Re: master gardeners and Scotts?

**"* B* <l*@msn.com>**

Jo Ellen,

Like you, I had been trying for a few years to get local garden centers to stock low toxic products only to hear them tell me that they can't sell them. Not enough customers ask for them, ergo, no sales, no profit, blah, blah, blah.  

In 2006, I started decided to work from the ground up.  I created a talk on "Low Toxic Approaches to Home Gardens," initially offered it free (it's become wildly successful), then started giving it as a class to the Connecticut Master Gardeners, and have been running a table/booth at the CT Master Gardener Fair for the last 2 years. We still do the diagnosis of right plant, right place, etc.; the booth is designed for that "next step," when an intervention is called for.    

As part of the prep for this talk/class, I met with the managers of the local garden centers to let them know I would be doing this talk.  I also brought along some promotional literature I had picked up from the various trade shows to show them some of the products they could stock that would be alternatives for customers to buy.  Local garden centers and stores are now stocking commercial low toxic products and biologicals (even the local Home Depot, Lowes, and WalMart) -- not in great quantity, but certainly in larger numbers in large measure due mostly to the greater choices available to them. A few changed their displays to make it easier for customers to find the low toxics as a result of the time we spent together -- progress in tiny steps, but progress nonetheless. 

I take no personal credit for this -- I think it's just the confluence of the "green mindset" and my personal motivations to see the elimination of those infuriating little yellow signs that pop up all over the place every spring to poison my water, air and everything else! Not to mention what happens during the rest of the growing season. 

The only reason I mention all of this is to suggest it as an idea to anyone on this list as something to consider to help turn the tide locally. I had to go back to freshman economics, i.e., create the market interest and need so that customers ask for the products.

Lorraine 

Lorraine Ballato 
16 Mudry Farm Rd 
Brookfield CT 06804 
(203)740-8636

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: jo ellen meyers sharp<h*@sbcglobal.net> 
  To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum<g*@lists.ibiblio.org> 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 10:04 PM
  Subject: Re: [GWL] master gardeners and Scotts?

  Here in Marion County (Indianapolis), Master Gardeners provide 
  answers to e-mail questions and phone calls, as well as analyze live 
  (sometimes dead) specimens brought in for diagnosis...insect, 
  disease, freeze, lack of water, plant habit, etc.

  I answer e-mails on Mondays, and as a general rule, we are not really 
  allowed to provide specific recommendations for pesticides. Rather, 
  we refer people to Purdue University (or other university or .org's) 
  publications that deal with a specific topic...weeds in lawns, 
  growing tomatoes, Japanese beetles, for instance. And, the 
  publications have been or are being rewritten to reflect the new 
  thinking, which is as someone described earlier, no-low toxicity, 
  stepping up as needed.

  I am a natural gardener and rarely use synthetics...I have two dogs 
  and I watch the birds nip at the blades of grass, which are enough to 
  convince me to shun these products. However, as I'm sure we all know, 
  just because something is organic or natural doesn't translate into 
  safe. Nicotine anyone?

  I sat in on the teleconference on water conservation. The best one 
  was a few years ago when there actually was a teleconference on 
  Scotts changing its advertising to encourage consumers to identify 
  the problem before using broad products, such as Weed B Gon or Bug B 
  Gon. It was the mantra when I took Master Gardener classes that you 
  identify the problem before treating anything and you started with 
  the no-least toxic first, such as a strong spray of water from the 
  hose to knock of aphids. I asked the Scotts guy specifically if we 
  would no longer see ads for these products and was told we would not.

  I've heard that Hagedorn's wife was the one interested in organics 
  and that was the reason the company introduced a line of products.

  Every spring for six weeks, I work in an independent garden center 
  that is part of Do-It Best, a cooperative. Ace and Tru Value also are 
  cooperatives, with each store independently owned and the members 
  share in overall corporate profits. I have been trying for three 
  years to get the owner to stock Bradfield Organics, corn gluten or 
  even Milorganite, but he doesn't. This year, the first day I worked, 
  three customers asked if we had any organic lawn care products. I 
  told them no, but asked them to ask the owner. The other employees 
  also have been pushing for it, this year more than ever. I'm hopeful 
  about next year.

  jems

  ________________________________________
  Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
  Garden writer, speaker, author, photographer
  Region III Director Garden Writers Association
  Phone: (317) 251.3261
  Fax: (317) 251.8545
  E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net<h*@sbcglobal.net>
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