seedlings of california milkweed. I chose these plants because of their high nectar contents and because they were highly recommended by the Green Jeans staff. 

After finishing the weeding and sheet mulching in the two beds, the next step is to transplant my newly obtained crops. After this step, my project will be nearly complete.

—Al