Here at the Bug Farm, the rainy season is in full effect. In places with a mild Mediterranean climate like ours, this is the best time to plant habitat seed mixes. (In areas further north, plant after the danger of frost is past.) The rain makes it easy for the habitat plants to get established, and by the time the spring crops are planted, some of the flowers should already be blooming and doing their part to support a healthy natural enemy complex to protect the new crop.
If you haven’t sown your habitat seeds yet, don’t fret. Keeping the habitat-to-be wet for a couple of weeks before planting will sprout weed seeds to help reduce weed problems later. Be careful not to disturb soil too much when killing the weeds before planting, though. Tilling can bring new weed seeds up to the surface, undoing the weed control benefits of pre-germinating the surface weed seeds. We’ve found that shallowly raking works well to pull up the weed seedlings without revealing too many new seeds.
See our Habitat Seed Mix page for more information on attracting beneficials with habitat plantings, along with a list of seed mixes we carry.
-Alia Tsang, bug farm intern
The Bug Farm 