Re: Master Gardeners

**"* F* <c*@mail.com>**

Margaret,
The Master Gardener program, and the Extension Service policies are very, very different from what you describe. They ALWAYS give least-toxic solutions and the Volunteer Master Gardeners are told to stop there. While you can get the latest information on which pesticide is currently LABELED to treat which pest, even the official U. Mass Extension publication "2008-2009 Professional Management Guide for Insects, Diseases and Weeds of Trees and Shrubs in New England" lists "Integrated Pest Management (IPM) considerations for most of these pests; environmentally friendly alternatives in pest management such as horticultural oils, soaps, biologicals, etc." in addition to the pesticides registered to treat each problem. 

I have been a Volunteer Master Gardener with the Barnstable Extension for 15 years... and I'm always careful to put the word "volunteer" in front of the master gardener title, because that's what the group is: volunteers in the field of horticulture. Knowing the Extension Specialist who oversees our group, and the many MG's in it, I think that our motto could really be "First Do No Harm."

C.L.
www.gardenlady.com
blog www.wholelifegardening.com
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