With agricultural sustainability onthe minds of many people in theindustry and elsewhere, you maywant to consider ways you canshare its message with your

employees and customers, especially in the area ofgarden pharmacy. Briefly, the sustainability move-ment is an attempt to provide the best outcomesfor human and natural environments now and inthe future. While chemicals are often a necessarypart of gardening, introducing your employeesand, through them, your customers to the idea ofintegrated pest management (IPM) can helpeveryone make good decisions when it comes topest and disease control.

An IPM strategy utilizes multiple forms of con-trol and garden enhancement techniques, every-thing from using pest-resistant plants to accuratelydiagnosing a problem to choosing the right chemi-cals and doses to fix the issue. Most consumers areunaware of IPM even though it isn’t a new idea inthe industry; in fact, your customers probablydon’t think about control strategies until they’veencountered a garden problem and are standingin your chemical section, which is why they needIPM education from your employees.

Take The First StepIt is probably easiest to start educating con-

sumers at the beginning of the season when theyare choosing plants for their gardens, because oneof the main tenets of IPM is avoiding problems.Have employees help customers select plants thatwill thrive in their gardens. Match varieties to eachcustomer’s unique garden conditions, such as sunor shade and wet or dry. Also, encourage cus-tomers to purchase pest-resistant varieties.

While a customer may like large displays of asingle variety, recommend that he or she diversifythe plantings, as some pests and diseases attackonly one plant species, and minimizing largeplantings can help stem the spread of the prob-lem if it occurs, making control easier. Smallgroupings of different cultivars are a good ideafor consumers implementing an IPM strategy.

Once customers get their plant purchases homeand planted, it’s important they care for them cor-rectly. Certain cultural practices can increase thelikelihood of pests and diseases, so it would be bene-ficial to have a take-home handout available for cus-tomers regarding basic home care. The handoutcan address water practices, fertilization require-ments and pruning needs among other topics.

Good Versus Bad InsectsPart of avoiding problems in an IPM program

is having customers scout for pests and diseases intheir gardens, but customers who garden sporadi-cally may not understand that some pests are ben-eficial. Thinking they are doing the right thing,these types of customers may even try to eliminateall insects with heavy chemical use. Let themknow there are good bugs that help their gardens,and be available to answer their questions whenthey do find what they think is a suspicious insect.

Beneficial insects are those that are naturalpredators of the pests your customers are trying to

eliminate. Again, a fact sheet with information andpictures of common pests and their natural preda-tors will be helpful to have available for consumers.Think about it: While you may be able to easilyidentify an aphid, your customers probably cannot.

Choosing The Right ChemicalsOf course, even with all the best avoidance

methods in place, pests and diseases can still plaguea consumer’s garden. At this point, it is importantto inform customers about proper diagnosis andchemical selection and dosing. To help customersdetermine what they are fighting (and stress theimportance of accurate diagnosis), encouragethem to bring in samples of effected plant material.

After properly determining a customer’s prob-lem, assist him or her in choosing the right chemi-cal for the situation. Show the customer the pesti-cide label, which should include applicationdirections and rates, and stress the importance offollowing the label for the best (and safest)results. Some customers may want to apply thechemical to everything that’s green in their gar-dens; explain that in an IPM program, theyshould address only the problem areas.

It’s About EducationThe key to a sustainable future is through

educating not only your employees but alsoyour customers. You can start at your garden

While integrated pest managementis not a new idea in the green industry, most of your customers are probably unfamiliar with it.Introduce your employees and,through them, your customers to the idea for complete, sustainable control.

By Meghan Boyer

Introduc ing Consumers To

IPM

5 4 L A W N & G A R D E N R E T A I L E R A P R I L 2 0 0 7

P R O D U C T F O C U S G A R D E N P H A R M A C Y

First help consumers properly identify their garden problems, then help them choose the appropriate treatment method.

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center by talking about IPM witheveryone. Making fact sheets avail-able for employees to refer to andcustomers to take home is a goodapproach. You can even try addingsignage to indicate good pest-resis-tant varieties. Since garden phar-macy is a broad topic to learnabout, consider making one per-son on your staff the garden phar-macy point person. He or she canbe the most well versed on gardenproblems and their garden phar-macy solutions.

Meghan Boyer is associate editor of Lawn& Garden Retailer. She can be reached atmboyer@sgcmail.com or (847) 391-1013.

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LEARN MOREIf you want to learn more

about IPM programs, talk withextension agents in your area.You can also visit these Web sites:

The Garden Club of Americawww.gcamerica.org/pamphlets/gardenbrochure.html

University of CaliforniaStatewide IPM Programwww.ipm.ucdavis.edu

Environmental Protection Agencywww.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm

P R O D U C T F O C U SG A R D E N P H A R M A C Y

Since chemicals is a broad topic to learn about, consider making one person on your staff thechemical point person.

LearnMore!For more information related to this article, go to www.lgrmag.com/lm.cfm/lg040709

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