Garden Evaluation
MEASURE: BIODIVERSITY
Method: Increase in Pollinator Population
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Observe and make note of increases in pollinator activity in the garden. Pollinators include organisms like bees, butterflies, bats, birds, and beetles.
- Check bee hotels and bat boxes for activity, if you have them.
- If you don't have bee hotels but want to support pollinator health, consider building them to support the solitary bee population. Honey bees, while good pollinators, require significant labor and financial inputs. Learn more about solitary bees in the video below:
Pollinators specifically are a rather small subset of indicators of a healthy garden --but play a very important role in overall ecosystem health!
Garden Productivity and Pollinators: Pollinators can help with garden productivity, but they need plants that need them, such as cabbages, squashes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, and berries or fruit trees.
Pollinators do little to increase proeductivity of other crops like beans and peas, leafy greens, carrots, potatoes, onions, and herbs. These crops can generally pollinate without the help of insects. But again, supporting pollinators helps environmentally overall, and it certainly won't hurt your garden.
Observe invertebrates like worms and other insects, frogs, and birds in the garden. Log observation over time. Counting populations might require a trained eye, but general observation of either number of animals or types of animals can indicate improved garden health. It’s also a great youth activity! (The Garden Management Spreadsheet linked below includes a tab to record garden observations.)
Tracking different types of critters can be tricky, especially if you're new to ID-ing. If you need assistance, here are a few resources:
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North Carolina Gardening Group (Facebook)-This is a group for gardeners of all levels in and around North Carolina to share tips, give and receive advice, and share gardening experiences. Often gardeners post pictures to the group for help with identification, since many apps can be inaccurate.
Method: Observed Increase in Different Types of Animals
Method: Decreased use of synthetic pesticides/ herbicides/ fertilizers/ fungicides
The best way to support biodiversity is no use of synthetic or chemical fertilizers/pesticides/herbicides because of their deadly affect on biodiversity in the garden. When beneficial organisms are present in higher volume they can actually prevent the need for chemical use in the first place!
Record pesticide/ herbicide use, note whether usage is decreasing, and record any observed and/or measured changes you see as a result.