Grow it Green: Helping pollinators

DOWNPOURS IN SPOTS. LET’S HEAD TO GROCERY. WELCOME TO TODAY’S GREEN WHERE BRANCH HILL FARM IN MILTON MILLS AND I’M JOINED BY STEFAN KACZYNSKI OF THE USA. COOPERATE EXTENSION AND IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW THIS IS NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK. SO STEF, WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? SURE. SO THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK RECENTLY. WELL, FOR A WHILE NOW ON POLLINATORS AND WHY THEY’RE SO IMPORTANT. AND THEY ARE BASICALLY WHAT KEEPS OUR GENETIC DIVERSITY FOR OUR PLANTS AS WELL AS OUR FOOD. THEY SAY ONE OUT OF THREE BITES EXIST EXISTS FOR US BECAUSE OF POLLINATOR SPECIES. AND EVERY DAY THEY’RE LOSING HABITAT AND FOOD SOURCES. SO THAT’S PART OF WHY WE ALL WANT TO WORK TOGETHER TO SUPPORT AND PROTECT THEM. OKAY, SO WHAT DO POLLINATORS NEED THAT CAN PUT IN MY GARDEN TO ATTRACT THEM? SURE. SO ONE KEY FOCUS IS FOOD SOURCE. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF POLLINATORS, THEY EAT POLLEN AND THEY EAT NECTAR. AND THEY HELP SPREAD THAT POLLEN TO, YOU KNOW, OTHER, YOU KNOW, FLOWERS SO THAT THEY CAN REPRODUCE. SO PROVIDING A GOOD FOOD SOURCE, DIFFERENT POLLINATOR SPECIES GO FOR DIFFERENT FLOWERS AND DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT PLANTS, SPECIES, YOU KNOW, IT’S NOT JUST BEES. WE HAVE WASPS. WE HAVE MOTHS, BUTTERFLIES, SOME BEETLES, SOME FLIES. SO THEY ALL ACTUALLY GO FOR A VERY SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTIC. OKAY. THE OTHER THING IS COLOR IMPORTANT. IT IS, YEAH. SO VERY MUCH SO. BEES, FOR INSTANCE, WILL REALLY BE ATTRACTED TO YELLOW AND WHITE FLOWERS. U.V., ULTRAVIOLET. THEY’RE ATTRACTED TO THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS BUTTERFLIES GO FOR REDS AS WELL AS HUMMINGBIRDS. SO YOU WANT TO KEEP COLOR IN MIND, YOU WANT TO KEEP FLOWER TYPE IN MIND. FOR INSTANCE, BEES LIKE A A LANDING PAD, IF YOU WILL, SO THEY CAN EASILY SIT AND COLLECT THAT POLLEN. OKAY. AND IN TERMS NOW ALSO, I WOULD IMAGINE IT’S RATHER IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING DOESN’T BLOOM ALL AT ONCE, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. THAT’S A REALLY KEY COMPONENT. RIGHT. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IN YOUR GARDEN YOU NOT ONLY HAVE A GREAT VARIETY OF PLANTS, BUT ALSO THROUGHOUT THE SEASON THAT THERE’S GOING TO BE BLOOMS FROM EARLY SPRING UP THROUGH EARLY FALL. OKAY, GREAT. SO SOME GOOD ADVICE THERE AND HOPEFULLY BRING A LITTLE LIFE TO YOUR GARDEN AS WELL. THAT’S IT FOR TODAY’S GR