Growing for Skan

"The most likely threat to native bees is habitat loss, and the associated loss of key floral and nesting resources. Faced with this discouraging news, what can a homeowner, backyard naturalist, or Master Gardener do?"

"Many solutions exist for supporting pollinators. Enhancing nesting sites, improving foraging resources (flowers), and reducing pesticide use are all good, general recommendations. But one of the best solutions that individual homeowners can adopt is to develop a pollinator garden in your back yard."

Bee a part of the solution: create your own pollinator and habitat garden in September with our pilot pollinator farm share. Shop here: https://growingforskan.luluslocalfood.com/Shopping/Search?CategoryId=&ProducerId=20425&SearchTerm=#pop

See this guide:
https://www.publicgardens.org/file/50602/download?token=cmhCWtGR
written to help homeowners with an interest in bee conservation develop a pollinator garden to support those native bee species most in need of assistance.


(Ref: Creating a pollinator garden for native specialist bees of New York and the Northeast) read more...

"In the modern food system, fewer than 15 cents per food dollar goes to farmers who grow the food, with the vast majority going to corporations that package it, market it, and transport it thousands of miles away to be sold off supermarket shelves.

Foodshed’s model of cooperative ownership and direct sales aims to create a food value chain that instead, gets good food to the people, while also distributing wealth more equitably: 80 cents of every food dollar goes to farmers, 5 cents goes toward regenerative agricultural research, and any remaining profit, up to 15 cents on the dollar, goes into the business and is paid to partner farmers through profit-sharing at the end of each year. “We call it the triple impact,” says Ellee. “Every food dollar that goes to a farmer is nourishing a family, and then re-circulates in the local economy.”

From: https://sdfoodvision2030.org/foodshed-small-farm-distro/ read more...

Working with Sam Quinn of SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry's Restoration Science Center (RSC), Go Native! perennials has helped create two demonstration meadows on our farm site for Skaneateles home owners to view. Planted in June 2021, native plant seedlings are coming up strong - last week we saw bergamot, black-eyed susan, anise hyssop seedlings - and a lot more!! Sam and Brandy Neveldine, also from the RSC, will host visits to the demo meadows in the near future; stay tuned! In the meantime check out Sam's presentation for Onondaga County's Cornell Cooperative Extension to learn how a meadow can help protect Skaneateles Lake, water quality, promote birds, bees, butterflies and other beneficial wildlife, Transitioning Your Lawn to a Meadow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIWtgZxjMg4 read more...

Insect numbers have dropped 78% in 24 years*

Read this nice piece (https://www.pnas.org/content/118/2/e2002547117) on simple steps we can take to avert the disastrous loss of insects; the article includes photos and information about the amazing services insects provide us.

Go Native! perennials can help you with the first 2 actions:

1. Convert lawns into diverse natural habitats.
2. Grow native plants.

Get in touch: (240) 626 5209, gonativeskan@gmail.com

*S. Via, Univ of MD, webinar June 2021 read more...

Black capped chickadee parents must catch between 6,240 and 9,120 caterpillars to rear one clutch of their young. And, those caterpillars must be near the nest or mom and dad will spend too much energy hunting caterpillars. The chickadee is not alone. Many song birds need the soft skinned, nutritious, carotenoid-heavy caterpillars to grow their young to be healthy adults.

How can you grow more caterpillars for our baby song birds? Add native plants that support caterpillars to your landscapes.

"On average yards dominated by non-native plants:
* produced 75% fewer caterpillars
* were 60% less likely to have breeding chickadees
* Nests contained 1.5 fewer eggs
* Clutches were 29% less likely to survive
* Nests produced 1.2 fewer fledglings
* Maturation was delayed by 1.5 days." (D Tallamy) read more...