This past year we transformed our yard into a place for birds, pollinators and an organic garden. The purpose of this transformation was twofold:
1.) to provide pollinator and bird habitat
2.) to increase the yield in our garden by attracting pollinators to the vegetables and native predators of herbivorous insects to the garden.
To do this we planted several wildflower beds, placed birdhouses throughout our yard, our woodlot and the pasture next to it and avoided non-organic pesticides, fertilizers and other garden chemicals.
This presentation is a photo essay of the past year.
Birds, Bugs and Wildflowers: organic Integrated Pest Management for the home gardener
1. Birds, Bugs and Wildflowers:
organic Integrated Pest
Management for the home
gardener
by Richard Gardner
and Heather Cuthbert
rtgardner3@yahoo.com
http://www.slideshare.net/rtgardner3
https://independent.academia.edu/RichardTGardner
2. A photographic essay on a novel way of
increasing garden productivity, controlling pests,
creating pollinator habitat and enhancing native
bird populations.
3. Abstract: This past year we transformed our yard into
a place for birds, pollinators and an organic garden.
The purpose of this transformation was twofold:
1.) to provide pollinator and bird habitat
2.) to increase the yield in our garden by attracting
pollinators to the vegetables and native predators of
herbivorous insects to the garden.
To do this we planted several wildflower beds,
placed birdhouses throughout our yard, our woodlot
and the pasture next to it and avoided non-organic
pesticides, fertilizers and other garden chemicals.
This presentation is a photo essay of the past
year.
4.
5. The biggest problems this year were a late cool
summer and ground hogs. An estimated 15
ground hogs were in our yard at one time or
another throughout the growing season. About
1/3 of our productivity was lost to these animals
including young bean, pea, lettuce, broccoli,
kale, brussel sprouts, beet, cabbage and collards
plants.
6. The biggest surprise was that groundhogs
(Marmota monax) devastated young common
milkweed (Asclepius syriaca), butterfly weed
(Asclepius tuberosa) and other native wildflower
plants. Only when the groundhogs were dealt
with did the wildflower bed, like the vegetable
garden, begin to flourish.
7. We are hoping that Sir Isaac Newton, our
American Dingo, will help us this year with the
groundhogs.
The weather is an issue which we can do
nothing about.
8. Overall, the productivity of the garden was high
given the circumstances. There were very few
problems with insects and disease. The diversity
of birds was exciting. This year we will be more
proactive about ground hog control* and do
more to enhance the number of native
wildflowers in our yard. At the same time we
hope to give tours and otherwise engage other
people in the processes, we are developing.
* Coyote urine, fox urine and hot pepper dust were not effective in
preventing groundhog damage this past year.
9. Our yard and the pasture next to it in 2014 had:
22 song bird houses,
10 bat houses,
4 song bird nesting platforms in woodlot,
14 song bird nesting platforms under deck,
4 kestrel/screech owl houses,
2 barn owl houses
1 hawk nesting platform
(and counting).
10. • 12 of the nesting platforms under deck were 8”
long x 4” deep – none had nests.
• 2 nesting platforms under deck were 8” long x 6”
deep – one had a nest made of moss.
• None of the 4 nesting platforms in the woodlot
had nests.
• 22 nesting boxes along pasture, around yard,
along the edge of a swamp and in the woodlot –
14 had nests of twigs, 2 had nests of moss and 1
had a moss nest over a twig nest for a total of 17
occupied song bird houses, 77%.
• Both barn owl boxes had common grackle nests.
11. • 3 kestrel boxes were in the pasture and 1 in
the swamp at the bottom of our woodlot but
were unchecked for occupants.
• Hawk nesting platform in woodlot across the
street did not have a nest. It probably needs
to go up much higher than 12’. It will be left
alone unless one of us learns to tree climb.
• None of the 10 bat houses were occupied
possibly due to less than optimal locations in
and along the woodlot and/or white nose
disease.
13. Birds and bats
• The four small nesting platforms in woodlot
were given a roof this winter and a fifth one
installed.
• The twelve 8”x4” nesting platforms under
deck were replaced by nine 8”x7” and four
10”x11-1/4” nesting platforms which filled all
the possible locations under the deck.
• Bat houses will be left alone until better
locations can be determined.
14. Groundhogs
• We now have Sir Isaac Newton, an American
Dingo, to help with groundhog control. We
installed an invisible fence around the perimeter
of our yard to keep him within our 1-1/2 acres.
• Groundhogs in our yard, woodlot and pasture
next to us will be aggressively dealt with by
smoke bombing and filling in their holes and
filling in with dog waste. This will hopefully
control a problem before it devastates our
gardens again. We found that several holes were
occupied by successive groundhogs.
15. Garden
• Continue to use bamboo poles tied with twine for
trellising as it is free and a good use for a non-
native invasive plant.
• Fewer plants spaced further apart.
• Use ½” x 4’ rebar to support peppers.
• Fewer onions
• Slightly shrink the wildflower section of the
garden to provide more space for vegetables.
• Added 2 cubic yards of mushroom soil and a
year’s composted kitchen waste. This will be
tilled into the soil before planting vegetables.
16. Flower beds
• Removed a pine tree from the front of the house
to give more light and encourage mint/bee balm
bed to expand.
• Continue to encourage the growth and diversity of
native flowers while discouraging non-native
plants.
• Seeded the driest flower bed between our garage
and house with Big Blue Stem grass, Andropogon
gerardi, (locally acquired and ordered seed).
• Heavily seeded edges of yard and flower beds with
locally acquired Common Milkweed, Asclepias
syriaca and locally acquired Solidago sp.
• Better groundhog control.
17. Invasive plants
Continued invasive non-native plant removal. To
this point Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus
orbiculatis), honeysuckles (Lonicera maacki, L.
morrowii and L. japonica), multiflora rose (Rosa
multiflora), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata),
Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum),
mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata) and Tree-
of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) are being
removed as much as possible.
18. Birds
American robin Turdus migratorius
Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula
Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata
Carolina wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Cat bird Dumetella carolinensis
Common grackle Quiscalus quiscula
Eastern phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Gold finch Spinus tristis
House finch Haemorhous mexicanus
Indigo bunting Passerina cyanea
Mocking bird Mimus polyglottos
Mourning dove Zenaida macroura
Northern cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Ruby throated hummingbird Archilochus colubris
Scarlet tanager Piranga olivacea
Warbling vireo Vireo gilvus
19. Pollinators
Bumble bee Bombus ternarius
Painted lady butterfly Vanessa cardui
Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly Papilio glaucus
misc. Apocrita species
misc. Lepidoptera species
24. road
p
a
s
t
u
r
e
woodlot
red = wildflower beds
light blue = house
white = sun deck with
nesting platforms under it
dark blue = garage
brown = vegetable gardens
yellow = mint and shrub beds
black = driveways
swamp
s = songbird houses
b = barn owl boxes
k = kestrel/screech
owl boxes
k
s
s/b
lawn
electric fence
w/ wood posts
north
100’
downhill
slope
