This approach can reduce time and costs associated with management, and provide a source of nectar and habitat for beneficial insects and insectivorous birds.
Meeting horticulture sustainability goals
Planting native vegetation on a vegetable farm supports growers with sustainability credentials in their industry Horticulture Sustainability Framework.
Native groundcovers protect bare soil on areas that require regular weed management, such as embankments. These areas are often maintained with herbicide, leaving soils exposed and causing erosion of topsoil into drainage lines and nearby rivers and creeks.
The following image shows a trial site, before and after native groundcover was planted on the escarpment to cover the soil. This prevents rill erosion from runoff along the steep embankment.
Using NVIs to manage pests
An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is an important strategy for managing vegetable invertebrate pests. An IPM program is enhanced when habitat is provided to increase the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects, and results in multiple ecosystem services to vegetable farms.
Resources
-
1: Choosing a native vegetation insectary (vegetable farm)PDF (1.12 MB)Select a site for planting an NVI on a vegetable farm
-
2: Choosing suitable native plants for NVI (vegetable farm)PDF (1.41 MB)
What native plants to choose depending on the landscape and conditions
-
3: Maintaining a native vegetation insectary (vegetable farm)PDF (2.50 MB)
Maintaining an NVI on a vegetable farm
-
4: Native plant identification for NVI suitabilityPDF (2.08 MB)
Suitable plant species and identification for maintaining the surrounding area, as native plants grow and flower
For more information on farm biodiversity and actions you can take to meet sustainability requirements, visit the Melbourne Water website.
