Wildflowers bring in pollinators, help farmers, and make something beautiful in what may otherwise be unusable space. In short, they have benefits far beyond the beauty of the flowers.
To reverse the trend of decreasing populations of Monarch butterflies, honeybees and native bee populations, a recent grant from the
Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) seeks to make it easier to plant wildflowers.
The
Bay County Soil Conservation District was awarded a $39,000 grant through EGLE to purchase a new No-Till Drill. The compact drill allows property owners to seed small plots of land, creating habitats for pollinators and filling otherwise unusable land with wildflowers.
This year, the organization also celebrates its 75
th year of serving Bay County.
Manager Mike Wilson says the drill, a
Great Plains NT706, will cut through existing grass without having to till or turn the ground, and plant seeds directly into the soil. It works on smaller areas than other drills.
“This is made for small areas to get in, plant small little food plots or wildflowers,” Wilson says.
The county also has a re-furbished drill that is currently on loan to Midland County. The re-furbished drill is used to plant filter strips along ditch banks. Wilson says it’s easier to use the small drill on the filter strips.
“For some of these guys to haul their planter out there – they’re 40 to 45 feet wide. To plant a 15-foot section or a strip, that’s overkill.” Instead, users rent the Soil Conservation District drill. “A couple of passes down the field, and they had everything planted.”
Like the old drill, the new one is manufactured by Great Plains Implements and is made for no-till seeding. Wilson explains it is made to break through the soil and grass, allowing the seed to be sown.
“I can plant in into your lawn. This will cut that grass open and allow the seeding cultures to go in and bury the seed into the soil,” he says. “This this drill is made to cut through that grass and get it down to the soil where you can put the seed into the seed trench.”
The drill is about 7.5 feet wide and is compact enough to pull with a small tractor. It has three seed boxes, so seed can be added according to size and gauge.
Brian Schwab, who serves on the Board of Directors for the Soil Conservation District, explains that the no-till drills work well for planting because they can handle the tough grasses without having to tear up the ground. They also take a lot of the work out of planting.
“If you’re going to have anything, let’s say quarter acre, even a half acre, it’s probably worth getting it or using it because the seed is so expensive. You want to be able to sow it, plant it in a proper way. You don’t want to be doing that much work.”
According to the MSU Extension, wildflower seed mixes can cost upwards of $400 to $800 per acre. But the benefits are endless once the flowers are established. Not only do wildflowers help control the invasive non-native species, they also increase the fruit crops in nearby fields.
To help defray the cost of starting pollinator restoration programs, the USDA and other non-federal agencies have grants available. MSU Extension has a list of grants through
the Michigan Pollinator Initiative where funding can be subsidized.
Schwab says hand broadcast seeding is also a good way to spread seed, but it is less effective and takes a lot of work.
Although the drill can be used by just about anyone, there is a bit of a learning curve. There is more to seeding a wildflower bed than simply renting a tractor and drill.
The Bay County Soil Conservation District staff will make sure anyone who takes the equipment out knows what they are getting into.
The District has seeding rate charts, seeding depths, disc diameters and thicknesses, and other specifications about the drill to take into consideration before heading into the field.
But if you make the effort, the bees will thank you.
For more information on the no-till drill and to get started on planting a pollinator habitat, contact the
Bay Soil Conservation District through their website, or go to the
MSU Extention to learn more about the need for bees and butterflies.