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Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

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Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#21

Post by pascalxus »

bmitc wrote: post #3

After getting a house with a decent sized yard and trees, I have been having a lot of fun with planting native plants. While my neighbors are cutting down trees, which is honestly hard to watch, and paying landscapers to plant non-native plants, I'm spending a lot of time researching and planting native plants. It is honestly one of the more fulfilling things to walk outside and see all sorts of bees, butterflies, mo…

but you also need some balance. alot of native species don't taste very good and some aren't even edible.

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#22

Post by pamelafox »

bmitc wrote: post #3

After getting a house with a decent sized yard and trees, I have been having a lot of fun with planting native plants. While my neighbors are cutting down trees, which is honestly hard to watch, and paying landscapers to plant non-native plants, I'm spending a lot of time researching and planting native plants. It is honestly one of the more fulfilling things to walk outside and see all sorts of bees, butterflies, mo…

Agreed! I've been gradually replacing the invasive plants with native plants, and for the most part, native plants are doing really well. We have one side of the yard with bad soil from an ivy infestation, but with enough soil amendment, I think it'll be fine.

If you're in the bay area, https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/ is a great resource - you can tour gardens and find garden designers. Calscape.net also a great resource, plus the native nurseries like Oaktown and Watershed.

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#23

Post by ilyt »

dylan604 wrote: post #12
cookieswumchorr wrote: post #6

i always do it with my refrigerator

I don't think the spores that you are cultivating in your fridge would necessarily qualify as native plant species. that's more of a science experiment

More like biological weapon in the making

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#24

Post by dylan604 »

Decabytes wrote: post #10

I've always had a dream to buy a plot of land and homestead. But I have family that is getting older and needs my help more often. The though of being far away from essential services like Hospitals is not ideal. Also I'm still too early in my career to make that move. So, more recently I've been thinking of an idea I call "urban homesteading", which is just based off the idea of not waiting until the perfect circums…

I'm all for this, and I too have been attempting this at various levels. However, the one thing that I have come to respect is that farming to be self sustainable is capital H hard. To grow enough to sustain just you and your family means a much larger plot would be required than I originally appreciated. Weather is a huge factor on whether your plants will yield enough, and it is something absolutely out of your control. After that, you have pest control from insects to animals. The more effective you want to be about those just increases the costs of everything.

I've considered turning part of my yard into a larger garden plot, but since it's a rental, it's hard to want to expend the effort. So I've stuck with container gardening with a few raised beds.

I haven't quite gone the level of canning (not enough yield for that), but I have been drying the herbs I grow. This winter was the first time that I've used them for soups, and will be doing this at a larger volume this year.

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#25

Post by taeric »

bmitc wrote: post #3

After getting a house with a decent sized yard and trees, I have been having a lot of fun with planting native plants. While my neighbors are cutting down trees, which is honestly hard to watch, and paying landscapers to plant non-native plants, I'm spending a lot of time researching and planting native plants. It is honestly one of the more fulfilling things to walk outside and see all sorts of bees, butterflies, mo…

Native plants may be easy; but by that measure, invasives are where its at. :D

That said, bringing down trees is always odd to me. Definitely bring down any that pose a risk to your house. But otherwise, seems more effort than it is worth. I should probably be a lot better at pruning, as that is a ton of work. And, while intellectually I know the answer is that you are unlikely to kill the tree, I am always worried about that to the point that I don't prune enough.

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#26

Post by justajot »

Decabytes wrote: post #10

I've always had a dream to buy a plot of land and homestead. But I have family that is getting older and needs my help more often. The though of being far away from essential services like Hospitals is not ideal. Also I'm still too early in my career to make that move. So, more recently I've been thinking of an idea I call "urban homesteading", which is just based off the idea of not waiting until the perfect circums…

Yes!! I love the awareness here.

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#27

Post by dylan604 »

ilyt wrote: post #23
dylan604 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the spores that you are cultivating in your fridge would necessarily qualify as native plant species. that's more of a science experiment

More like biological weapon in the making

it could be the next penicillin type of discovery. at least that's how I justify the state my fridge has been in a couple of times in my youth

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#29

Post by WaitWaitWha »

mikeyouse wrote: post #17
throw_away1525 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They won't be honeybees, they'll be other types of bees like mason bees. But yes, they will come to you.

I'm interested in this generally but we've had problems with bald faced hornets and yellowjackets... are they attracted to the bee hotels?

No.

I am not familiar with solitary hornets (genus vespa) that build in bee homes. They build hives and depend on each other. The bee homes do not make a good living space for them.

Cicada killers are solitary, but they build in sandy soil. European hornets also nest in the ground; same with digger wasps, and mud daubers. The bald-faced hornet is a wasp and build their paper nest, similar to yellowjackets.

Re: Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

#30

Post by jlglover »

bmitc wrote: post #3

After getting a house with a decent sized yard and trees, I have been having a lot of fun with planting native plants. While my neighbors are cutting down trees, which is honestly hard to watch, and paying landscapers to plant non-native plants, I'm spending a lot of time researching and planting native plants. It is honestly one of the more fulfilling things to walk outside and see all sorts of bees, butterflies, mo…

I completely agree with most of your points. I have a spot in my garden where I want to plant a large native tree, probably an oak. I would love to plant all natives, except that they quickly get eaten by deer in my neighborhood. Even many "deer resistant" varieties like coneflower and beebalm. Of course, this make no sense, since deer and native plants should have evolved to survive beside one another. I think this contradiction is because the local deer population is just much much higher than the historical levels, since they have no natural predators here. My neighbors say they weren't a problem until recent decades. I was somewhat skeptical, except that I see many plant varieties thriving in the 2012 Google streetview shots that would not be feasible to grow today.
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