Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

Mimi Rooney and Ben Swim are exploring an alternative to chemical insecticides to reduce pest populations on their flower farm by introducing flowering cover crops that attract predatory insects. In this Western SARE-funded research project at Brown Dog Flower Farm in Palmer, Alaska, Mimi and Ben planted buckwheat, phacelia, red clover, and alyssum as cover crops to provide habitat for predatory insects that prey on the pests damaging their flowers.