Hedgerow Farms

Last week the restoration community celebrated the historic levee breach for a 3,000 acre tidal wetland restoration project at Lookout Slough. At Hedgerow Farms we have been preparing for this moment as well! In 2021 we collected seed from several species in the remnant habitat at Lookout Slough, including CA Hibiscus (Hibiscus lasiocarpos var. occidentalis). We have been growing these plants in our production fields to amplify this small collection into hundreds of pounds of seed. Now that the levee has been breached, some of this seed will be planted right back into this newly restored environment. This rare native perennial herb grows in marshes and wet places, so we are looking forward to seeing it thrive in this California Department of Water Resources project! NativeSeed Group

Proud to be featured by the Yurok Tribe's Senior Riparian Ecologist, Joshua Chenoweth, in a recent presentation on the Klamath River Revegetation Project to the California Native Plant Society. Over the last 8 years, we have collected and grown many of the native species that were planted after the Klamath dam removal. These have included Asclepias speciosa, Croton setigerus, Lupinus microcarpus, Amsinckia menziesii, and Hordeum brachyantherum. Check out this beautiful photo of the CA poppies we grew thriving after dam removal. For this project we also provided over 1800 lbs of CA poppy seed! Watch the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/gahfpuMg NativeSeed Group

This morning we got to host the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Yolo RCD, Center for Land-Based Learning, and Putah Creek Council at Hedgerow Farms! We took at look at the future site of a new 1,000-ft native hedgerow that will be installed this fall by high school students and volunteers. We are so grateful for this partnership and looking forward to creating even more habitat alongside our production fields.

I am constantly impressed by the dedication & expertise of the people who produce native seed for restoration. Most of our staff at Hedgerow Farms and NativeSeed Group have spent 20+ years working with us, learning through trial & error how to collect, grow, and clean over 400 species of native plants. It is such a pleasure to work with and learn from them!

How do we meet the demand for native seed as ecological restoration projects increase in ambition and scale? It's not just about collecting and growing the seed, it's also about making sure it is free of weeds and clean enough to ethically plant back into our wildlands. At Hedgerow Farms we clean up to 2000 lbs of native seed every day. Through decades of trial and error, we have figured out how to use traditional agricultural equipment (meant for cleaning wheat, barley, etc) to clean over 400 species of native grasses, shrubs and wildflowers. Check it out this short video made by Rhizo Media highlighting our state-of-the-art cleaning facilities. NativeSeed Group

Thank you California Farm Bureau for the write-up in Ag Alert! https://lnkd.in/gTiwUdEz

Proud to be featured in California Farm Bureau Federation 's Ag Alert today! https://lnkd.in/gvK7HS89 NativeSeed Group

Registration is open for our Hedgerow Farms Field Day on Friday, April 5th! This is the 16th annual fundraiser for the CA Native Grasslands Association. Spend a day in our native wildflower and grass fields deepening your understanding of California's ecosystems and learning from the experts who restore them. Speakers and sponsors include University of California, Davis, Haven Kiers, Trust for Public Land, SMUD, EPRI, HANA Resources, Inc., LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards, USDA Farm Production and Conservation, Delta Bluegrass Co. and NativeSeed Group More info and registration here: https://lnkd.in/gQwyU7X6

When he’s not busy coordinating wildland seed collections, our Associate Ecologist Joshua Scoggin captures the daily life of our wildland seed collection crew and seed farmers through his film camera lens. Check out these beautiful film photos he captured!