Insectaries: Grow Flowers to Attract Beneficial Insects

Reader Contribution by Pam Dawling
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Insectary circle including borage. Photo by Bridget Aleshire

We plant selected flowers among our vegetables to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects into our garden. Farmscaping is the name for this practice on a big scale: see the ATTRA publication Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control – CT065. The download costs 99 cents unless you are a subscriber, or if the cost is beyond your means. Oregon State Extension has a 40-page, Year 2000 version online.

After studying the literature, I made a plan and chose some flowers to deal with several garden pests and the need for pollinators. I haven’t run a trial to see whether our flowers do attract more beneficial insects than we had previously, but we do enjoy seeing the flowers. Diversity of species generally helps the ecosystem. Organic pest control improves your crop yields without harming the environment.

Spring

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