Flowering Cover Crops to Control Pests

Brown Dog Flower Farm | Western SARE

Mimi Rooney and Ben Swim are exploring an alternative to chemical insecticides to reduce pest populations on their flower farm by introducing flowering cover crops that attract predatory insects. In this Western SARE-funded research project at Brown Dog Flower Farm in Palmer, Alaska, Mimi and Ben planted buckwheat, phacelia, red clover, and alyssum as cover crops to provide habitat for predatory insects that prey on the pests damaging their flowers.

Watch as Mimi and Ben share their experiences with this Western SARE-funded research project.

To learn more about this Western SARE and Brown Dog Flower Farm research project, visit https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fw23-410/.

To learn more about Western SARE, visit www.westernsare.org.