Press Release

NICH has nominated two members to serve on Agriculture Secretary Vilsack’s Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Advisory Committee. This committee will advise the U.S. secretary of agriculture on the development of policies and outreach relating to urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production practices, as well as to identify any barriers to urban agriculture.

“It is critical that individuals with extensive knowledge of Consumer Horticulture serve on the advisory committee and our candidates have that in spades,” noted Ellen Bauske, Chair of NICH.   “Consumer Horticulture is the agriculture that 98% of Americans see every day and innovations show up there first.”

Mason Day of JR Peters Inc. has exceptional experience in urban, indoor, and other emerging agriculture production practices.  In his role as co-founder of the GrowIt! App, his focus was to increase the level of plant knowledge in consumers nationwide.  He helped motivate those living in urban environments to connect plants with their communities, empowering them to learn from each other and introducing them to experts in the area. He was able to identify and help several communities growing food within the urban environment. Many of the challenges urban farmers face are unlike their rural or even suburban counterparts. Mr. Day is keenly aware that this sector’s challenges are best met with inventive technological solutions. He has worked hard to highlight them and make them more widely available.

Missy Gable has rich and varied academic experience. She is currently the Director of University of the California Master Gardener Program, providing academic and administrative leadership to the program. The UC Master Gardener Program is a Cooperative Extension stronghold with over 6,000 volunteers and a value of over $15.5 million.  Her program serves the 40 million residents of California, 95% of whom live in urban areas. It is well-known for its innovations in extension education delivery. Ms. Gable has frequently encountered and worked with California’s resourceful urban agricultural entrepreneurs.  This has provided her with a unique perspective on the diversity and inclusion challenges faced by these farmers and commercial gardeners. 

Both nominees are members of the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) and serve on our Executive Committee. NICH (consumerhort.org) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens, and plants — indoors and out.

The Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Advisory Committee would benefit from the passion and knowledge of either or both these members.

When I first began researching Adaptive Gardening, I’d already been introduced to the concept, so I knew what the term meant, but I recognized many people didn’t get it at first. 

At seminars, participants would say to me: “I know what ‘adaptable’ means, but how does that apply to gardening?” I explained: “When someone is adaptable and resilient and they experience physical issues that keep them from doing their favorite gardening chores, instead of throwing in the trowel, they look for new ways to get things done.

Physical challenges can leave us exhausted and questioning our ability to push forward. That’s why I created these guiding principles for all of us to be resilient gardeners:

1. We are creative and we recognize that we have choices.
2. We can overcome our issues to find another way to get something done.
3. We never give up.

Expanding from Adaptive to Resilience
For many reasons I love the phrase ‘Resilient Gardener’. What does it mean to be resilient?

When you have a resilient disposition, 

you’re better able to maintain a healthy attitude 

in the face of life’s challenges.

Resilience won’t make your problems go away—but it can help you to see past them, find joy in life, and handle setbacks when they strike. You may still feel anger, grief, disappointment, and pain, but you can keep functioning and moving forward, which is the key.

When we strengthen our resilience through times of discomfort, it becomes our path to inner peace. We can’t stop the course of things and how they show up in our lives, and quite often we have no control over what happens, but we do have control how we respond to what happens. 

The good news is that resilience is a skill that can be exercised and strengthened. This will help you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

How to Grow Your Resilience

• Start by being aware of how you’re feeling. 
• Be patient with yourself; practice self-compassion and self-care.
• Take time to be still. If you don’t have a meditation practice, start one today. 

One Final Thought
Many of us keep our problems to ourselves, or try to figure it out on our own, but reaching out to others for their ideas and suggestions can be an integral part of becoming resilient.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants — indoors and out. 

Toni Gattone is a passionate gardener, an enthusiastic speaker, and the author of The Lifelong Gardener, Garden with Ease & Joy at Any Age (Timber Press, 2019). Gattone overcame debilitating back pain so she could keep doing what she loves to do. Reach her at www.ToniGattone.com.

Nothing is more welcoming in the office, waiting room, or conference room than lush greenery.   The benefits of plants in the workplace are well documented. They remove pollutants, help workers relax and refocus, increase productivity, and make the office look better.  

So why aren’t they everywhere?

Maybe it’s because of those irritating little hitchhikers, those gnats that hover around potted plants and in the window.  It is easy to imagine them flying into your eyes and nose. Could they be eyeballing  your lunch?

Those are fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.) and fortunately they have no interest in your body orifices or your food.  The adult gnats are small (1/8 inch or less), dark, and delicate (Fig. 1) . They have a distinct “Y-shaped” wing vein pattern on their light gray to clear wings (Fig. 2).   With their long legs and antennae, they resemble mosquitos, but they don’t bite people.

The larvae of fungus gnats live in the top one to two inches of indoor plant potting media and feed on fungi, algae and organic matter (Fig. 3).  Sometimes they feed on plant roots and leaves that are found in the potting media.  The larvae transform into adult flying gnats who go on to lay eggs in the moist potting media to begin the cycle again.

The life cycle may be completed in a few weeks at room temperatures and there may be multiple, overlapping generations a year.  The larvae can cause plant stunting, particularly in young plants and seedlings. Often plant damage goes unnoticed and the flying adults are identified as the nuisance pest.

Managing fungus gnats

The solution is simple. Don’t overwater indoor plants. Fungus gnats need high moisture levels in the potting soil. Letting the soil go dry between watering often solves the problem. The egg-laying female is less attracted to dry potting media, and the survivability of larva that hatch from the eggs is decreased.

Trapping the adults with a yellow sticky card (sold as Gnat Stixã) will also help to reduce the number of larvae in the next generation.  Simply place the yellow sticky card underneath the plant canopy or on the edge of the container. If changing water management and trapping adults does not eliminate the problem, chemical control may be warranted.  Insecticide control of the adult gnat is not effective. A soil drench with an appropriately labeled liquid insecticide will kill the larva. Always read and follow the direction on the insecticide label.

Enjoy your office plants!

When posting on social media, please use the hashtag #PlantsDoThat. Please feel free to share or adapt this article in your newsletter or other customer communications.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants — indoors and out. 

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“The beauty of a plant is not just the plant itself, but all of the other organisms it can bring into your garden.” 
– Dr. Gail Langellotto, Oregon State University

If you love watching wildlife, you’ll love having native plants around because these are the plants that really bring in the bees, butterflies and birds. And because they’re naturally adapted to local climate and soils, native plants are great candidates for low-input and low-maintenance landscapes. Properly selected and established, natives can be beautiful, super functional, and largely problem free.

Native plants are the species which have been part of the balance of nature developed over thousands of years in a particular ecosytem or region. The word “native” is best used with a qualifier, such as a specific geographic region (native to Kansas) or ecosystem (native to the eastern deciduous forest). While a native species may range widely across the country, local populations of individual plants often exhibit important differences adapted to the local environment.

Native plants are at the base of the wild food chain. They have co-evolved with native insects, developing mutually dependent interactions and relationships, such as pollination and reproduction. Butterfly gardeners know they must put up with caterpillars, the larval form of the butterflies, eating their plants. This insect-host plant relationship is often more specialized and vital than many people realize. Most butterflies and moths, in their larval stages, feed predominantly on native plants, often just a few species. If those plants are not available, the butterfly or moth cannot reproduce. The monarch butterfly struggles in part because although its larvae can feed on any milkweed plant species, loss of native habitat has resulted in many fewer milkweed plants. Most gardeners can’t get native milkweed. The most widely available species, tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, is not native and some research suggests that in certain parts of the country, it’s a problem because its extended growing season disrupts the butterfly’s natural migratory behavior.

Beyond butterflies, caterpillars are essential, protein-rich food for birds. Thanks to the research and books by Dr. Doug Tallamy, University of Delaware entomologist, we know that 96% of our land birds feed their babies exclusively with insects, mostly caterpillars. No caterpillars, no baby birds! With native plants, every gardener can plant critical habitat for local insects and birds. As people continue to convert more land to urban areas, gardens and landscapes will become ever more important to sustaining wildlife.

To learn about and purchase native plants for your garden, choose the most local sources of information and plants available. The American Horticultural Society provides links to every state native plant society. Find yours. You’ll be led to good references for what is locally native or not. You’ll meet new friends who share your interest and have experience with the plants. Native plant societies offer field trips to see plants in natural and planted settings, provide plant and seed swaps, support local nurseries and help spur awareness of these still little known plants.

Plant some natives, expect more life in your landscape and carve out time to enjoy it.

More findings on the benefits of plants can be found at consumerhort.org. When posting on social media, please use the hashtag #PlantsDoThat. Please feel free to share or adapt this article in your newsletter or other customer communications.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants — indoors and out. 

Cammie Donaldson is the Executive Director of the Native Plant Horticulture Foundation and Florida Association of Native Nurseries, the largest network of businesses and professionals promoting and using native plants in the nation.

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American Flowers Week celebrates flower-growing in all 50 states

Here’s a creative way to engage gardeners in an interactive celebration of the annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs in their backyards. It’s called American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4) — based on a free and inclusive social media campaign that highlights U.S.-grown cut flowers. Launched in 2015, the home-grown campaign is part of Slow Flowers Society’s advocacy, education and outreach efforts.

American Flowers Week invites all flower lovers (gardeners, florists and growers) to celebrate beauty, sustainability and joy of local and seasonal flowers across the U.S. In addition to providing free resources and graphics, Slow Flowers commissions teams of flower farmers and floral designers to create wearable botanical couture garments each year. The dazzling floral fashions are worn by live models and photographed for publication. Each look is a reflection of an iconic U.S.-grown cut flower, while also showcasing the farming and design talents of our members.

Of course, I believe we should be promoting American-grown flowers during all 52 weeks of the year. By devoting one full week to an awareness campaign, we encourage everyone to post photos of their red, white and blue botanicals across social media and use #americanflowersweek as the tag. Participation in American Flowers Week has generated more than 15 million impressions across social media platforms since its launch.

The audience for American Flowers Week includes home gardeners, media, floral professionals and consumers who enjoy flowering plants in backyards, fields and farms across the U.S. With more than 16 million new Americans taking up gardening in the past year, American Flowers Week provides professionals and organizations in consumer horticulture a fun opportunity to invite everyone to join in the flower independence day promotion. Learn more at americanflowersweek.com.

Please feel free to share or adapt this article in your newsletter or other customer communications with credit to NICH/consumerhort.org.

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for American-grown flowers. Through Slow Flowers Society’s many channels and programs she has convened a national conversation that encourages consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases.

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