Greenhouse Weekend Blog

Ellyn and Harrison

Our weekend duty began on a windy Friday morning. We then began our opening checklist. When we looked into the germination chamber many of the seeds had become seedlings. We then covered them with cheese cloth to help them adapt to their new environment.

As well we have begun planting a variety of perennials and geraniums in preparation for warmer weather, but because of these extra additions to the greenhouse we struggled to find an area to put these plants. Luckily we made a large amount of sales on Friday which opened up bench 7 to house our almost 500 geraniums. Let’s just say moving the geraniums took a while. We also were tasked with watering and fertilizing almost all the plants in the greenhouse. We split up the watering to make it more efficient one person watered the cannas, perennials and seedlings while the other focused on watering the hydrangeas, geraniums and seeds in the germination chamber. As the day began to come to an end, we finished planting some of our perennials, while also dealing with the many customers coming in to look at our beautiful hydrangeas. We then had to change our focus to cleaning up, it was very important for the greenhouse to be spic and span for the Fanshawe Open House the following day.  We then made our way home awaiting our next day in the greenhouse.

We came in the following day to a beautifully bright and warm sun that brought a smile to my face. We then started our opening checklist, after that was complete we began tasks to organize the greenhouse for the Open House. This including adding tags to any unlabelled perennials and flipping the tags so they were more uniform and matched one another. We had four 1^st year students join us in the greenhouse to help talk to anyone curious about the horticulture technician program, as well as Michael Pascoe, Sue Millar and Jeff Hicks. Saturday was definitely a very busy day there always seemed to be at least one person in the greenhouse needing information on the program or looking to buy hydrangeas. This made it hard to get many of the tasks that we were assigned done but thanks to the first years’ help we managed to finish planting all the rest of the 60+ perennials and over 100 geraniums. We were selling so many hydrangeas that we had to move almost half a bench of hydrangeas to the front of the benches.

Of the varieties of hydrangeas grown this year, the ‘Tivoli’ was by far the most popular! This style is variegated blue or pink with white edges. People were dazzled by the unusual coloration all weekend and it became the first of our cultivars to sell out! Our blue, pink, and white varieties (called ‘Early Blue’, ‘Rosa’, and ‘Vanilla Sky’) were also very popular, and after talking to many of the customers, it’s apparent just how well loved this plant is! While people bought them for a variety of reasons, including for cut flowers, as a desk plant, and for the garden, I’m sure everyone could agree that the explosion of colour and large flower clusters are perfect for welcoming the official start of spring!

Selling hydrangeas supports the Horticulture program and was a great way of connecting with future students and sharing some of our horticultural knowledge. Having student volunteers in the greenhouse allowed them to get some extra experience, and helped accomplish important tasks. Therefore, the Open House on Saturday was a booming success, and we were proud to help represent the greenhouse and the program.

  

On Sunday, after the commotion of Open House was over, we had a few large tasks ahead to accomplish. First, we prepared trays of media and watered them to prepare for the planting of lots of different vegetables and flowers. These included African Yellow Marigolds (which we planted hundreds of), tricolour cherry tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes, Bells of Ireland, and more. When planted, the trays were put in the germination chamber, where they will receive regular mistings with warm water. The humidity and warmth will help them germinate and protect the emerging seedlings from the hot, direct sun of the greenhouse. After seeding, the succulents needed to be repotted and organized in preparation for their eventual sale to Landscape Ontario. The soil used for potting the succulents allows for more drainage than regular potting mix because succulents store lots of water and therefore don’t need a lot. Because of this, their roots can’t tolerate constant or even consistent moisture, and drainage is desirable. We found a large bloom on one of the more mature succulents, adding another pink pop of colour to the greenhouse to match the hydrangeas!

Finally, the current propagation chamber was disassembled and hauled away for the incoming installation of a brand new propagation station. After cleaning up the debris from the massive haul, the desks, rolling storage bins, and chairs were moved from the general vicinity to allow easy access to the propagation location in anticipation for the propagation station installation. After completing the final closing checklist, we were at the end of greenhouse weekend duty. Overall, it was a busy weekend with a very successful Open house event, dominated by the graceful beauty of the hydrangeas!

Greenhouse Weekend Duty March 15-17th/2019

            This weekend our tasks were correlated with change: rejuvenation and preparation and Friday presented us with many opportunities to do so. As spring is fast approaching many things are changing in the greenhouse and it was the first weekend of hydrangea sales. Within the last few weeks they have produced some beautiful, large and colourful blooms. Their foliage is also a deep green which is lovely, and no necrosis which is hard to obtain. As the hydrangeas bloomed; so has spring. Our first change/rejuvenation was cleaning up our stock baskets and hanging them up to make room for our new inventory we will be receiving. We then had a change in plans as we were requested to lend our voice to Cuddy Gardens video. It was very interesting as neither of us had recorded in a professional studio before. As the day progressed, we began preparation for the spring by sowing herb seeds (parsley, chives and sweet basil) and filling one gallon pots to prepare for our incoming perennials. We then rejuvenated some Schlumbergera and seedlings by giving them a thorough drink of water. Overall it was a great first day to start our weekend duty.

            On Saturday we continued with our tasks. During our opening checklist, I checked the germination chamber and found a lot of the seeds were now seedlings! It was amazing to see them spring up overnight

          We then watered and prepared hydrangeas to be put in our F building Ficus planters to rejuvenate them and hopefully attract some sales to the greenhouse. They were then put out and the ficus planters were watered. 

In the afternoon we had a few customers come in as the weather was beautiful! As we were preparing and changing for the spring, so was the weather coincidentally. Although this weather was lovely, it meant the hydrangea crop dried out so we decided to water in the early afternoon. After watering we took pH and E.C. readings. We noticed the pH and E.C. was off so decided to fertilize. Because we watered in the afternoon we chose to fertilize the next day. We noticed many customers enjoyed the Tivoli cultivar. In the afternoon we continued to sow herbs and fill pots for perennials.

            Sunday was exciting as London was hosting the Junos and it also was St. Patrick’s day: however, it was a pretty relaxed day in the greenhouse. We began the day with our opening checklist, and decided to do our fertilizing early to correct their pH and E.C. levels. Rob finished up potting the perennial mix in 405 one gallon pots and 200 four inch rounds.

We sold some succulents and hydrangeas throughout the day. We then watered most of the greenhouse, including the cannas, seedlings, alocasia, perennial grass, petunias/petunia baskets, and four inch pot stock plants. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up and tying up any loose ends. All in all, there was a clear theme this weekend. The hydrangeas are blooming, and as spring approaches, the greenhouse will produce more crops such as herbs, perennials, cannas, etc. There was lots of change and rejuvenation with the stock baskets. It was a great weekend and I’m excited to see the change into spring.

Greenhouse Blog for March 8-10, 2019

Emily B. and Mitch M. 

     One could just walk along the campus of Fanshawe College and just know that is classified as a certified Botanical Garden. The extensive collection of rare and exquisite cultivars that reside upon campus are not native to these parts, yet thrive and grow all over these grounds. These plants have been shipped from across the world, and Fanshawe Spriet Greenhouse has been given the opportunity to sow and grow these exceptional seeds. From botanical gardens in Italy to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton these seeds travel with care to the hands of the Fanshawe Horticulture students. Research and documentation of each seed is mandatory before the plants are to be propagated. Along with paperwork labels involving the botanical name, numerical tag identification, and date of sowing all the way to its day of transplant. This allows the sharing and spread of rare and unusual seeds for research and conservation aspects. Unless stated otherwise a majority of these seeds must go through a stratification process of which before germination are placed in cold temperatures to spark the breaking of the outer seed shell and promote the growth of the seed. During this time they must be kept watered and watched for growth until they can upgrade and be moved to the germination chamber where the environment is specifically designed to encourage root development of seeds.

     It is very important to keep track of all seeds that arrive and leave the greenhouse. The product ID, where it originated and the date must all be present in order to certify the “birth certificate” of this plant. Without a proper indication of the purpose of the seed and its original sowing date this plant cannot be legally classified as part of a Botanical Garden. There is a database that is shared around the world that can be updated and legality of seeds can be reviewed.

     Multiple Canna varieties were separated and planted individually to restart the growth process. During the winter these rhyzomes go dormant and are placed in a hibernated state buried naked under the warm soil. The coming of spring indicates that these perennial bulbs are ready to re-uptake nutrients and bloom once again.  This process involves digging up surviving bulbs, separating and potential viable bulb growths and replanting them with the sprout upwards towards the sky.

     Even the indoor tropical planters at Fanshawe are getting ready for Spring through makeovers. In preparation for the Hydrangea crop’s bloom these containers were modified to be able to show them off in all their glory. New Hoya transplants were planted as filler to add to the diversity and texture of this planter overall. Soon the bright new blooms with brighten the hallways of Fanshawe College.

Integrated Pest Management is key to sustaining a healthy crop.  Maintaining a sanitized work station and keeping a steady review of the yield allows one to manage the possibility of a pest infestation. Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment must be worn when applying. This weekend consisted of the proper pruning back of 4” annual pots, which in turn involved the correct practices of applying different pest management techniques. Upon which the sanitation and application to correct these possible pests from invading and damaging any further. The potted stock plants that had matured were placed into hanging baskets to further be propagated and used throughout the college.

     As the Hydrangea crop grows so does its need for water and fertilizer. This involves different E.C and pH rates in order to specify the colour of the bloom. Each variety involves specific mixtures of nutrients and each are watered differently due to the specifics of the cultivar. This involves a strict agenda and note schedules in order to stay connected to the other actions in the greenhouse. These blooms are brighter than ever and will soon be available to the public.