Farmer Blog: Chris Hardy

September 28th, 2017

Harvesting dill seed today and continue to be amazed at how much this plant supports beneficial insects and pollinators. Nearly every plant in the dill patch either has green lacewing eggs (the tiny eggs on long threads), monarch caterpillars or inconceivable numbers of ladybug larvae, nymphs and adult lady beetles.

Next year's farm plan will include perimeter hedgerows and succession planting of dill and other herbs including fennel, another easy to grow powerhouse nectary plant that has been bustling with life all year.

Diverse staggered plantings are so important in providing early and late season nectar needed to sustain them through the long cold winter ahead.

- Chris Hardy

(Photos by: Chris Hardy)