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Re: master gardeners and Scotts?
Jems --
I only do a little bit on lawns. It can get you wrapped up in your underwear. I do a separate program on that.
We can talk live if you want and I can take you through the nuts and bolts of this. Or, if you'll be at the Perennial Plant Conference in July in Philadelphia we can carve out some time there?
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: Thursday, May 22, 2008 7:17 AM
Subject: Re: [GWL] master gardeners and Scotts?
Hi, Lorraine -- that's a great idea. Now I just need to find a venue.
I give four classes a year at the garden center where I work, but
without the products, I couldn't really do a safe lawns workshop
there. I did an article last year for Indiana Living Green about safe
lawns and it is the most read article on the Web site, so I know
there is a lot of interest in this. I was thinking that perhaps the
magazine (http://www.indianalivinggreen.com<http://www.indianalivinggreen.com/>) could sponsor such a
talk.
I, too, have brought in the marketing materials for Bradfield and
other products. One of the complaints I get from the owner is that
the packaging is not attractive and does not compete well with
Scotts. Bradfield and Espoma are top notch looking. We do carry
Espoma, but in small packages and mostly Holly-Tone.
I figure if enough customers go to the owner and we employees
continue to bring it up, he'll eventually do it. He's really fairly
progressive in how he runs his operations, merchandising and quality
of plants, but I (we) can't get him to budge on this.
Thanks, again for sharing your experiences, Lorraine.
jems
>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<h*@sbcglobal.net>>
> To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers
>Forum<g*@lists.ibiblio.org<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<h*@sbcglobal.net<h*@sbcglobal.net>>
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________________________________________
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>
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org<g*@lists.ibiblio.org>
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters<http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters>
GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters<http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters>
Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net<g*@hort.net> to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos<http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos>
Post gardening questions/threads to
"Gardenwriters on Gardening" <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters<http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters>
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
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http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
Post gardening questions/threads to
"Gardenwriters on Gardening" <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
For GWL website and Wiki, go to
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