MEMBER PROFILE 



goats and sold milk. Now he does 

 some landscaping. He's also a dealer 

 for biological controls — originally for 

 the Arbico Company; now for The 

 Green Spot. 



HEATH'S ITSELF is a good advertise- 

 ment — Tom uses nothing but biologi- 

 cal controls. He releases ladybugs 

 both inside and out — three or four 

 gallons a year. Ladybugs are an im- 

 mediate control — they eat a lot more 

 than aphids — but there's also "a nice 

 effect — customers love buying plants 

 with ladybugs on them." 



He talked about some of the more 

 familiar insects he uses: Encarsia 

 formosa, an endoparasitic wasp (en- 

 doparasites live on the inside of their 

 hosts; ectoparasites on the outside), is 

 strictly for use against greenhouse 

 whitefly; he releases Trickogramma spp. 

 (an endoparasitic wasp that destroys 

 moth and butterfly eggs) in the nursery 

 weekly, starting in late May. (this 

 controls caterpillars and loopers); he 

 releases nematodes twice yearly 

 both inside and out ("at least 90% of 

 all insects spend part of their lives 

 underground"); he uses Aphidius spp. 

 (another endoparasitic wasp), against 

 aphids (this is particularly effective 

 against the green peach aphid) and 

 prefers it to Apftidoletes apfiidimyza.a 

 predator midge which does less well 

 in lower temperatures. 



The small, carefully cared-for spaces 

 are made to seem even smaller and 

 more precise by the view — a pan- 

 orama of the north side of Cannon 

 Mountain and the Cannonballs framed 

 by Scrag Hill rising on the left. .."an 



old-timer told me that Scrag Hill is 

 one of only three volcanic mountains 

 in the area — so that makes it special." 

 The contrast also makes one wonder 

 how much the success of biological 

 controls depends on the tempera- 

 ment of the owner. Precision and plea- 

 sure in detail might be key factors. 



NOT ALL CONTROLS are insects. He 

 uses diatomaceous earth — a substance 

 "made from he mined and pulverized 

 fossilized shell remnants of unicellular 

 marine algae known as diatoms" — as a 

 control for earwigs and other crawling 

 insects. These shell remnants are razor 

 sharp and cut the undersides of any 

 insect crawling over them. 



Tom doesn't use sticky cards, but 

 he does scout. He always asks sup- 

 pliers what they use for insect con- 

 trol. Because he buys in, he has a 

 strict quarantine system (especially 

 for material he uses for his landscap- 

 ing jobs — which he prefers to have 

 delivered to the site). If he sees 

 damage, he isolates the plants. This 

 stops the immediate spread of the 

 insects; after this, he will release an 

 appropriate predator throughout the 

 entire area. 



He cleans the greenhouse several 

 times a year, usually at the end of a 

 crop (after Christmas, after the spring 

 rush, etc.). This includes washing 

 down benches with a 50-to-one bleach 

 solution, picking up debris, pulling 

 weeds, and raking the peastone floor; 

 it even includes hosing down the in- 

 side of the convection tubing used 

 for heat and air circulation ("it lasts 

 longer if you clean it") After that, 



there's a three-day quarantine. 



Spacing is important. Good air cir- 

 culation keeps down moisture-loving 

 pathogens; if there are insects, it's 

 more difficult for them to travel. 



Whatever is not sold is corn-posted. 

 The pile is turned twice a year; com- 

 post is used in the perennial and veg- 

 etable beds. 



Although he doesn't make a big 

 point about being organic in his ad- 

 vertising (during the season, weekly 

 ads appear in the Littleton Courier), 

 many customers (most are from 

 Littleton; all are from a 50-mile ra- 

 dius) come for that reason. He also 

 sells North Organics fertilizer ("tons 

 of it") and, again, by using it him- 

 self, is its best advertisement. 



TOM SOMETIMES hires a summer 

 helper, but Heath's is basically a 

 one-person operation and, although 

 he still needs to grow what sells, 

 Tom tends to experiment, to do what 

 interests him. The use of biological 

 controls is based on personal beliefs. 

 Customers may find the makeup of 

 one year's crop to be quite different 

 from that of the year before... 



Now he's planting a fruit orchard 

 on land in Landaff. Apples, plums, 

 cherries, apricots — all organically 

 grown — will be sold wholesale. Small 

 fruits — blueberries, raspberries — are 

 being planted as well. As Tom says, 

 "you can do a lot in a small space." 

 (B.P.) 



Heath's Greenhouse & Nursery (RFD #1, Box 

 168, Ultieton. NH 03561) is on Route 18 in 

 franconia. Tom's number is 603-823-8500. 



Wholesale 



Gold Star Whalesale Nursery b a family owned business. Since 1952 we 

 the finest wholesale planting materials to landscape contractors 



along with the one element that truly sets 

 competidon-service. 



welcomes your comments and suggestions, 

 the best in wholesale landscape supplies 



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THE PLANTSMAN 



