Kyle Haskett/Felton Greenhouse Practical September 6th- 8th Friday: Today we promptly showed up to the greenhouse at a staggering 7:40 am. We rushed over to the security office to sign out the greenhouse key only to discover this task required very little effort. Triumphant and on schedule we headed to the greenhouse with spirit and vigour in our hearts, we would feed the crop of poinsettias even if it meant being late for the Hortfest bus! (However let’s face it Kyle and I know what we’re doing). We unlocked the greenhouse and analyzed the poinsettia crop. Desperatly needing a good drink, Kyle and I turned on the dosetron to feed them their much needed minerals. While tending to our crop we re-organized the plant benches and tried to create order from chaos. After the crop was successfully watered and our quest for today was completed we promptly locked up and headed for the bus and off to Hortfest! (GO ULMUS) After a successful day at Hortfest with the First years we returned back to our much needed positions to water the dwindling chrysanthemums. After helping Jeff carry in some new recruits from cuddies into quarantine pending sterilization we set out to water. With the brilliant advice of Jeff Rowley and Kyle using the only available watering hose, I was left with the dreadful task of “hand watering!” We left the greenhouse at 6 P.M. for some much needed sleep.

Saturday: It was day two of our weekend practical and we had high expectations for what we needed to accomplish today. We planned to deal with “Pot Mountain” and perform the 2nd pinch on the “Valentine” poinsettias. Just as we were about to embark on our noble journey we encountered a friendly face! It was J RO! Here to do her Interiorscape duties, “have fun watering” we jested as we began our day. Kyle and I started to wash each pot carefully disinfecting and eliminating all bacteria and pathogens. Kyle and I did not rest until every pathogen was destroyed mercilessly! We then moved the quarantined material to their new home on the silver shelf. Feeling quite successful with our work we sat down for a pleasant 5 minute break. The shear act of sitting was a much needed wakeup call for the weary Kyle. Our next mission had begun, pinching the “Valentine” poinsettias to ensure Pascoe’s desired height and vigour. Moving slower than a snail we carefully double checked our efforts to ensure they were up to Pascoe’s professional expectations. (A standard we all agree should be upheld) Queue lunch time, we set off to Ginos pizza with J RO after barricading the greenhouse from intruders. With pizza in our bellys and a mountain of plants on our mind we began to condense the massive amounts of plant material sitting on our class bench. Collecting and organizing the plants by genus, we commenced our upgrading. Removing the infernal 3 inch nursery pots we combined the plants into stunning 6 inch specimens. With non-stop pot washing and organizing to do! We began to clean up. Meticulously washing and sanitizing the floors to again be-rid the pathogen menace, we obtained a Mr.Clean shine. Finally locking up the greenhouse for the night we embarked on our own journeys home.

Sunday: With our final day upon us we arrived at the security office to reclaim the greenhouse key from the “KEY WARDEN” we set forth to the greenhouse for some epic re-potting operations. With techno rushing through the air (at a reasonable volume) we embarked on complete and total greenhouse order. Organizing the plants into proper pots, and trays we condensed the behemoth into a manageable monster. Clearing off our class bench would allow us to bring in our own experiments (after proper disinfecting) and have a space of our own. By maximizing our plants/sq. Ft we can in turn bring more money into the greenhouse, this will very much appease the great Pascoe. I for one am in favour of keeping the money we make within the program. With lunchtime upon us we set off to (you guessed it) Ginos pizza for another of their deliciously priced pizzas. After our feast of pizza and water, we headed back into the jungle to organize the fields of pothos! Lastly we were left with one more good sanitizing to do. The battle against pathogens was again successful; however, the war has just begun. We set off to face the “KEY WARDEN” one last time and conclude our epic quest into the jungles of the greenhouse.

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