The Good, the Bad, and the Alternatives to No Mow May

The Good, the Bad, and the Alternatives to No Mow May

A long-horned bee visits a coneflower.

If you’re involved in any kind of pollinator or wildlife hobbies, you’ve probably heard of “No Mow May”. An initiative that started in the United Kingdom, No Mow May is a campaign aiming to encourage people to stop mowing their lawns during the month of May to help pollinators. The idea is that leaving your mower parked for a month in spring will allow dandelions and other lawn-associated flowers to grow, providing food for emerging pollinators at a time when there aren’t many flowers blooming yet. This sounds easy and beneficial, but is it really? Are there better options, or is this the answer to pollinator-friendly yarding? Let’s mow through the jargon, discuss different viewpoints, and offer simple alternatives.

There are many positive and negative opinions surrounding the No Mow May campaign.

Let’s start with the positives:

  • No Mow May is a catchy slogan.
  • It allows dandelions, clover, violets, and other flowers to bloom.
  • Generalist bees, such as honey bees, may have more food options.
  • It keeps neighborhoods more peaceful.
  • You save money on gas, and maybe on fertilizers/pesticides as well.
  • 31 days of no fertilizers or pesticides is good for the environment (and water quality!).
  • Ground-nesting bees may be disturbed less.
  • You’re contradicting the status quo about what yards “should” look like.

A hairstreak butterfly on a dandelion.

Now for some cons to consider about No Mow May:

  • It’s only for 31 days. Pollinators are active at least from April to October (which is 184 days).
  • Only honey bees and other generalist bees can benefit.
  • You may spread invasive species such as dandelions and dutch white clover.
  • Dandelion and clover provide sub-par nutrition compared to native flowers.
  • Weeds can perpetuate the image that eco-friendly lawns are just careless and messy.
  • It may upset your more traditional neighbors.
  • Some may use more herbicides after No Mow May to get their lawn “back to normal”.
  • Cutting a large amount of grass length in one go can stress the lawn, if you keep it.
A lucky four-leaf clover.

A mining bee on a dandelion.

Many articles will discuss these different viewpoints, but few tell you exactly how to start a pollinator garden. Or they do tell you, but it’s pretty heavy reading, or tells you to start in fall. This article is for those needing simple steps and instant gratification. While yes, in most cases it is best to start in the fall (for seeding), if you’re willing to buy potted plants and plugs you can get outside now, while you’re excited to, and have some happy pollinator plants this summer. We’ll start with steps to selecting plants and container gardening, and then dive into in-ground gardens.

Luna Moth

A pollinator container garden.

Start easy with container gardening

The easiest thing you can do is to buy a potted plant and stick it on your porch or patio. You probably do this already – why not choose one that will make both you and pollinators happy? To start considering which plants to bring home, first ask if the store or nursery has any certified USDA organic plants; if they do, these plants are less likely to make pollinators sick as they will have little to no harmful chemicals. Next ask if they have any native plants.

The art of observation

Once you are in the organic and native section (or sadly, in a random flowering section because there are no such plants available), the key to narrowing down the plants you should get is observation.  Walk slowly through your plant options and watch the plants to see which ones are visited by pollinators. Those are the plants you want to look at. You may notice that nothing ever visits a pansy or petunia, but sunflowers or tube-shaped flowers are all a-buzz. While it is best to buy native plants, some plants such as irises and sedum will attract pollinators even though they are in a pot, and you can easily find them at local nurseries and big box stores (keep nonnatives in a pot to keep them from spreading). 

Cultivars and creepers aren’t keepers

Be mindful of plants labeled as “double bloom” or ones that have fancy names, even if they look like a native plant. These are likely cultivars, and pollinators won’t visit them very much, as those extra-big flowers normally don’t have any pollen or nectar. If they do have some sort of food, pollinators have a hard time pushing through those extra petals to get to it. Try to stay away from anything that has the word “creeping” or “spreading” in its name, and check the label to see if it’s “aggressive” or needs a large area for its “spread”. This will keep you from bringing an invasive plant home that could escape your patio. Do keep in mind, however, that it’s going to be a lot more fun for you if you buy native plants, as they will likely attract many more pollinators! Lastly, try to choose at least three flowers – one that is currently in bloom, one that will bloom in summer, and one that will bloom in early fall. This will ensure you are supporting pollinators throughout the year, and also allows you to enjoy flowers during the entire growing season.

Large flowers and unnatural color, with the name “Pardon My Purple”  signify a cultivar.

Pots are easy; finding native plants isn’t

It isn’t as easy to find potted native plants as it is nonnative plants, but it’s better than it used to be! Semi-local native seed companies such as Allendan Seed Co. and some local nurseries may sell native plugs during the growing season. You can also scope out Facebook for local native plant swaps. When buying or swapping plants, ask them if they are likely to bloom this year or the next; some perennial plants take two years to bloom, even if you buy a plug and not seed; it’s good to set your expectations. Also ask where the person got the seed to grow the plant, or if it’s been treated with chemicals recently. If they can’t answer these questions, find a polite way to exit. In terms of native plants that grow well in a pot, beardtongue is an earlier bloomer, and bee balm as well as black-eyed Susan are great plants that will bloom later on. 

Bumble bees love beardtongue flowers.

Borders are an easy space to add pollinator habitat.

Gardens attract and support the most pollinators

Carving out a piece of your lawn to create a garden is the best thing in the world that you can do for pollinators. Start a small, manageable garden this year with some plugs from a reputable plant supplier (Allendan, Iowa Native Trees and Shrubs, Blooming Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon Nursery) for instant gratification. You can create a small garden on the side of your house that’s annoying to mow. Or maybe there’s an awkward corner in the back of your yard that the kids don’t really play in. Those areas are great places to start.

Natives are a must

Choosing plants for a garden follows the same rules mentioned above for container gardening, except it is much more important to have native plants that were grown relatively local. Putting a plant of dubious quality in the ground lowers the chance it will survive and flower for you later. Or worse, planting a nonnative plant in the ground could lead to it doing too well and spreading across your yard, forcing you to hack away at it all next year (remember those lilies of the valley your friend can’t get rid of? You don’t want that). 

Replace the grass

To start planting your native plugs, you’ll have to kill the grass. A good tilling deep into the turf is a quick way to get started. A few rounds of glyphosate or roundup will also do the trick, but that’s a pretty nasty chemical. Covering the area with cardboard and compost on top for a year is a great way, but it’s obviously a better method for a fall planting rather than an immediate one. After you’ve removed the grass, plant your plugs. Grouping the same flower species together will attract more pollinators and make the garden look more intentional. Choosing different flowers that have different shapes and colors will attract and support a higher diversity of pollinators. After planting, water your new garden well for the next few weeks! Leaving some bare dirt may encourage native bee nesting; however if you’d like to mulch, use natural, undyed and untreated wood chips and leaves to keep turf grass and weeds at bay. Adding a natural wood border or rocks can add more nesting habitat. Lastly, be sure not to fertilize or use pesticides on or near your pollinator garden. Fertilizer will only encourage weeds, and pesticides will harm any pollinators that visit.

Tilling is an easy way to remove grass.

Enjoy your handiwork!

Creating a pollinator garden is infinitely more rewarding than merely pausing the mower during May. By adding native plants to your yard, you will not only start seeing bees, but possibly new kinds of birds, butterflies, fireflies, and other wildlife. You’ll be able to enjoy your handiwork for not one month, not two, but years to come.

Mayflies Should Be Normal

Mayflies Should Be Normal

In April, I joined a class of Ames High School seniors to survey benthic macroinvertebrates in Ioway Creek.  If you had asked me “what on earth are you doing?” here’s what I would have said:

Hello!  I’m Dan and I work on water quality for a local non-profit.  And these are environmental science students from Ames High School.  Why are we standing in the middle of the creek wearing hip waders and doing what looks like a funny dance?  Why, this is a perfectly normal thing to do! We are citizen scientists and we are “science-ing”!  The dance is called the benthic shuffle, and is an important part of the protocol for biological monitoring. We are dislodging aquatic insects from the rocks and catching them in our net.

And look at what we have caught from a mere 1 square meter of rocks! 170 mayflies! This too is normal! We are at Brookside Park, and here is a brook babbling over rocks and gravel.  It would be strange if we did not find a healthy population of mayflies in such inviting habitat!

No, they don’t look like the mayflies that spatter windshields in Dubuque. But this is indeed Baetis, the blue-winged olive mayfly, imitated with success by many a trout fisherman. In its larval form, we call it the “small minnow mayfly”, for its quick swimming. They live about a year in the creek before they pupate and get their wings, assuming a fish doesn’t eat them first!

benthic macroinvertebrates in Ioway Creek

As I was saying, what you see here is perfectly normal, though maybe not as common as it should be in Iowa streams.  If you find a riffle in the stream with no mayflies, well, that would mean something is not right. Perhaps insecticides have washed into the creek from upstream farms and lawns and killed them. Perhaps we’ve inadvertently fertilized the algae in the creek, turned the water a shade greener and the making the water a little less oxygenated at night.  There are other insects that can make a living under these conditions.  In the creek near the Story County Fairgrounds, you can find plenty of these net-spinning caddisflies, but no mayflies!  If all you find are these wriggly little midge flies, well, that’s a sign of more serious pollution.

Nice to meet you!  Time to get back to counting bugs!

Results from Ioway Creek (Ames) in 2023

Results from W. Indian Creek (Nevada) in 2022

Story County Conservation – Prairie Rivers of Iowa Featured Partner

Story County Conservation – Prairie Rivers of Iowa Featured Partner

Connecting people with nature and improving natural resources — making Story County a great place to live, work, and recreate. — Story County Conservation’s Mission

Story County Conservation (SCC) maintains over 3,500 acres of parks and natural areas like prairies, wetlands, and oxbows. Special areas of focus include preserving native environments and habitat restoration, stopping the spread of invasive species,  and water quality improvement.

Recreationally, SCC offers a variety of outdoor leisure opportunities and quality recreational facilities that feature fishing, bird watching, camping, hiking, swimming, picnicking, boating, bicycling, and hunting.

They are instrumental in helping landowners develop and manage wildlife and habitat plantings and maintain vegetation along Story County roadways.

Their outstanding environmental education program works with school districts and daycares to provide programming and outdoor field trips that promote environmental awareness and fun. Visit their website here for all the details!

Story County Conservation

Q&A

Prairie Rivers:  Why is it important for Story County to partner with Prairie Rivers of Iowa?

Story County ConservationThe mission of Story County Conservation is to connect people with nature and improve natural resources – making Story County a great place to live, work, and recreate.  This is only possible through meaningful partnerships.  Prairie Rivers of Iowa shares many of the same values and objectives.  Public-private partnerships leverage the unique abilities of each.  The Prairie Rivers/Story County Conservation partnership specifically provides feasible and meaningful improvements to the environmental and social fabric of the community. Through the partnership with PRI, SCC can engage residents through a volunteer citizen water monitoring program. The data collected twice a month is used by PRI to analyze trends and hotspots for pollutants in the county. The volunteer water monitoring program is part of a 10-year water monitoring plan developed by PRI, SCC, the City of Ames, the City of Nevada, the City of Gilbert, the City of Huxley, Iowa State University, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Izaak Walton League, Story County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Story County Community Foundation. Additional initiatives worked on by the SCC/PRI partnership include watershed boundary signage, creek signage, creek and river clean-ups, watershed assessments, and water quality education.

 

Prairie Rivers: What is the first or most important thing that comes to mind that Story County Conservation has done to inspire citizens to get out and make a difference to improve conservation efforts within the county?

Story County Conservation:  Story County Conservation engages with people in many contexts to break down barriers to help connect people with the outdoors. Whether it be through classroom programs, discovery hikes, outdoor recreation opportunities, environmental stewardship education, and involvement, or simply opportunities to enjoy nature, SCC helps people discover the values of the natural environment.

Story County Conservation Watershed Coordinator Sara Carmichael During Creek Cleanup
Small Landowner Workshop
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring
Jerry Radke Leaves a Legacy

Jerry Radke Leaves a Legacy

Jerry Radke of Nevada, Iowa was a conservationist known for his hard work and a “yes I can” attitude with a passion for improving soil and water quality. At Jerry’s request, after his passing last fall, Prairie Rivers of Iowa received many generous donations in his memory, helping us and the citizens of Story County continue his legacy and the important work involved.

His love for the outdoors and the environment started on the family farm where at a young age Jerry helped work dairy and beef cattle, hogs, chickens, ducks, and geese. Jerry would tell the story about how at the age of three his father put him on a tractor where he had to stand and brace his head against the seat so his feet could reach the pedals.

Jerry attended a one-room school through the eight-grade, went on to graduate high school, earn a bachelor of science in soils from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master’s in soil physics from Iowa State followed by a return to Wisconsin to earn a Ph.D. in soil physics.

Jerry Radke
Jerry Radke volunteering during a Story County Arbor Day event.

Jerry Radke (left foreground) volunteering at a Story County Soil and Water Conservation District Arbor Day event.

During his professional career as a soil physicist, Jerry worked at the North Central Soil Conservation Research Lab in Minnesota then retired from the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research at the National Soil Tilth Lab in Ames. His work took him around the world while he continued to study soil structure, soil temperature, and instrumentation. His published articles included research related to freezing and thawing soils, plus the effects of water and nutrient movement within soil profiles.

Here at Prairie Rivers, we primarily got to know Jerry through his service as a Story County Soil and Water District (SWCD) Commissioner. When asked about what was the most important legacy that Jerry left for the citizens of Story County, his daughter Katrina Radke had a hard time pointing to just one thing. He was deeply involved with the SWCD and Story County conservation projects, the Lions Club, and the church.  “He always wanted to do what was best for the soil, conservation, nature, and recycling,” Katrina shared. “He always had a compost pile and was into reusing everything as much as possible rather than wasting it.”

“Some of our most cherished family memories were hiking and camping in Minnesota state parks and national parks throughout the country,“ Katrina fondly remembers, “Obviously, his value for the environment was big. Something else I view as a legacy from him was the good old-fashioned values of discipline, hard work, pursuing what you love to do, and immersing yourself in it. He was a very honest working good man with integrity and high expectations. Being of service to humanity and the land was important to him.”

Katrina concludes with, “I loved my dad very dearly. He was very much a part of my life in terms of a creative voice and teacher.”

If you’d like to reach out to Jerry’s family with a note, please email his wife Susan at susan@susanradke.com or his daughter Katrina at coach@wecoach4u.com.

Here at Prairie Rivers of Iowa, we are grateful for the memorials given in honor of Jerry Radke and his family. If you or a loved one have questions about establishing a memorial to assist Prairie Rivers of Iowa’s work, please contact our Director Penny Brown Huber.

Hardin County Conservation’s Chris Barber Joins Prairie Rivers Board

Biologist Chris Barber has been elected as Prairie Rivers of Iowa’s (PRI) newest board member. Chris’s know-how as the interpretive park manager for Hardin County Conservation’s Calkins Nature Area will be beneficial to PRI’s conservation efforts. In his role at Calkin’s, Chris oversees the management of 76 park acres covered in prairie, forest, riparian, and wetland habitats along the banks of the Iowa River. Park visitors can also experience a nature center, museum, live wildlife display, butterfly house amphitheater, hiking trails, and bird observatory.

Chris Barber holding a rose-breasted grosbeak at the Calkins Nature Area.

Chris Barber befriending a rose-breasted grosbeak at the Calkins Nature Area.

Screech owl show and tell.

Screech owl show and tell.

Barber has a biology degree from the University of Northern Iowa with an emphasis on ecology and systematics. He worked and studied at the Tallgrass Prairie Center while earning his master’s in biology. He also served as an infantryman in the Iowa National Guard and worked for two years at the University of Nebraska as a research technologist in grassland ecology. As if that’s not enough, he’s also on the Ellsworth College Conservation Technology Advisory Board and an adjunct instructor for the conservation department.

When he finds some spare time, Chris enjoys fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking, and golf. However, spare time priorities tend to focus more on enjoying spending family time while attending school events like sports, band concerts and plays.

I recently had a chance to ask Barber a few questions. Here’s what I found out:

What made you decide to join the Prairie Rivers of Iowa Board?
I have always been passionate about conservation in the state of Iowa.  I’d had a meeting with Director Penny Brown Huber a few years prior and was somewhat familiar with Prairie Rivers’ mission so I was excited for the opportunity to serve on the board.  After a deeper dive into the organization I’ve been thoroughly impressed with all the work that is currently being done, and I look forward to being a part of it.

I know you’re new, but if you’ve given it any thought, what might be something you hope to accomplish and/or what direction you’d like PRI to take?
As with any non-profit organization, funding is always an issue so I would love to see continued growth in that area, and I think that will also improve our public awareness.  I’m a prairie guy so I would love to see us involved in projects that promote the use of prairies in an agricultural landscape which is crucial for improving water quality and expanding habitat.

How do you see your role at Harding County Conservation fit with what we are doing here at Prairie Rivers?
I definitely think my role here at Hardin County Conservation ties closely with what Prairie Rivers is accomplishing.  My goals at Calkins Nature Area and Museum of educating the public about conservation issues, preservation and expansion of native habitats, and the preservation of historical artifacts go hand in hand with the goals of Prairie Rivers.

Please welcome Chris! We are excited to be the beneficiaries of his vast experience and enthusiasm! As a member of our community, you will too.

Family adventure in Costa Rica.

Family adventure in Costa Rica.

Working a prescribed fire.

Working a prescribed fire.

Nice smallmouth catch.

Nice smallmouth catch!

Photos courtesy of Chris Barber and Hardin County Conservation.

Iowa Lands Prominent North American Prairie Conference

Iowa Lands Prominent North American Prairie Conference

Once in a while something big and potentially impactful happens! Something that brings together people from around North America to address the issues of biodiversity, climate change, soil and water quality and more. Something that lays out information from researchers, educators, allied professionals, students, conservation specialists, landowners and organizations who will share their latest findings while raising important questions during dozens of informative sessions and exciting, hands-on field trips.

North American Prairie Conference

The North American Prairie Conference will be held on June 26 -29 in Altoona, Iowa (just outside of Des Moines), right in the heart of the tallgrass prairie region in the U.S. For four days, attendees will learn and discuss, hope and dream and craft real-world action to expand prairies on the continent. Attendees will place themselves in a world that addresses the value of one of the most important and endangered ecosystems.

Prairie Walk at Jennett Heritage Area in Story County, IA

Our future success as a society will in part derive from the degree to which we recognize and fulfill our obligation to ensure our grandchildren and their grandchildren have the opportunity to interact with and benefit from these wondrous grasslands, ” wrote Douglas Ladd in an issue of the Missouri Prairie Journal, “We depend on these bio­logical systems to sustain us as a people, meeting human needs through healthy productive soils, clean and abundant waters, pollinator reservoirs, flood and erosion prevention, and countless other amenities which taken for granted, can be prohibitively expen­sive to re-create once system integrity is lost.”

In addition, attendees can enjoy a full or half day on the land touring across Iowa to see prairie remnants! Options for field trips on June 27 include a choice amongst 17 remarkable remnant native prairies, oak-hickory savannas, research sites and expansive reconstructed prairies throughout central and southeast Iowa. Afterward, participants will revel in an evening of live entertainment, food and camaraderie with fellow participants.

Drake University Professor of Ecology and Botany Dr. Thomas Rosburg is this year’s conference chair. Rosburg will join keynote speakers including the University of Northern Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Center Director Dr. Laura Jackson, Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation Co-Director of Pollinator Conservation Eric Lee-Mäder and the Former Director of The Nature Conservancy in Missouri Douglas Ladd to headline the conference.

Bison on Tallgrass Prairie at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge. Grayson Smith/UFWS Photo

During one of the field trips being offered, you can spend your afternoon at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, a 6,000 acre reconstructed prairie with bison, elk, rare plant species and other interesting wildlife.

Prairie at Snyder Heritage Farm

The North American Prairie Conference is America’s oldest and most celebrated native grassland conference. The conference is made possible by hundreds of attendees, volunteers, organizations and sponsors, including the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Living Roadway Trust Fund. This year’s co-hosts are the environmentally-minded nonprofits Prairie Rivers of Iowa and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

Attendees can learn more and register at www.northamericanprairie.org. Students can apply for a limited number of scholarships www.iowaprairienetwork.org/napcscholarships.

Members of the media wanting a pass and wishing to attend the conference or any field trips can contact Penny Brown Huber at pbrownhuber@prrcd.org.