Careful pest control important to garden

My landscaping company says it practices IPM. What is this?

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is an approach to lawn and garden care that involves assessing a landscape’s microclimate and environment, then recommending methods to solve specific pest problems. These include damage caused by disease, insects and deer. IPM also addresses indoor pests, including termites, and those that plague humans and pets – fleas, ticks and the like. Although

traditional pest-control practices tend to treat any infestation with pesticides, IPM regards chemicals as a last resort. The program is not necessarily organic, but it is always environmentally conscious.

There are many IPM methods that

reflect common sense. Choosing disease resistant plants is one. Another is keeping plants healthy by meeting their nutrient requirements and siting them properly – for example, avoiding planting boxwood in a sunny, dry area. Encouraging a balance of predator and prey is one of the most important principles of IPM.

Plants and insects, along with nuisances such as slugs, have evolved together, so small populations of pests will not harm your landscape. On the contrary, many creatures – ladybugs, lacewings and praying mantises among them – are quite effective at reducing the amount of pests. IPM advocates supplementing populations of these predators by buying them (or in some cases, their eggs), and placing them in the garden.

Those interested in practicing IPM at home can start by taking a close look at their plants, keeping an eye out for pests as well as chewed or tattered leaves. Pay particular attention to plants that have been victims in the past. Try to identify harmful pests using a field guide to insects or by contacting your local cooperative extension office. The latter also can help you decide on a course of action that is in keeping with IPM tenets. This may be as simple as hosing aphids or spider mites off plants or hand-picking Colorado potato beetles from leaves. More severe infestations might be treated with insecticidal soap or, if absolutely necessary, a chemical spray.

Of the many butter alternatives available, which is the most healthful?

When you’re cooking or baking, real butter brings a rich flavor and texture to foods that is unmatched by substitutes made from vegetable oils, such as soybean or canola. However, opting for a butter alternative at the table – on toast, baked potatoes and the like – can be a fine way to cut back on calories and saturated fat.

Margarine (a vegetable oil spread that, like butter, contains at least 80 percent fat) no longer is the sole alternative. Grocery store cases are packed with other oil-based spreads that are lower in fat than margarine and often have added nutritional benefits.

When comparing products, eliminate any that contain trans fat, which raises bad cholesterol, says Lisa Hark, director of nutrition education at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of “Nutrition for Life” (DK, 2005). Butter substitutes sold in sticks are often solidified using hydrogenated soybean oil, a source of trans fat. Choose a product that contains 2 grams or fewer of saturated fat per tablespoon (butter has 7 grams to 8 grams) and between 50 calories and 75 calories per tablespoon.

Some spreads provide essential nutrients or promote heart health. If you have elevated cholesterol, it may be worth the cost (which can be three or four times as much as other spreads) to buy a product with plant sterols or stanols – indicated on the label – which are derived from plant cells. Studies suggest that eating foods containing these additives on a daily basis may help reduce cholesterol, Hark says.

You’ll also find butter alternatives made with olive, fish or flaxseed oil; these all are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to help

reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Other spreads incorporate nonfat yogurt, though generally not enough to count as a calcium source. However, products with yogurt and olive oil usually contain fewer calories and less saturated fat than many of their shelf mates. If you’d like to add a serving of calcium to your diet, some spreads are fortified with this mineral.
source:www.nwherald.com