Page 58 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

Bees are buzzing... or are they?
It may just be the late season rains, but the garden seems to be quieter this spring. I seem to be looking and listening a little harder to tap into the insect life swarmingabout,usuallyadelightfulassaultofbuzzing,crawlingvivaciousness. So where have all the insects gone? As gardeners, I think many of us are aware of the need for insectary plants to attract both pollinators and bene cial predatory insects. While we have heard a lot about honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder and its potentially devastating e ects on our food system, we hear less about our native pollinator populations which are also in decline. Native insects are often more e ective at pollination than European honey bees, and tiny native insect predators can also provide a more e ective means of pest control. Just imagine what the world would look and sound like if each of us grew colorful, bright smelling owers in every open space? Well, this does not have to be a lofty goal, and I’ll share a few of my favorite insectary plants later on that can help you create a lively garden for pollinators.
However, before you head o to your local nursery to purchase these plants, there is a lurking threat that needs to be addressed. Neonicotinoids. These broad-spectrum insecticides are commonly used in the nursery business to protect tender, crowded young plants from pest insects. While said
thru - Oct 31 ~ SR Luther Burbank Garden Tours - Drop-in guided tours: Tues.-Sat: 10–3:30 & Sun:11 – 2:30. Adults $10; Children 12-18, Seniors and College Students with ID $8.50; children under 12 free with an adult. 204 SR Ave., SR, 707-524-5445, lutherburbank.org/, burbankhome@lutherburbank.org
Monthly
Petaluma Seed Bank Class Schedule – For a complete list of ongoing classes go to rareseeds.com/resources/seed-bank- events/199 or call 707-773-1336,
Master Gardeners Library Workshops
May 4 ~ Designing Low Water Garden- Petaluma Seed Bank, 6-8p
May 6 ~ Solving Tomato Problems- Healdsburg,10:30-12:30p
to be relatively non-reactive in humans and
other mammals, noenicitinoids are similar in
structure to nicotine and damage the central
nervous system of insects, including bees and
native pollinators. There is signi cant evidence suggesting that noenicitinoids are a primary cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Neonics also weaken the immune system of worker bees, making them more susceptible to parasitic Varroa destructor mites. These chemicals can persist for years in our plants and are addictive to insects like nicotine, so that beautiful, pollinator-friendly new lavender or sage may actually be slowly poisoning the very insects we were trying to protect by planting it. So even when we think we are being helpful
May 13 ~ Free Eco-Friendly Garden Tour & Plant Sale - Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership –Self guided tour. Free, 10-4p, savingwaterpartnership. org/eco-friendly-garden-tour/
May 19 & 20 ~ Sonoma County Medical Association Alliance 25th Anniversary Garden Tour - Art Sales, Master Gardeners on hand, Plant Sales, Raffles. $50., 10a - 4p, , scmaa.org/GT-Home
May 13 ~ Herbal Delights-Harvest for the Hungry- SR 10:30-12:30p
May 20 ~ Dahlia Care-Rincon Valley, 10:30-12:30p
May 20 ~ Garden of Herbal Delights- Rohnert Park/Cotati,10:30-12:30p
May 20 ~ Managing Gophers-Moles & Deer-Guerneville, 10:30-12:30
May 20 ~ Food Gardening-Bayer Farm- SR, 10:30-12:30p
to pollinators by rushing out to the nursery to purchase armloads of insectary plants, we may be negatively impacting them without knowing it.
Daily Acts – Free- $20, 245 Kentucky St., Petaluma, 707-789-9664, dailyacts.org/ May 3 ~ EmPOWERing Communities 6:30-8p, 199 Petaluma Blvd N, Pet.
May 9 ~ Building Soil & Community through Composting! 6:30-8p Sliding Scale
May 11 ~ May Garden Day - Cavanagh Center Food Forest 10-12p, 426 8th St, Pet.
May 13 ~ Rockin’ Homesteads Tour! 10-1p, Tours: Petaluma, Cotati, Windsor
May 17 ~ May Garden Day - City Hall & Library Landscape, 10-12p, 7140 Bodega Ave., Seb.
May 17 ~ Garden Design Workshop - Creating Your Water-Wise Oasis! 5:30-8p, 20 4th St, Pet.,
May 18 ~ Daily Acts Open House 5:30-7p
May 24 ~ Talk: Habitat Gardening for Pollinators 6-8p Sliding Scale
May 26 ~ May Garden Day - Pocket Park 2-4p, Corner of: LaSalle & Loretto St., Cotati
Low Growing Perennials: Seaside Daisy (Erigeron glaucus), Goldenrod (Solidago californica), Creeping Thyme (Thymus spp.), Creeping Oregano (Origanum vulgare), Blanket ower (Gaillardia spp.), Yarrow (Achillia millefolium), Dill (Anethum graveolens), Showy Milkweed (Asclepias superba), Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus), Buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.)
So what can you do to help the pollinators? Firstly, plant insectary plants, but with a caveat. Be sure to ask your nursery whether they or their suppliers are using noenicitinoids, or neonics as they are called for short on their plants.
You can also consult the following list for neonic-free nurseries:
http://northcoastgardening.com/2015/02/nurseries-neonicotinoid/, however, not all of them will be listed, so it’s important to engage in a dialog with your local nursery. Remember, these nurseries are not evil, they are simply trying to stop the spread of pest insects within the nursery and to your garden. It is up to us to ask the right questions and use our purchasing power to help incentivize organic growing methods.
plants, what are you going to
buy? Here are a few of my favorites for honeybees and native insects to help you get started.
Trees: owering fruit trees, Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana)
Photo by Brian Buckner Photography.
May 3 ~ Workshop: Perennial Food Crops
by Garden Angel Design. Free, 5:30-6- 30p SR. near Bayer Farm. RSVP:Sherry, 484-1035
May 13 & 14 ~ Russian River Rose
- Mothers Day - Garden Tours - $2 Donation, 10-5p, 1685 Magnolia Dr., Healdsburg, 707-433-7455, russian-river- rose.com, info@russian-river-rose.com
May 6 ~ Build Garden-Fairies Will Come
- Sonoma Library,10:30-12:30p
Well, now that you have chosen a neonic-free nursery for all of your
(Lavandula angustifolia), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii), CA Lilac (Ceanothus spp.), Artichokes (Cynara scolymus), any Salvia
58 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/17
Shrubs: Co eeberry (Rhamnus californica), Dwarf Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis pilularis ‘Pigeon Point’), Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus), English Lavender
SonomaCountyGazette.com for MORE DETAILS
Our website is updated daily!
Send your Event info to: Vesta@Sonic.net
Interested in learning more? Join us on Wednesday, May 24th, 6-8pm for a delightfully informative talk on habitat gardening for bees,
birds, and butter ies. We’ll have talented speakers from Sonoma County Master Gardeners, Native Songbirds Care & Conservation and the Sonoma County Bee Keeper’s Association, plus participants who register their habitat gardening actions for our Community Resilience Challenge, will be entered to win a gift card to a local neonic – free plant nursery! Sign up at dailyacts.org/ events to receive updates on the talk location. Happy Gardening!