Blog:  May 20^th – May 23^rd

This week at Fanshawe College:

Tuesday started with a new area to beautify at the J-Sub courtyard in preparation for June graduation.  Upon gathering all of our tools from the tool room, we grabbed the RTV and made our way over.  We began our day with routine garbage picking, weeding, and some crash courses in how to edge garden beds…which is very tricky without some sort of string line to follow and proper use of the half-moon edgers!  Not long after we got the call that the transport truck full of our lovely mulch was here and to come and watch the process of it being dumped in Lot #8.  After getting stuck (just a little) on the wet lawn it was a success, and the mulch began to tumble out of the trailer!  It was a sight to behold…smelling wonderful, steamy and very warm to the touch.  After all of this we received fabulous instruction from Hillary as to how to load the trailer with the John Deere…without hitting the trailer of course!  With trailer full we returned to J-Sub courtyard to continue our work for the remainder of the day.

The rest of the week consisted of more trailer loads of mulch…we managed to get quite a lot of it put on the beds but there is still so much to go! Mulch not only beautifies the garden but also is a necessity in order to keep weeds down, retain soil moisture, and moderate soil temperatures.  We received a lesson from Hillary on how to properly edge a tree well with half-moon edgers and string.  Edging should be done three times per year as properly edged garden beds add a nice clean line to the bed and reduce the need for any sort of plastic edge restraints.  Thursday we tended to our gardens and captured a pic of one of Fanshawe’s many cute (but pesky!) little groundhogs.  Friday was back to J-Sub courtyard and more beautification for the graduation in June…and that was our week at Fanshawe

The week of May 12, 2014

The week of May 12^th 2014 was beautiful for Monday and Tuesday day, then it all went downhill from there. Rain, rain and more rain for the rest of the week. This week we lost our wonderful friends Sara and Sherri to the Cuddy Gardens so it was just the four of us. First on the list of things to do was Z building. Weed, edge, and bring some life back to those gardens. We do have a bunch beautiful flowers in bloom down there, daffodils, variegated tulips and lady in black aster.

Second on the list was to re pot up all the tomatoes and veggies that were not up to Pascoe’s standers. Everything needs to look and be done professionally in the greenhouse. Re potting took all day, we did this because these plants will for sale to the public and they need to look up to par to compete with all the other nurseries.

Thursday consisted of working on our designated gardens for the morning. We all work so hard to keep the campus looking fabulous. This brought us to lunch time, and Mother Nature was still sad, the rain continues. Once all our bellies were full it was time to get back at it. The great J. Rowley had us work as a group to finish up a couple beds down by R2 (Peregrine) and once again we edged, weeded and cleaned up a bunch or debris.

Last on the list for the week was training. For the employees under 25 we had young workers awareness training. This was very informational and answered some questions that we had about the workplace. Heat stress training was up next. We all need to be a part of that, it is important to know what can happen when we work in the heat to long, or the signs and symptoms to look for when we do work in the heat. We also had some online training we had to do. We took our time to achieve 80 present or higher on these modules. By the time we were done it was time to clean up for the May long weekend. Stay tuned in for more up to date information about the Fanshwe and Cuddy gardens!

Greenhouse Practical Blog April 18-20, 2014

Sky Holbrook, Johnny Clarke and Hilary Sivyer

 Friday

With our end of the term party only hours before, we arrived early at the Greenhouse the next morning for our finale practical. Sky and Johnny took the lead on transplanting all of the Salvia and Dusty Miller from seed trays into cell packs. They spent the majority of the day transferring small seedlings from one tray to the other and tagging each appropriately to prepare them for sale. Sky and Johnny had to prepare cell packs for planting several times and decided that the fasted way to fill them would be to work as a team. After successfully transplanting close to 2,600 Salvia and 400 Dusty Miller they each took on separate jobs around the greenhouse sterilizing trays and pots.  While they were in the potting room transplanting Hilary spent the entire day in the greenhouse counting and arranging plants to ensure that orders from Fanshawe and Clintar could be filled.

  

Saturday

Arriving at the greenhouse for another eventful day Sky and Johnny prepared the potting room for the transplanting of roughly 200 Canna Lilly. They each took turns moving to and from the greenhouse with two to three crates each of the plant. They first needed to sort the corms from what was vegetative and what didn’t make it through the winter. Once they had all of their pots ready and the plants separated they spent a large portion of the day planting one pot after another. But once they began tagging the plants they realized that there were more than two different types of Cana Lilly. Hilary used the computer to try and differentiate the leaf patterns and distinguish the different cultivars from one another. This proved to be a challenge as some of the plants were barley even peeking above the soil. The three managed to complete the tagging and used a cart to move the plants into the greenhouse to be sorted on the benches. Unfortunately, Sky foolishly had her hand rested on the side of a table with her thumb over hanging the side and it was crushed between the tables. A quick break was taken to retrieve a Band-Aid and clean her thumb before we returned to organizing the benches of plants. Sky and Johnny finished out the day by using a small cart to move tropical plants into the T building, while Hilary remained in the greenhouse sorting the remainder of plants and ensuring that every plant had been accounted for and watered. The day ended with a group effort of cleaning the potting room and prepping the greenhouse for the next day.

Sunday

Hilary began the day by watering the crop and ensuring each plant was receiving the proper amount of fertilizer. The fire alarm began going off abruptly and everyone was caught off guard. None of us knew what was happening until a security guard came to the greenhouse to inspect the building for any faults. After the firefighters arrived and gave us the all clear we returned to doing our jobs in the greenhouse. Sky spent the morning ensuring that every plant had the proper tag and that they were arranged appropriately in the cell packs. Johnny and Hilary took on the tropicals in the tractor bay sorting the healthy plants from the ones that weren’t doing as well. They moved the healthy plants into the greenhouse on a cart and met up with Sky in the outdoor storage area to stack pots onto a skid and prepare them for being picked up. They then spent the remainder of the day as a crew cleaning the tractor bay, potting room and greenhouse.

 

 

 

Weekend Maintenance Blog

Dan Grady   Morwyn Griffith  

 Friday April 18^th /14

The students began their practical like many before - tired and hungry, but with a quick fix of coffee and timbits they were ready to conquer the day.  Like most practicals, there was much work to be done so it was off to C block to grab the ………  oh wait a sec  the wonderful Jeff Rowley  had forgotten to give us the keys for the equipment  so like Egyptian slaves it was off to get a wheelbarrow and load up tools.  We made our way over to R3 better known as Merlin (weird name) residence to start work on the back garden bed, which was full of everything from plates and sandals to beer cans and condoms.  Full of garden maintenance knowledge, they began cleaning out the garden bed edging from corner to corner, raking like have never raked before (although feeling like they were being watched from every window). They then proceeded to the hydrangeas!  With pruning almost being like riding a bike to them now, they were ready to cut and form beautiful plants. It was a long day for them but they knew the weekend was just beginning; lots of blood, sweat and tears were in the weekend forecast.

Saturday April 19^th /14

They arrived at the greenhouse once again bright eyed and bushy tailed knowing today was the day to really focus and get things done.  It was back to Merlin for them; the largest and most formidable of the garden beds was completed and the crew moved on to the side of the residence.  The spireas stared them down as they approached so it was time to give them a haircut and some manors.  Dan eagerly grabbed the hedge trimmers giving the spireas a nice number 3 all around, his partner Morwyn coming in with a rake and giving them a nice clean shave. It was done with that bed and on to the next one, so they jumped in to action and approached the new bed.  They glared at all the gravel and sand that required removal, chuckling at the very large gopher hole and did I mention more hydrangeas needed to be pruned?  Dan quickly decided to grab the John Deer tractor, careful not to crash into a family moving their children out of residence.  It worked well - loading all the gravel and sand that insulted him.  Morwyn battled the hydrangeas, quickly realizing this would be a battle she may not win, but being the class’s best horticulturalist she made mincemeat of them, cutting with artful quickness and precision. Day 2 was in the books - both members tired, tanned/burned and famished.

Sunday April 20^th/14

The final day and the weather couldn’t be nicer, spring bulbs popping and the smell of chocolate Easter eggs filled the air and did I mention it was Morwyn’s birthday?  The group was ready to take charge of the day. It was off to C block to grab the RTV, tools and Tractor to continue on Merlin Residence.  The group felt good on how the past two days went so it was time to finish strong.  Dan and Morwyn quickly worked their way up the remaining garden beds, raking, edging and pruning, all the while being carful they didn’t scare their new friend Santana the gopher.   With the sun beating down on them, they worked their way up to the last garden bed - the dreaded “when there was snow on the ground they dumped it all on the junipers” garden.  It being filled with gravel, they knew what they had to do so they firmly grasped their hard rakes and calmly raked and fluffed up the garden.  Yes, the junipers were hurting and probably crying inside but like a bad dentist appointment they needed to be cleaned and brought back to life.

Landscape Maintenance Weekend Practical: Mary-Jane DeJonge and Kayla Teves

 

Friday, April 18, 2014

 

We started the day off with a walk-around of the grounds to go over what we needed to get done for the weekend. Mary-Jane and I began working on a hosta garden, removing decaying plant matter.  This is a relatively easy task at this time of year since the old plant material can sometimes be raked right out (other spots require secateurs). We also pruned Ilex x meserveae (Holly shrubs) that were in quite rough condition, as well as a beautiful dogwood specimen tree. We anticipate an excessive amount of damage on a lot of plants around the grounds this year, due to the very long winter and high mounds of snow that were left in garden beds. Not only does this cause stress to the plant initially, but having to prune out more damaged or dead branches than usual will just add to the stress the plant is already under.

Our biggest challenge for the weekend though, will be removing sand that was leftover in the garden beds from melting snow piles (it’s everywhere!). Mary-Jane and I raked and removed as much sand as we could to conclude our day.

 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

 

                This chilly morning, Mary-Jane and I got right to work on pruning. There is a cluster of Hydrangea macrophylla shrubs, nestled into a corner of the school. This area does not get a lot of sun, and was also bombarded with snow piles this winter. The piles completely covered these mature shrubs that are about four feet high. With the weight of snow and no sun to melt it quickly, these shrubs were in a sorry state! Mary-Jane and I began gently working our way through each branch in search of living buds, trying to keep as much of the plant as we could, while still maintaining the beautiful, twisty structure of the plant.

By mid-afternoon, we began to grow jealous of the shining sun since we were still confined to the cold, shady corner. So, we decided to break from hydrangeas and move onto pruning a juniper shrub as well as a weeping mulberry tree. The juniper was creeping over the surrounding sidewalks and it was my task to cut back the branches while still maintaining a natural appearance, as well as having no visible stubs left behind. Mary-Jane got to work on the Morus alba Pendula (Weeping Mulberry) tree and thinned it out by pruning branches coming from the center of the plant, as opposed to chopping off the bottom in one flush cut. This allows for better circulation, as well as a more natural look. Once that job was completed, we returned to the hydrangeas for the remainder of the day.

 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

               

There was no time to waste today since Mary-Jane and I still had so much work to do! Besides the minor morning setback (a fire alarm in the greenhouse due to some faulty wires) and making sure everyone was alright, we went into high gear! There was still some pruning on the hydrangeas to be done so we finished that right away. We also removed some Virginia creeper vine that was covering rocks and a light pole. Next, Mary-Jane trimmed some English Ivy that was growing over a curb, as well as removed some periwinkle that was choking out a shrub. I got to work on removing sand and leaves from the surrounding garden beds. This turned out to be a tedious task since there was so much ground to cover! In the meantime, Mary-Jane also pruned a viburnum shrub, and we both met up in the late afternoon to prune some Annabelle Hydrangeas as well as ornamental grasses.

 

 

                Without anticipating how long it would take to prune the hydrangeas as well as remove piles of sand from garden beds, we accomplished as much as we could for the weekend and are pretty satisfied with the results! This will be our last weekend practical here at Fanshawe and it was a great one J