New Year, New Start in the Garden!

Jan 20, 2016

Did you make a resolution to be healthier in 2016? If so, why not add keeping your landscape healthy to your resolution? UC IPM has a new resource that can help.

The Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist or SLIC is a regional decision-making tool that can help you keep your landscape healthy by preventing pests and plant problems. It was designed to help landscape professionals and home gardeners know which activities to do to prevent, monitor, or manage pests each month. Monthly lists can be viewed online or printed as a PDF and you can carry it with you to ‘check off' activities as you work outside.

The newest feature of the tool is the ability to subscribe to monthly email updates for your region. On the first of each month, you will receive an automatic email containing activities to help you plan for common problems often seen in your region during that month.

Checklists are currently available for four regions in California, but plans to include other areas are in the works.

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What is there really to do in the landscape in winter?
While you might think you can put off working in your landscape until spring, many pests (vertebrates, invertebrates, diseases, and weeds) could be dormant or overwintering in your landscape in the winter months. These pests begin to reappear as the weather warms, causing problems and making more work for you in spring. Many winter activities can help reduce future pest problems in the current and following seasons, such as proper pruning, sanitation, limiting standing water, and many others.

UC IPM's Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist is the perfect tool to help you maintain at least one of your new year's resolutions!