ELSEWHERE IN THE 



Plasticulture 



Greenhouse Grower, September, 1998 



Increased use of plastic in agri- 

 culture has convinced scientists 

 from Penn State's colleges of agri- 

 cultural sciences and earth and 

 mineral sciences to collaborate 

 with researchers from three other 

 universities to create The Center 

 for Plasticulture. The center will 

 fund and initiate research on 

 plastic products. 



Researchers from Penn State, 

 McGill, Rutgers, and the Univer- 

 sity of New Hampshire will de- 

 velop technology and production 

 guides. 



Books Reviewed 



Most garden centers offer a selec- 

 tion of books. Often they are ba- 

 sic — perennial identification, land- 

 scape design. 



These books were recently re- 

 ceived for review — all are special- 

 ized, but do what they set out to 

 do well. They may be of interest. 



What seems most useful to the 

 largest number of customers 

 would be Garden Manager from 

 Marlor Press (112 pages; retail 

 price: $15.95), a planner/journal 

 for gardeners. The book's divided 

 into four sections — preparation, 

 planting, harvest, clean up — and 

 each offers space to plan and 



record for five years. 



There's space for addresses, 

 pages for lists, grids on which to 

 design, boxes in which to put 

 check marks when a task is 

 completed. ..all this and more, and 

 lots of upbeat tips. 



It's light, yes — maybe simplis- 

 tic, but the questions answered 

 are often the ones heard at any 

 busy garden center on a Saturday 

 afternoon. The real plus comes in 

 using it (you may want your lists 

 and ideas already somewhat orga- 

 nized before committing them to 

 these pages); its usefulness is as a 

 record — five years of well-orga- 

 nized gardening notes is not to be 

 sneered at — especially when 

 within a cheerful format and all 

 in one place. 



Marlor Press is at 4304 

 Brigadoon Drive, St. Paul, MN 

 55126; the phone number is 612- 

 484-4600. The people there are 

 very helpful. 



I thought The Worm Book (150 

 pages; $11.95) from Ten Speed 

 Press would be fun when I saw 

 that the publicity included a 

 recipe for Oatmeal Earthworm 

 Raisin Muffins. Well, it is — and 

 comprehensive as well. The au- 

 thors, Loren Nancarrow and Janet 

 Hogan Taylor, have taken a 

 topic — worm growing and 



composting — that I must admit I 

 don't often think about and writ- 



ten a guide that is practical (I 

 know exactly how to build a 

 worm bin), scientific (there are 

 diagrams of such things as outer 

 worm anatomy), and entertaining. 

 There may be other books out 

 there, but I can't imagine many 

 giving more information in a 

 more reader-friendly style. 



Another guide from the same 

 press. The Savage Garden ($19.95) 

 by Peter D'Amato, deals with car- 

 nivorous plants — families, grow- 

 ing them outdoors, terrariums.... 



There's lots of information here 

 (lots of color photographs) — far 

 more than most gardeners — par- 

 ents whose child's Venus fly trap 

 seems listless — could ever use. 

 But there are collectors; there are 

 enthusiasts — and for them — and 

 for a garden center that sells car- 

 nivorous plants and needs to deal 

 with customers' questions, this 

 book is ideal. 



Ten Speed Press is at PO Box 

 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707; the 

 phone number is 510-559-1600. 



Blooming Biotecli 



The Economist, September 5-11 



Many commercial flower varieties 

 are now so highly bred for their 

 appearance that they have lost 

 their scent. Rodney Croteau, at 

 Washington State University, and 

 collaborators at Novaflora in 



HARRY STOLLER & CO., Inc 



109-111 Essex St., Haverhill, MA 01830, (978)373-6838, (800)244-0332 

 We cater to the small and medium size nursery in any quantity desired. 



1. New heavy grade domestic burlap sqs. 

 untreated and no-rot treated 



2. Open burlap bags 



3. New windbreak burlap 



4. Balling bags 



5. Wire baskets 



6. Flat-folded burlap basket liners 



7. Truck covers 



8. Sisal twine and poly twine 



9. Woven polypropylene sqs. 



THE PL ANTSMAN 



