Here’s a great article from Fast Company about farmers in the UK testing the use of flowers to attract beneficial insects instead of using pesticides. They’re testing using new technology to make it easier to plant rows of flowers among the crops. This attracts beneficial insects, like parasitic wasps that eat aphids. Pretty cool! And it looks great in the fields, too.

Farmscaping

This practice has a name: farmscaping. It’s described in a nice, detailed piece by the Cooperative Extension Service.

That got me thinking about how widespread this idea might be. Surely, organic farmers have been using strategies  like this, right? Yes! Here’s a really helpful article from Mother Earth News about this, and it has lists of annual, perennials, trees, and shrubs that work to attract the good bugs. The article has some good source links at the bottom, as well as a link to another handy article about the specific insects you want to attract.

Is this companion planting?

I wouldn’t confuse this with some of the old ideas about companion planting, like the notion that planting marigolds will help your tomatoes grow better. Much of that lore is not supported by science — here’s a really useful (and I think objective) review from the Arizona Cooperative Extension.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the links and the interesting reading! Let me know in the comments what you think. Have you tried anything like this — attracting beneficial insects into your own garden? How has it worked? What worked, and what didn’t?