4** ANNUALS 



Sold in pre-spaced tray. Each tray holds 12 labeled 

 round pots. Over 50 varieties — Call for plant selection 



B.S. COLE 



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Crrowersl H TT?^ 



251 North Village Road, Loudon. NH 03301 

 Phone 603-783-9561 Fax 603-783-9562 



Biological 



Pest 

 Control 

 Works! 



And here's who to contact so it can work for you: 



93 Priest Rd.. NotUngham. NH 03290-6204 

 Tel: 603/942 8925 Fax: 603/942-8932 





The Green Spot 



The Adventures of 

 Gnatasha and Lindy 



The grower added water to his sphagnum-based 

 soilless media, unaware that the water was giv- 

 ing life to more than |ust his transplants. Deep 

 within the pots, life of a different kind was forming. 



As the llfe-glving water splashed down upon 

 her, she could feel Its magic go to work. From an 

 egg, through metamorphosis, Gnatasha became at 

 last a full-fledged larva. 



Straining through bleary, newly developed eyes, 

 Gnatasha saw her siblings beginning their new lives 

 as hatchllngs, as she had done only moments before. 

 She was also quite sure that, as was she, they were 

 experiencing their first agonizing bouts of hunger; 

 the larvae were famished. Fortunately, new, 

 unestabllshed roots were |ust a wriggle away. 



For days, Gnatasha and her siblings were content 

 with their meal of fungus and rotting root hairs, 

 stopping their feeding only to molt. The larvae were 

 becoming quite large. Again, the undeniable pull of 

 metamorphosis drew the plump larvae into new 

 worlds: that of the pupa, then of adulthood. 



The grower noticed that the transplants were fail- 

 ing their mission of growth. His concern made him 

 grab a couple pots to study during his morning cof- 

 fee break. With cup In hand, the grower sat for a 

 couple minutes pondering some of the other facets 

 of his thriving business. 



At that moment — that very moment, wiry-legged 

 adult fungus gnats were emerging from the pots on 

 the table. Gnatasha was being wooed by one of 

 her pot-mates. Some of her siblings were making 

 unstable attempts at first flight. One gnat gained 

 considerable height before being caught in an ex- 

 tremely hot coffee-steam thermal. Buffeted to-and- 

 fro, this adventurous gnat — Lindy — managed to 

 break free of this powerful force, only moments 

 before being violently swept downward by wind- 

 shear. Lindy met his demise in the grower's coffee 

 cup. 



One sip of coffee was all it took for the grower 

 to understand what was happening. Fungus gnats 

 were seemingly everywhere. He had considered 

 treating his newly opened growing media with a 

 shot of parasitic nemetodes (Stelnernem* spp.), 

 fungus gnat predatory mites {Hypoaspis miles), 

 azadlractin (neem), or Bacillus thurlnglensis var. 

 Israelensis (Bt-I). Next time, gnaturaily, he will. 



Mike Cherim is president oj The Green Spot, Ltd., Department of 

 Bio-Ingenuity. 93 Priest Road. Nottingkam. NH 03290-6204. The 

 phone number there is 603-942-8925, 



THE PLANTSMAN 



