Another drier than normal year..

For southeastern New England, including eastern Massachusetts, rainfall through the end of September is 6 to 12 inches or more below normal.  The map and data should be available by clicking here.  Last year also had lower than normal amounts of rain for the growing season.  Make sure to give your ornamental trees and shurbs a good soaking drink before the ground freezes so they have plenty of moisture to help minimize winter burn.

  -Lauren Greenhow, General Manager, GreenHow, Inc. GreenHow.com. Effective Organic and Low Impact Solutions, Lawn Care, Pest Control and Termite Control in Newton and Metro Boston.

Found: A biodegradable disposable Nitrile Glove

These gloves came out last year, but we missed the hoopla, and now are excited to find and use the GreeN-Dex (tm) first biodegradable nitrile glove.  We use a lot of nitrile gloves to keeps hands clean during the day handling materials, equipment and pests.  Having a domestically produced biodegradable glove makes us feel much better using them, and we were happy to find these.  Our original supplier was out of stock of our glove, so in looking for a replacement, we searched biodegradable and made in the USA.


-Lauren Greenhow, General Manager, GreenHow, Inc. GreenHow.com. Effective Organic and Low Impact Solutions, Lawn Care, Pest Control and Termite Control in Newton and Metro Boston.

New Exhibit at Harvard Museum of Natural History opens today...

The Harvard Museum of Natural History, a fun and interesting place to visit with your family, has a new exhibit opening today.  This permanent exhibit covers birds and is called Birds of the World.  It promises to be an interesting exhibit that any nature lover will enjoy.


-Lauren Greenhow, General Manager, GreenHow, Inc.
GreenHow.com. Effective Organic and Low Impact Solutions, Lawn Care, Pest Control and Termite Control in Newton and Metro Boston.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend...

The old proverb the enemy of my enemy is my friend is true for home and business owners looking to defend their plants.  Last week at New England Grows at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Suzanne Wainwright-Evans gave a great lecture on natural enemies and predators in the landscape.  Her website, Buglady Consulting, has an extensive resource list.  At the top of her list, is one of my favorites, Natural Enemies Handbook.  This guide has several sections, the most important of which may be how to identify and use natural enemies to your advantage to protect your plants.


-Lauren Greenhow, General Manager, GreenHow, Inc. GreenHow.com. Effective Organic and Low Impact Solutions, Lawn Care, Pest Control and Termite Control in Newton and Metro Boston.

UMASS Newsletter Horticulture Resources

Mid January is here, New England Grows will be in 3 weeks, and after that, the spring always seems to arrive sooner than I think.  This is a good time to sign up for one or both of University of Massachusetts Extension Service Newsletters.  For homeowners, the Garden Clippings is a great resource from March to October with eight monthly newsletters.  Topics include when and what to scout for in the garden, times to plant or do maintenance tasks, current pest or disease issues.  For professionals, the Hort Notes is a great resource that comes in sixteen newsletters, twice a month, March to October with great details on planting and pruning.  They are available at this link to the UMASS Amherst Extension web site.

-Lauren Greenhow, General Manager, GreenHow, Inc. GreenHow.com. Effective Organic and Low Impact Solutions, Lawn Care, Pest Control and Termite Control in Newton and Metro Boston.