Just in time for spring, the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program’s annual conference is all about growing vegetables in your home garden. Whether you have a few containers on a porch or balcony, or some carefully planned garden beds in the backyard, there’s always room for more IPM in your garden! We have a great line up of speakers from around New York, covering topics from garden planning and soil health to composting, weeding, and choosing plant varieties that resist pest attacks. Yours truly will be talking about insects that are natural enemies of pests and make great allies in the home garden.

As with so many things over the past year, this event will be virtual, which means it’s even easier for you to attend. To combat “Zoom fatigue” we’ve planned it for two half days (April 27 and 28). After the sessions on April 27, you’ll be able to stick around and chat with speakers and other attendees about your choice of garden topics while you enjoy your lunch. (Sorry, no lunch provided with meeting registration. )

We invite attendees to choose the registration price that works for you (between $10 and $20 for both days). But please don’t let cost keep you from attending! We want this meeting to be accessible to everyone. See the meeting page (linked in the next paragraph) for more info.

All the details for how to register and the schedule of topics and speakers can be found here. Please register by April 21, if possible. The link to sign up for a discussion topic at the end of the first day of the meeting will be sent out shortly after April 21, and you’ll be assigned to a discussion topic on a first-come-first-serve basis.

This post was written by Amara Dunn, Biocontrol Specialist with the NYSIPM program. All images are hers, unless otherwise noted.