NGTC Horticulture students are experimenting with pesticide-free pest control. They recently released 20,000 ladybugs in the the greenhouses on the Clarkesville college campus. Shown here, back row, from left: Juan Navarrete, Seth Scott, Mark Holmes, Corey McDonald, Daniel Gamble, Michael Dunnell, Hector Balderas and instructor Craig Thurmond. Middle row, from left: Stephanie Smith, Vicki Nicely, Tyler Rockey, Madison Gibbs and Heather Bardinelli. Front Row, from left, John Mather and Daniel Schnitzer.
Spring is in the air, which means it’s time for the North Georgia Technical College Horticulture program’s Spring Plant Sale.
The semi-annual sale begins Monday, April 23, and ends on Thursday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
The sale will be held at the Greenhouses on the Clarkesville NGTC Campus and will feature a wide variety of plants including summer annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, groundcovers, tropical plants and vegetable plants including heirloom tomatoes.
“This will be our first experience to see if we can completely control pests with biological controls and not use pesticides.” – instructor Craig Thurmond
Funds from the sale will be used to help Horticulture students with upcoming projects and trips, including a trip to Disney World to study the plants and landscape. Cash and checks only will be accepted the day of the sale.
Ladybugs instead of pesticides
As a new pesticide method for the plants grown for the sale, the Horticulture Department recently released more than 20,000 ladybugs in their greenhouses.
“We are using ladybugs this year instead of pesticides as a biological control method,” said Environmental Horticulture Instructor Craig Thurmond. “This will be our first experience to see if we can completely control pests with biological controls and not use pesticides.”
Students spread the ladybugs in the hopes that they will eat pests growing on the plants and continue providing a natural pesticide. Another round of 5,000 is set to be released in about two weeks.
Students involved in the release were Juan Navarrete of Clarkesville, Seth Scott of Cleveland, Mark Holmes of Cleveland, Corey McDonald of Toccoa, Daniel Gamble of Mt. Airy, Michael Dunnell of Clermont, Hector Balderas of Mountain City, Stephanie Smith of Toccoa, Vicki Nicely of Cleveland, Tyler Rockey of Cleveland, Madison Gibbs of Sautee Nacoochee, Heather Bardinelli of Alto and Daniel Schnitzer of Lakemont.
