labels which meet your needs? Think computers. 

 Technology is progressing so quickly that it is very 

 easy now to produce labels in full color on inexpen- 

 sive dot matrix printers. Start with a word processing 

 program such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect, 

 import a scanned or digital photo of the plant in 

 flower, add pertinent plant information text, and print 

 the result in color. For longevity, laminate the page. 



Digital imagery is a rapidly changing and exciting 

 industry. Companies such as Kodak will digitize any 

 slide or negative you provide them. They will return 

 your originals plus provide you with a CD (compact 

 disk) which contains the digitized images. It is also 

 possible to visit places such as Kinko's (a 24-hour, 

 multi-service copy center) and use their scanner 

 equipment attached to a computer. Bring along any 

 color photo, place it on the scanner, and let the com- 

 puter work away. The image becomes digitized and 



you save it on a computer disk for later use. 



Digital cameras are another alternative for supply- 

 ing digital images. Sharp price decreases are making 

 them affordable for the average business user. These 

 cameras do not use film. Instead, the image is digi- 

 tized and once saved on your computer hard drive, 

 can be brought into other software programs. 



Is it time to reassess your plant labels? Are you 

 providing all the necessary information your customer 

 needs? Are your prices clearly marked? Are you tak- 

 ing full advantage of add-on sales through promo- 

 tional labels? Are you making your own labels to 

 highlight plants, which otherwise, would suffer from 

 lack of key information? 1 hope the answers are yes. 



Nancy Adams, Extension Educator, Agriculture Resources, 

 UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County, can be 

 reached at 603-679-5616. 



Not by Lime Alone 



The pH of your soil Is not determined by lime 

 alone. As a matter of fact, the lime charge in 

 your soilless mix has very little Impact on what 

 the final pH of your soil will be. You can have 

 anywhere from two to seven pounds of lime per 

 yard incorporated Into your mix. Peat and bark 

 mixes tend to have a "natural" pH of 4-5 with- 

 out lime. To adjust for this low pH, growers and 

 soil mix manufacturers will Incorporate lime. 



Unfortunately for what we learned in 

 Agronomy 101, lime does not work In soilless 

 mixes the same way It does In field soils. A 

 study a few years back showed that 60% of the 

 lime Incorporated into a soilless mix will leach 

 out in less than six weeks — quite different that 

 the two-to-five-year time span that exists with 

 conventional soils. Field soils are significantly 

 more finely textured and able to hold elements 

 more effectively than our horticultural mixes. 

 This concept is referred to as Cation Exchange 

 Capacity (CLC). 



We could use coarser lime In our mixes, but 

 unfortunately, most of the lime would not be 

 available to the plant while It Is in your produc- 

 tion facility. Increasing the lime rate per yard 

 means that at one point early in the production 



cycle, too much lime will be available, causing 

 your early pH's to be over 7 — not a good thing for 

 most plant growth. Before the lime charge In your 

 mix becomes fully available (usually after three or 

 four waterings), your pH will appear low. In fact, 

 an error many growers make Is to check the pH 

 of their mix right out of the bag, bale, or pile, 

 before the lime becomes fully available. 



Knowing this, how does a grower manage his 

 pH? With something I've mentioned many times In 

 the past concerning your water and fertilizer. Your 

 water pH will Impact your media pH more than 

 anything else. Every time you water, your media Is 

 coming closer to matching your water pH. What if 

 your water pH Is not acceptable? Too high? Too 

 low? Only fertilizer can adjust this problem. 

 Choosing the proper fertilizer based on your wa- 

 ter quality is key. Remember — for growers with 

 high alkalinity In their water, adfusting their pH Is 

 more difficult; for growers with low alkalinity, ad- 

 justing your pH can occur very quickly. 



]im Zablocki, technical manager of the Northern 

 Horticultural Croup, Scotts Company, can be reached 

 at 603-224-5583. 



THE PLANTSMAN 



