savage garden

There were some technical issues with the blog post going out over email today. Let’s try this again… Fungus gnats and shoreflies will always be a nuisance in greenhouse crops and, at high levels, potentially damage roots and transmit certain plant pathogens. Recently, key pesticides for these pest have been lost, either through de-registration or via production decisions from manufacturers. Read on to see options for controlling fungus gnats in greenhouse crops. Insecticides for Fungus Gnats and Shoreflies A shorefly at rest in an ornamental crop. Photo by S. Jandricic, OMAFA. Previous products available for fungus gnats and shoreflies in Canada included Citation (cyromazine), Dimilin (diflubenzuron) and Vectobac (BT israelensis). Citation was no longer allowed for use on cut flowers in Canada in 2021 and Citation fell out of production in 2023 . Similarly, Vectobac and Dimilin are no longer being produced by chemical manufacturers as of 2023/2024. There is little to no in...

Re-imagine what your substrates can do! Read on to learn about the benefits of trialing new components for your media mixes. For the last few decades, growers in North America have been reading headlines about the steady decline of peat used for horticultural purposes across multiple European countries. Majority of the peat extracted in European countries is retained for domestic use. Additionally, commercial ornamental trade also remains between European countries, creating a closed circular market. North America has its own circular market. With Canadian sources of peat, and trade primarily between the United States, local growers haven’t been severely affected by global changes in peat use and reduction trajectories. Even though Canadian growers haven’t seen the same reduction of peat use in the local market, it doesn’t mean we can’t learn from Europe’s goals, decisions, and success stories. Raw material options Research continues to expand the options of raw materials ava...