Preparation Inspiration

Jennifer Zurko

There’s nothing like a famous phrase or quote to inspire and get the juices flowing. I think I might have told you on this page before that I sometimes look up quotes from famous people to wake up my muse. Who for some reason this month is being particularly lazy, so I decided to help her out by Googling famous sayings about preparation. (Yes, my muse is a she. I also picture her looking like a blend of Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Hayley Williams with fairy wings. I don’t know why. One doesn’t question her muse’s choice of attire or the color of her hair.)  

The reason I chose “preparation” is because, as I perused all of the content for this month’s issue, I realized the theme centers all around preparation. The theme is actually Pest Management, but when you think about it, dealing with insects and diseases is all about prevention, meaning you have to be prepared for anything.

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”—Alexander Graham Bell

We kick off this issue with three bug experts giving us advice on how to handle and release beneficial insects. Biocontrols are now a regular part of greenhouse pest management, but they require much more attention to detail in order for them to be successful pest pursuers.

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It stinks that we weren’t able to travel to Denver in October for AmericanHort’s DIG Conference, but all of the great educational sessions were still available in their virtual format. If you missed it, I recapped a couple of the panel discussions on IPM and PGR. And if you’re interested, you can still register and attend all of the sessions up to March 1.

“Good preparation is better than hope for a miracle.” —Sunday Adelaja

Don’t go into the spring hoping you won’t have a major insect or disease problem—anticipate those issues by rotating your broad-spectrum insecticides and stay vigilant for those uncommon pests, like the European pepper moth.

“First, I prepare. Then I have faith.”—Joe Namath

And what would a spring season be without those nasty diseases like Fusarium, Xanthomonas and Impatiens Downy Mildew testing your faith and your patience?

 I’ll leave you with one last quote that I think would sum up how many of you are going into this spring season:

“Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”
—Maya Angelou