New^ England Greenhouse 

 Conference Update 



Richard Emerson 



This is just a short note com- 

 menting on the success of this 

 year's New England Greenhouse 

 Conference. We attracted more 

 businesses to our trade show than 

 in previous years. We were also 

 able to expand our educational 

 programs. Those of you who 

 were able to attend saw that 

 many of these sessions were 

 filled or overfilled. Anyone 

 attending the marketing sessions 

 has to admit that these speakers 

 were dynamic. The sneak pre- 

 views of new offerings for spring, 

 as well as the update on West 

 Coast trends, should stimulate 

 some great ideas for increasing 

 sales. 



I will be presenting a more 

 in-depth report in the next issue. 

 In the meantime, if you have any 

 suggestions or comments, I'd like 

 to hear from you. Plans for the 

 1994 Conference are already 

 underway. 



Richard Emerson, the NHPGA 

 Representative on the NE Green- 

 house Conference Committee, 

 can he reached at 603-329-5525. 

 His address is Emerson Avenue 

 Greenhouses, 181 Emerson 

 Avenue, Hampstead, NH 03841. 



Whitefly BiO'Control 

 Update 



(by David C. Seavey, in 

 Ornamentals Update, Fall, 1992). 



For the second year, whitefly 

 populations were monitored by 

 Ginny Hast, Extension Program 

 Associate, on tomatoes in the 

 Merrimack County greenhouse. 

 The objective is to learn the ef- 

 fectiveness of Encarsia formosa, 

 a small parasitic wasp, in reduc- 

 ing populations of the greenhouse 

 whitefly. Information obtained 

 will be related to controlling this 

 pest on poinsettia. 



Encarsia adults lay eggs in 

 whitefly immatures; these turn 

 black as the young Encarsia 

 feeds. Adults also kill immatures 

 by puncturing holes and feeding 

 on the liquid that exudes from 



FORUM 



the wound. Encarsia is not as 

 effective on the sweet potato 

 whitefly. 



Cards containing 1000 parasit- 

 ized eggs were hung in the green- 

 house. Three releases were made 

 two weeks apart. Each release 

 cost $15.00. The time spent 

 counting whiteflies on ten yellow 

 study cards was about one min- 

 ute per card every two weeks. 



During a nine week period, 

 the whitefly was maintained at 

 a manageable level, and actually 

 declined somewhat. No chemical 

 insecticides were used. 



Where a low population of 

 whitefly is tolerable on green- 

 house tomatoes, this is not the 

 case with poinsettias. Encarsia 

 alone will not eliminate whitefly. 

 In the future, effective control 

 may involve Encarsia in combina- 

 tion with other practices. 



David Seavey, Extension 

 Educator in Merrimack County, 

 can he reached at 603-796-2151. 



Twilight Meeting— 

 Stra^rbery Banke 



Although the turnout was small, 

 the meeting on September ninth 

 was definitely a success. A tour 

 led by Ann Duncan that was to 

 have lasted an hour lasted two- 

 and-a-half and explored the entire 

 history of gardening in the sea- 

 coast region. 



Strawbery Banke is becoming 

 much more than a re-creation of 

 colonial Portsmouth. Because the 

 Puddle Dock neighborhood was 

 the first settled in the city — the 

 earliest house still standing dates 

 from the 1690's — and changed as 

 times changed, it's being restored 

 to reflect the neighborhood's di- 

 versity. Restorations will include 

 a duplex of the fifties (the nine- 

 teen-fifties), a neighborhood store 

 of the forties (yes, there will be a 

 Victory Garden), a Jewish immi- 

 grant's home of the twenties, the 

 Colonial Revival garden behind 

 the Henry Bailey Aldrich House, 

 the Goodwin mansion's Victorian 

 garden (with a newly planted 

 recreation of Mrs. Goodwin's 

 "beloved Tanglewood") and so 

 forth. ..down to the earliest — the 



December 1992 & January 1993 

 5 



WELCOME 

 Neiv Members 



MADELINE DUHAMEL 



231 Route 125, Apt. 6 



Barrington, NH 03825 



(603) 664-5749 



THOMAS MINTER 



115A Piscataqua Road 



Madbury, NH 03820 



(603) 749-3528 



VAN DE WETERING 

 GREENHOUSES, INC. 



140 Sound Ave., PC Box 819 



Jamesport, NY 11947 



(516) 722-8757 



WINDHILL FARM 



RFD 3, Box 3681 



Pittsfield, NH 03263 



(603) 435-6381 



New Advertisers 



EXC-CEL GREENHOUSE MFG. 



PC Box 1005 

 Greenwood, SC 29648 



DEMERS GARDEN CENTER 



656 South Mammoth Road 

 Manchester, NH 03103 



raised beds and gravel paths be- 

 hind the 1680 Sherburne House. 



Topics touched upon included 

 Portsmouth's first professional 

 gardener — a Johnny Cunningham 

 imported from Scotland in the 

 1790's (who later died in an alms 

 house); the almost garish quaUty 

 of some nineteenth century 

 gardens (the Victorians seemed 

 unable to get enough color), the 

 herb garden as myth, the effect 

 of the colonial revival on today's 

 perceptions of colonial life, the 

 use of archeology in finding out 

 about earlier gardens — and more 

 down-to-earth things like smaller 

 budgets, Japanese beetles and 

 lousy soil. 



The NHPGA thanks Ann for 

 her hospitality. Although tours 

 as fine as this happen rarely, 

 Strawbery Banke is always a 

 place of horticultural interest. »•• 



