By Rowan O’Connell-Gates, WFA Program Associate

On July 22, WFA staff joined the Regenerative California team at the entrance to the Regenerate 68! Farm in Salinas, California. Two 50-foot soil berms awaited us, lined with 36 native plants from Rana Creek Nursery. By the end of the day, each berm was transformed into a unique hedgerow. As they take root, these plantings will welcome visitors to the farm while providing birds, beneficial insects, and other wildlife with flowers, fruit, foliage, and shelter.

WFA Program Associate Rowan O’Connell-Gates and GrizzlyCorps Fellow Katie Goode Donaldson drove down from San Francisco that morning to meet WFA Executive Director Jo Ann Baumgartner, Regenerate 68! Farm Manager Jonny Root, and Sam Earnshaw of Hedgerows Unlimited. Jonny had prepared the site in advance, leaving its alluvial soil soft and loose for the day’s work. 

Before we began, Sam gathered the group for a lesson in hedgerow plant placement. A longtime WFA partner and one of California’s most experienced hedgerow designers, Sam has helped guide countless habitat plantings across the state. He began with coffeeberry and coyote brush, the planting’s backbone species. These hardy plants were spaced throughout both rows to provide structure even if other species struggled to establish themselves. With those anchors in place, the group arranged the remaining plants: buckwheat, white sage, lupin, penstemon, and other native species that will fill out the hedgerows as they grow. 

Completed planting. Photo Credit: Katie Goode Donaldson

With shovels in hand, the group quickly dug 36 holes across the two berms. Each hole received a shovelful of compost and a full bucket of water before a plant was placed, then another bucket after the soil was filled in around it. As the five-gallon buckets were emptied, Sam offered a reminder earned through years of planting hedgerows: the number one reason they fail is lack of water.

The following week, Jonny and his crew installed drip irrigation and spread mulch across the planting area. The irrigation will carry the plants through their first years, while the mulch will help the soil retain moisture and keep weeds at bay.

A newly planted Red Flower Currant. Photo Credit: Katie Goode Donaldson

This planting is one of nine demonstration hedgerow sites WFA is completing across the country through our multi-year USDA NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant project, and the third and final site in California. The sites will help WFA test and refine its online beneficial Bird Habitat Assessment and Native Plant Tool, which is being developed to help farmers and conservation planners identify habitat opportunities and select plants that support beneficial birds.

For now, the work is simple: water, mulch, and patience. In the seasons ahead, WFA will return to track the hedgerows’ growth and conduct bird surveys, documenting how these young plants grow as they become new habitat at Regenerate 68! Farm.