A Recap: Steps to Farmscaping

Habitat enhancement for beneficial organisms can provide the foundation for a biologically intensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. The steps presented below may help when attempting to increase the “directed diversity” of an agricultural ecosystem:

1. Keep good records of where, when, and what pests occur on the farm.
2. Obtain as much information as you can about both the pest’s and the beneficial organism’s life cycle and habitat requirements. Where are eggs laid and when do they hatch? Where does the pest/beneficial feed and how long does it need to develop into an adult? Where does the pest/beneficial overwinter and in what form? This information will not only aid in farmscaping, but will also aid pest management.
3. Make a list of tools that are available to create a friendlier habitat for the beneficials (or a more unfriendly habitat for pests). This may include various combinations of: insectary plants, crop rotations, hedge rows, intercropping schemes, planting or harvesting time and methods, etc. Beware of aggressive insectary or hedgerow plants.
4. Select those tools listed in #3 that best fit into your cropping system, rotation, equipment, and labor availability. Remember, permanent plantings will require maintenance during the first few years after planting. (See Appendix E for a general cost table.)
5. Experiment, observe the results, fine tune the system, and experiment again. Try something new—a variation on something that’s already being done.
6. Start simple and small, then develop the farmscaping as experience and observations dictate.