The Booth Canyon Orchard project to establish native pollinator plantings was coordinated with assistance and planning by the Okanogan Conservation District.
The Booth Canyon Orchard project included installation of an irrigation system to support native plant species, and a deer fence for protection.
Grants focus on soil health, pollinators
By Sandra Strieby
Okanogan County orchardists can benefit from two programs providing technical and financial assistance to growers while supporting ecosystem health.
A new Specialty Crop Block Grant program launched by the Okanogan Conservation District (OCD) will focus on soil health, pollinator habitat and improving access to conservation marketing programs.
Pollinator habitat is also the focus of a Methow Valley project developed under the county’s 2018 Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP).
Fruit growing is a major component of Okanogan County’s agricultural economy, with tree-fruit production contributing well over $250 million in revenues each year. In 2019, the OCD conducted a survey to learn more about orchardists’ needs. The survey findings led to development of the local Specialty Crop program.
At the national level, the program is an element of the 2018 Farm Bill, and is intended to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, including apples, cherries, pears and other tree fruits that are grown in Okanogan County.
In Washington state, the program is administered by the state Department of Agriculture, which funded the OCD initiative.
Growers who participate in the program will receive technical support from OCD. Limited financial support for certain practices will be available, as well. In addition to providing guidance and funding, the conservation district will monitor projects — probably with an annual site visit — and evaluate the results to inform future work.
Soil health benefits
The block grant program will address soil health by assisting growers in chipping orchard residue and spreading the chipped material as mulch within the orchard, where it can enrich the soil. Soil benefits of mulching include soil temperature improvements, increased organic matter content, and moisture retention, according to Ricardo Angel, OCD natural resource technician.
Once the mulch has been spread, said Angel, “microbes in the soil start breaking it down, and it works its way down the soil column.” Once in the soil, the organic matter will add nutrients and improve the soil’s texture and ability to hold water. Chipping rather than burning wood waste has the added benefit of improving air quality.
Improving pollinator habitat is a priority for Okanogan County fruit growers, as indicated by the OCD’s 2019 survey, and the district has built support for that interest into the Specialty Crop program.
Diverse habitat that is rich in flowering native species attracts native bees and other pollinators that can supplement or replace honey-bee hives, reducing costs and labor while improving fruit production. Plantings that have been planned to maximize bloom period help support pollinators throughout the growing season so the insects are likely to remain close to the orchard and be available when needed.
Pollinator plantings can also stabilize soil and reduce erosion, supporting the Specialty Crop program’s soil-health objective. Bee boxes and similar structures can be added to provide extra support, especially while plants are becoming established and during the winter; adding boxes is one of the practices that will be eligible for financial assistance under the program.
Native species
As a further benefit, plantings of native species within and alongside orchards and fields attract other beneficial insects — predators and parasitoids that can reduce crop pests and need for pesticides. Pollen and nectar provided by the native plants supplement the beneficial insects’ diets, so they are more likely to stay put even when pest populations are in decline.
Native plantings and shelter structures can also serve as habitat resources during the season and for overwintering, allowing long-term beneficial insect populations to become established.
To support orchardists in improving pollinator habitat, OCD’s Angel has created a list of drought-tolerant native plants that provide food and shelter for insect pollinators. OCD staff will use the list as a starting point when working with producers who are interested in developing pollinator plantings, said Angel; they will also evaluate soil type, existing vegetation, and other site factors to craft site-specific recommendations for each situation.
Conservation marketing programs document eco-friendly farming practices and allow certified producers to use a label that lets consumers know they are buying sustainably-grown products. Amy Martin, OCD’s Conservation Director, says conservation marketing is most commonly used by farms that sell directly to consumers, and noted that there’s been some local interest in Salmon Safe certification: “It’s most recognizable right now,” she says.
OCD staff will explore other conservation marketing programs as well, said Martin, and offer workshops for growers interested in learning how certification can support marketing of their products.
Voluntary stewardship
Native pollinators were plentiful when Stina Booth established Booth Canyon Orchard more than 25 years ago. Over the last several years she’s seen steady declines in insect activity in the orchard. Bringing in honeybees helped for a while, but now even they are not able to provide the level of service needed to maintain robust production.
When the opportunity to work with the OCD on developing pollinator plantings arose two years ago, Booth was enthusiastic.
“Insect pollination is a really key operation in the orchard; we need all the help we can get,” said Booth. “If we can enhance our native pollinator populations, that’s money for us twofold: better yield, and less reliance on honeybees. It’s potentially hugely beneficial for us to have these little guys working for free. It’s worth it for us from an economic stance to enhance habitat, and also for me as a naturalist — they live here; we need diversity in our landscape for things to function in all sorts of ways. I want to support that; if it meshes with my economic and agricultural goals, even better.”
The OCD provided technical assistance and a 50% cost share to support development of several stewardship practices at Booth Canyon Orchard in conjunction with Okanogan County’s Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP). The VSP is a statewide program to protect critical areas, as defined in Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA), and maintain and improve the long-term viability of agriculture.
The GMA identifies five types of critical areas: wetlands; areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water; fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas; frequently flooded areas; and geologically hazardous areas.
Washington communities are required to designate and protect critical areas, generally by providing for mitigation of specific impacts to the functions and values of those areas. The VSP provides an alternative approach: agriculturists in participating counties can implement stewardship practices that, in aggregate, protect the county’s critical areas, rather than tying mitigation to specific impacts on a specific site.
Working together
At Booth Canyon Orchard, Booth and OCD staff worked together to identify practices that would enhance production and support critical-area functions and values. Those practices include a half-acre native shrub, wildflower and grass planting that will attract and support pollinators, and a drive-row cover crop of white clover that will also improve soil health. Existing brush and rock piles are a stewardship element as well — they provide additional habitat for beneficial insects.
Booth noted that while retaining brush in the orchard does raise concerns about fire, her brush piles are composed mostly of root wads that would be slow to ignite: “It’s pretty big material, not super flashy, like little twigs.”
The project got underway last summer with a site visit by OCD staff, who then developed a plant list, choosing species that would be “good for native pollinators and not problematic in the landscape,” said Booth.
The latter is important — some native species are hosts for orchard and rangeland pests and could be a liability to agriculture. For instance, locally-native Black Hawthorn is an apple maggot host, so a poor choice for planting near fruit trees. Bloom time was another plant-selection criterion — Angel chose a list of species that would provide pollen and nectar from spring until fall to encourage pollinators to stay on site throughout the growing season and overwinter in the planted area.
Booth hired Camden Shaw of Plantas Co. to provide and install the plants, along with irrigation to support them while they become established and fencing for protection from deer.
“He was good to have on board for his knowledge of native plants, what works and what doesn’t,” said Booth.
Awaiting results
Shaw helped Booth refine Angel’s plant list based on his experience and species availability. Plants went into the ground in April. It’s too early to assess the results, said Booth.
“We won’t see how the seeds do until next year. Natives take a long time to germinate,” she said.
Once the pollinator and drive-row plantings are established, they are expected to fulfill the VSP mandate by supporting critical area functions and values, while at the same time giving a boost to orchard productivity and local agriculture.
Booth Canyon Orchard’s VSP project is one of several in Okanogan County. Together, local VSP projects and the Specialty Crop Block Grant program offer agricultural producers a new set of tools and enhance the viability of agriculture in our community.
The OCD’s services are provided free of charge within district boundaries and are voluntary and non-regulatory. For information about the Specialty Crop Block Grant program, contact Angel at (509) 422-0855 x. 101 or ricardo@okanogancd.org; or Conservation Planner Mindy Untalan at (509) 422-0855 x. 109 or mindy@okanogancd.org. To learn more about the VSP, contact Martin at (509) 422-0855 x. 108 or amy@okanogancd.org.
