Tag Archives: pesticide

IPM: Integrated Pest Management

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Attract beneficial insects with flowers!

Integrated Pest Management or IPM is …

an ecological approach to pest management that combines understanding the causes of pest outbreaks, manipulating the crop ecosystem for pest control, and monitoring pest populations and their life cycles to determine if and when the use of pesticides is indicated.

—dictionary.com

The basic idea is that if you really pay close attention to your garden you can prevent pest populations from getting out of control and if and when they do you can use the least toxic control methods first. The goal here is to impact our natural environment as little as possible and still feed our families. There will always be some pest in your garden and that is okay! They are the menu items to entice beneficial insects to come by for a snack! There is a certain balance in the pest community, that once achieved, is very effective! Mother nature balances things out if we allow her to. Not every leaf or fruit has to be unblemished to have a successful harvest!

Monitoring:

It’s as simple as strolling through your garden on a daily basis! I do this in the morning with my coffee and find it to be my favorite activity of the day! Just walk through looking at your plants and notice any changes in them. Are they beginning to wilt? Turning brown or yellow? Are there holes or spots on leaves? If you catch the problem early you can take the steps necessary to ensure a healthy garden!

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Seeds…So many Choices! How to Choose the Right Seed For Your Garden?

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Seeds, and more seeds, oh my!

 

Of course seed catalogs are arriving in people’s mailboxes left and right this time of year! It’s time to snuggle up by the fire and dream of what you will grow this summer in your garden. Flipping through the pages of glossy pictures with new varieties can be a little overwhelming at times. What do all of these terms mean? How do I know what to choose? I hope I can help you understand this all a little better after you read my post!

Knowing who you are ordering from and the quality of your seeds and service can make it a little easier…

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