Greenhouse Weekend Blog – Zachary and Kyle – February 28 – March 2, 2014

The day started off just like any other day in the harsh Canadian winter. I woke up to the sight of frost clinging to the windows, forming complex patterns in the dead winter night. Rubbing the excess sleep from my eyes, I slipped into my winter horticultural gear and traversed the icy path to the school, trying to shake the events of the night before from my memory. Entering the school an hour before schedule, I walked the barren halls, searching for the elusive security office to acquire the keys for the greenhouse area. I arrived at the greenhouse at 7:30, along with the arrival of my partner, Kyle. I saw him trying to open the greenhouse doors, but struggling in the cold. We waited for Jeff, the shivering of Kyle reminded me of the vibrating wand of seeds, shivering down the metal tube. Jeff arrived 20 minutes early, reminding us of the normal greenhouse procedures before diving into the more advanced information, such as the air compressed seed planter.  Our tasks were laid in front of us, with both of us having a different project, our time seemed more and more precious by the second. We began the greenhouse circle check, going up and down each row checking to see if they needed extra watering, or to see if watering spaghetti strings were plugged. After our thorough inspection, we began to use the seed distribution device, filling a flat with two different types of grasses, Stipa, and Lucius. After a time, we noticed the sun hung low in the sky, signifying our release into the world once again.

The sky seemed grim on morning of the second day as the tires smoothly drifted out of control in the empty parking lot. Stopping with a jerk, we regained our composure, and walked to the beginning of our new day. We loaded up the computer, and started PRIVA with no problems. With our trusty friend coffee, and the glorious sounds coming from the radio stations at our selection, we began the work. After the initial crop walk, to which we noticed no problems, we sat down and listed any chores we had to do for the weekend. Climbing a ladder was the trickiest situation we came across in that operation, as the chores came to mind rather easily. Cuttings were the main priority, and this job was tackled by Kyle as the other responsibilities were taken on by me. The grasses needed sorting, as some were dead in the pot, wasting water and precious space. I first took out all the completely dead plants, the ones with no vegetative growth at all, and whose root system was so weak that the slightest touch would cause them to flop over. The hardest part about the whole operation was the fact that the soil bucket would fill constantly. During this procedure, we welcomed our head program coordinator, and his guests from Newfoundland.  Somehow the humidity was at a stable 70 for what seemed like hours. After a few tries refreshing the program, we noticed that PRIVA wasn’t working at all. Resetting the program and the computer did nothing to rectify the situation. The greenhouse was filled with delightful banter about horticultural stories as we worked in the other room, the silence coming from the radio filled our minds. My time during this ordeal was mainly in the potting room: greasing the wheels on the cart, retyping the opening and closing sheets, and washing the dishes were the jobs I had while the greenhouse was being given the grand tour. As they paused the tour for lunch, the canine known only as BD became our responsibility and it seemed like she had an upset stomach as a yellow foamy film appeared all over the place. Washing the floor periodically became a normal task. As the main man came back, and took his canine friend, the greenhouse seemed almost empty, as we began our final clean up tasks of the day. Bidding the glass room goodbye, we set along the path home, smelling a little fouler.

The beginning of the third day was sunny and bright. A light snow fell, but not enough to give us pause, as we opened the doors at 7:30. We went right to the computer to check on PRIVA’s status, and it was still offline, giving us some worries. The periodic clicks of the control box showed us that it was still working, but just not letting us monitor its progress. Manual checks were instigated every half hour just to make sure nothing happens. Another puppy joined us this weekend, as the famous Jessica Rowand brought her young German Shepherd with her. The smell of puppy clings to the clothing I wear, I don’t know if I can get it off. While two of us went to water the plants throughout the school, one person was left in the greenhouse to watch all the living things that lay inside. Cleaning became the priority for the day, the general idea was to make the room look so clean that you wouldn’t mind sitting down and eating a meal on it. The shop vacuum was the main tool for the job, but it was also our demise after it caused the power to turn off. Flipping off all the mats, we turned back on the breaker, and while cleaning, steadily turned the mats back on to their original temperature. With the floors swept, vacuumed, and washed down, our final day at school came to a close. Putting our winter clothes back on, we left the warmth of our greenhouse, getting ready to come back in a few days’ time.